A boy who was 'allergic to Christmas' has overcome his skin condition thanks to a 'magic' cream - just in time to meet Father Christmas for the first time.
Lukas Wojciechowski, two, has suffered with eczema since he was two weeks old, and it got so bad he could barely be touched.
He couldn’t be near tinsel, cuddly toys or even Santa’s coat because synthetic materials produced painful rashes on his hands.
Last Christmas Day a flare up meant he woke up with weeping, angry, open sores on his legs and spent the day in tears.
But earlier this year his mum heard about a cream on Facebook and within a month his skin had started to clear up.
This year for the first time he has been able to enjoy the festive season, and has already been to see Santa in his grotto THREE times.
Mum Shannon Harle, 22, from Kettering, Northants., said: “It stopped the itch, healed the wounds and moisturised his dry skin.
“It’s definitely a magic cream.
“I posted in one of groups on Facebook about my son's skin and someone who works for Balmonds messaged me about sending me a sample to see if it would help him.
“This time last year he was allergic to Father Christmas but this year, we’ve already taken him to see him three times.
“I’m looking forward to Christmas Eve and him being able to cuddle up on the sofa in his pyjamas, without squirming in pain.
“He used to cry in pain every time he tried to take a step. Now he’s running around the house singing Christmas songs - it’s absolutely wonderful.”
Lukas' eczema began when he was two weeks old as a small patch of dry skin on his ankles and quickly became severe.
By the time he was a month old, his legs and ankles were covered in scaly, rough skin and he needed to wear tights to go outside - even in summer - as grass and the sunshine made it worse.
The tips of his toes were so raw and peeling that he looked as if he had sunburn and Lukas would scratch the weeping skin on his legs until it bled.
It meant the toddler held back from learning to walk as even smooth laminate flooring in the family’s home would break the already sore skin on the soles of his feet.
Steroids prescribed by the toddler’s GP initially worked but then pain returned.
Christmas 2018 was one of the toughest times, as the cold weather makes his skin worse.
Shannon said: “He couldn’t eat chocolate from his advent calendar or wear the fluffy pyjamas his grandma bought him to cuddle up in at Christmas.
“While most two year-olds are getting excited about the twinkly lights on the Christmas tree, we had to keep him away in case his skin reacted to the decorations.
“Christmas Eve wasn’t magical for him as he spent most of the night rubbing his legs together in bed, like usual. So on Christmas Day, he woke up with weeping, angry, open sores on his legs.”
Stay-at-home mum of four Shannon discovered Balmonds Skin Salvation cream, which costs £7.99 for a 30ml tub, in March.
She puts it on every day before bedtime.
Within a month of using the cream the painful skin on Lukas’ legs had cleared.
He is now a happier toddler and is obsessed with the cuddly toys he previously couldn't play with, and is excited about his third Christmas.
Shannon said he is enjoying festive activities with his siblings that he missed out on last year.
He has two sisters Elisia, four, and Isabelle, and a step brother Bailey, five.
They live with Shannon’s fiance Ben, 26, a medical supplies worker, in Kettering, Northants.
Shannon said: "It’s so lovely seeing him sat barefoot around the tree with his brothers and sisters."
