Mom treats skin condition with breast milk

February 14, 2023

Squeezing her own breast milk onto her skin cured this new mom of what she feared would be an itchy, flaky lifelong affliction.

“Breast milk from my own body healed my hands,” exclaimed mother-of-one Ashley Lemieux, 36, from Phoenix in her trending TikTok testimonial.

“I have psoriasis … and I want to see if the breast milk will heal my cuts,” the blond continued in the clip, which scraped up more than 1.8 million views.

Psoriasis is a disease that causes the skin to break out in red, scaly and itchy patches. It plagues roughly 75 million adults in the United States, according to National Psoriasis Foundation.

And while the malady — which is often triggered by an illness, like a strep infection, stress or a skin injury — can manifest anywhere on the body, it commonly occurs on the elbows, knees and scalp. It’s a chronic and incurable condition that can only be quelled with topical ointments and light therapy.

Ashley Lemieux says breast milk worked wonders for her and husband Mike's hands. — Ashley Lemieux says breast milk worked wonders for her and husband Mike’s hands.

But Lemieux’s viral video seems to suggest that there may be another solution to the patchy problem.

At the start of the clip, she shared a glimpse of her dry, cracked and bleeding hands to her more than 25,700 followers.

She then explained that she’d previously pumped and stored her milk for six months, hoping to eventually feed it to her newborn daughter, Annie, who initially expressed an allergic response to the liquid.

After donating the bulk of her breast milk, Lemieux decided to test out theories that the liquid contained healing properties.

But after learning that her baby’s sensitivity to her nectar had persisted, Lemieux — wanting to test social media viral claims that breast milk can “heal everything” — decided to use some of her supply on her psoriasis-stricken mitts.

And, much to her delight, after four days, the milk worked magic.

“I am absolutely shocked,” Lemieux yelped, showcasing her smooth and moisturized skin.

“My hands haven’t looked or felt this good in 2 years,” she gushed. “They’re not cracked, they’re not bleeding, they’re not inflamed. I can bend them.

“Women’s bodies are so cool,” Lemieux added before pouring her milk all over her husband Mike’s hands.

After reaping the benefits of pouring breast milk over her own hands, Lemieux dumped some on her husband Mike's hands too. — After reaping the benefits of pouring breast milk over her own hands, Lemieux dumped some on her husband Mike’s hands too.

Mike, however, wasn't a fan of the smell of his wife's milk. — Mike, however, wasn’t a fan of the smell of his wife’s milk.

And her TikTok audiences, too, raved over the medicinal benefits of breast milk for other diseases and discomforts.

“I use it for ear infections, pink eye and baths. Miraculous!” rejoiced one lactation lover.

“When I give my baby breastmilk baths it also heals my eczema it’s amazing,” another testified.

“Works with sunburn too! Since spring and summer is coming up!, said another.

In a separate post, the ever-crafty Lemieux transformed her breast milk into lotion, mixing it with beeswax, coconut oil, vitamin E drops and lavender.

“Don’t throw that extra breast milk away,” she urged her fellow moms in the caption of the instructional. “Make some lotion.”