Eczema and Food Sensitivities/Allergies

My 1 year old has been dealing with it for a least 6 months. I posted here and chose to ignore the wheat allergy info. ( I was breastfeeding and already gave up soy, dairy, berries, and nuts. I could not face giving up cookies and bread.) I ended up giving up wheat/glutten and it made a huge difference. It was hard at first but the rash got 90% better. I
think corn maybe an issue too which is a pain because a lot of wheat free stuff uses corn. I use the precription stuff once in awihile but i think it is better to avoid it.

The skin is a secondary detox organ. When rashes show up- there is something inside that the body that it is trying to get rid of, or it can be topic dermatitis.

It could be a food allergy. Or it could be internal yeast (that was the case with my daughter). Sometimes it is caused by bacteria, and exzema can even be caused by a roundwrom infection.

I just read somewhere that following an anti-inflamatory diet can help reduce eczema. I think this is because eczema is an auto-immune disorder (???). Here's Dr. Andrew Weil's link discussing the diet:

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02012/anti-inflammatory-diet

Hope this helps.

my dd has it or had it - not anymore. ours was not connected to a food allergy. in our family it is hereditary. almost all the children have it and then grow out of it for the most part. i have a patch that flairs up in the summer on the back of my arm. i just use a little bit of cream and that takes care of it. summer time is the only time it comes around because of the heat for me. we used california baby calendula cream on her (have it at target) and that was the only thing that worked after prescription creams didnt do anything. hers was very bad....to the point where it weaped. we would bathe her only once a week with dove soap and then pat her dry and cover her in the cream and after just 2 days of using the cream her skin cleared up so fast it was almost unbelievable. we also used california baby's other products on her and they work great.

there is definitely a connection with food allergies and eczema. with my daughter it was milk. She is fairly allergic, or intolerant. it took several weeks but adfter cutting dairy out completely her eczema cleared right up. i never use her perscription any more.
It is totally possible to purge milk from your diet, and yes it is frustrating because milk does seem to be in everything. but my daughter is healthy and happy. very worth it.
i also do not use soap with her, except if she is exceptionally dirty and only an organic shampoo.
let me know if you need some recipes.

yes most often eczema and psoriasis are connected to food allergies, however, the dermatologists do not have that "understanding". If you type in eczema or psoriasis they do not tell you anything that could cause it, but if you type in say wheat allergies then it will give you a list a mile long of all the things it causes, 2 of the biggies is eczema and psoriasis.

My husband suffered from psoriasis his entire life, his parents took him to a dermatologist and he just prescribed the topical medicines they have for psoriasis, which is a steroid and taken for long periods of time causes thinning of the skin and cancer. Then in 4th grade he started passing out. The doctor told them he was just growing to fast and would outgrow it. Fast forward, if you will, to last year....on Halloween morning my husband started passing out and couldn't stop. I had to rush him to the ER, they put him in the ICU because they could not stop him from passing out. Once out of the ICU he broke out in the worst imaginable psoriasis, he was covered from head to toe. We went to every specialist and they gave him their own type of treatment or did nothing. I happened upon a website that talked about how to cure psoriasis and eczema the natural way. It was to take all the food allergens out of his diet. Within 1 week 75% of the psoriasis was gone, we decided to test him and found out he was allergic to wheat, cows milk and egg whites. We only leave the wheat out and he does not struggle with any form of psoriasis or eczema and has not passed out since.

go to www.wheat-free.org and it will outline all the symptoms for wheat and gluten allergies.

Hi--
Both my young boys (6 and 2) and my husband have allergies--after my oldest almost having liver failure due to food allergies, I've become somewhat of an expert on it. Eczema IS an allergy to something. Often food, but it can also be environmental. When my oldest was a baby he had eczema everywhere. The pediatrician told me that he had red hair and therefore would get skin rashes and also have asthma (by the way, asthma is almost always a food allergy). I went the natural route (like your Hubby) and he has no rashes, no asthma, no nothing. We have to make sure he doesn't eat the things he's allergic to. Eczema is typically because the body cannot detoxify itself completely so it dumps toxins out of the skin. The best treatment is typically borage or evening primrose oil, as well as getting essential fatty acids in the diet.
To alleviate dairy you have to make sure you take out anything with whey or casein as well (it is in lots of foods). Both my children are off gluten and dairy and I've learned how to make it work very easily. If you would like some tips on that I'm happy to help! Also, hypoallergenic products are not necessarily non-toxic. The skin absorbs anything you put on it in about 7 seconds. If the products say "do not ingest" then you should also not use it on your skin. My best friend is a biochemist who does toxicology research for a living. If you would like suggestions on TRULY non-toxic products to use in the house I can also supply those. (Or if you are on facebook you can check out Millions For TRULY natural products and New Earth Parenting).
Oh, and one more thing. The reason why prescriptions and things like cetaphyl and lubriderm help eczema is because they clog the pores of the skin (anything with mineral oil will do this). The skin can no longer dump toxins through the pores, so the rash clears up, but then the toxins remain in the body, which is worse.
Good luck!
J.-

I just spoke with a friend of mine that said she drank aloe juice to heal her eczema. In theory healing from the inside out. I had used my aloe in the past to help my husband's reflux and my Son's tummy troubles. I will now use it for my hand rash that I have had since childhood. If it worked for her why not me? If you would like to try it I purchase a terrific strawberry-kiwi flavored pure aloe juice from this site: http://www.visionary-wellness.com. Hope this helps your daughter.

L.

I've heard of many cases where eczema was related to food allergies. Two of my husbands family members get eczema in relation to eating eggs.

R.,
Besides checking for food allergies, adding omega fatty acids to the diet can help. My son's problem was cleared up by using Shaklee's baby lotion.
If you are interested in these things, let me know.
Good luck and God bless.
Victoria

We control my daughter's eczema by only bathing her once a week, with sink hair washings & sponge bath's in between. Our allergist recommends using only baby shampoo (for sensitive skin) for her hair and for washing. Also, after her bath, we use Cetaphil moisturizing cream in the TUB, not in the tube (it's thicker & works better). If she does have an outbreak, which is infrequent now, we have a prescription for Hydrocortisone cream (works much better than OTC). I don't know about a connection to food allergies because my daughter doesn't have any. Hope that helps!

Like the other moms, my son had/has eczema related to food allergies (milk, egg and tree nut). He also has asthma. If you do have to eliminate something from your diet, I think you'll see that it's not so hard once you get the hang of it. If you need some recipe suggestions or product reviews, I work with a dietitian and we write a blog that might be helpful for you. All of the reviews and recipes are free of the top 8 allergens, gluten-free and vegan. The address is www.welcomingkitchen.blogspot.com.
Good luck!

Sometimes it can be connected to food allergies and sometimes not. It can also be a combination of things. I think food allergies is the most common cause among children. It could also be an allergy to soaps, lotions or an immune system problem. Good luck!

Absolute yes,
My baby had eczema pretty much since she born, we tried many creams and some work for a while other didn't work at all.
We already knew she was allergic to milk because she would vomit her milk but it was until we went to the allergist that we found out she was allergic to other foods and even the feathers of my pillows.
Once we stop giving her this foods and put away the pillows we saw an amazing change.
She still get some dry patches on her knees here and there but nothing like the ooze in her cheeks and the back of her knees.
I will really recomend you to bring your baby to an allergist to check her out.
Be aware that it wasn't a fun experience as they have to pinch them and you have to keep them still, but if I hadn't bring my baby I would stay giving her those products and the creams can only go so far.
Btw, we went a couple months ago and she is not longer allergic to milk, we haven't use the creams since long (maybe once in a moth or less for the knees).
If you have any questions about the test feel free to ask.
Take care.

I am happy to see your question posted. My 4-year-old had eczema this past winter and the doc said the only way to get rid of it was to use an antibiotic (it looked infected) and use a steroid cream. My husband and I opted to NOT use those things. Instead we applied primrose oil, geranium oil, lavender oil and Vanicream lotion (found at Wal-greens) every day. We also cut out all dairy and wheat. We increased his fish oil take significantly and we now use a liquid fish oil and he has a teaspoon every day. Finally, we made sure he had 20 minutes of sun every day and we use an all natural bath wash and only wash him every couple of days. With this schedule his eczema is 100% gone! The biggest factor was the diet for sure. If we were lax about the dairy and wheat we would still see a flair-up. We are now slowly reintroducing wheat and so far so good. His body seemed to go through a period of extreme sensitivity and hopefully he is overcoming that now. All the best for your daughter!

My son does have a lot of food allergies and we've been told that his eczema is likely related. However, it can also be caused by environmental allergies and all kinds of other things. We completely avoid all foods that my son is allergic to, but he still has eczema breakouts.

Dermatology is a very difficult field because a lot of times, the answer is "use steroid creams" even though it's really hard to figure out the actual cause of the problem.

Are you using a laundry detergent that is free of all dyes and fragrances? that could be another cause.

HI R.,

Eczema is systemic so it always comes from the inside out. If your little one is eating properly (no processed or fast foods) then for some reason the nutrition she is getting is not absorbing. Even if she is eating well now and didn't in the past there could be some lingering problems. There are ways to help that. The household products never cause it, but they can exacerbate it. I use a product called Renew Intensive Skin Therapy on my Dad and his eczema and psoriasis is completely gone. His nutrition is as good as it can be being on a feeding tube and bedridden. I also recommend this lotion as a diaper cream for little ones as well.

Food allergies should not exist unless something in her system is not working right. ALL allergies to natural things can be eliminated. If you'd like to talk it through I'd be glad to help.

Regards,

M.
www.squidoo.com/ifyourbabycouldtalk

Lots of people think there is a connection between eczema & dairy.

There is a triad of allergy, astha and eczema that often go together (but can be individual too). My suggestion would to find a pediatric allergist who will either do a skin test or blood test (or both) for foods and environmentals on your kiddo. My son had a milk and egg allergy (when he was 6 months old) and so I eliminated both in my diet and his for six months and then retested him and he had already outgrown it(but keep in mind that both tests are not 100% accurate because though my son tested negative to milk allergy on skin test-because he still gets an allergic reaction (immediate eczema) when he drinks/eats it, he is still considered allergic to it).

For his eczema, we give our son a bath every couple of days and then right after, slather him in Eucerin or Cetaphil-something thick, oil-based and that seems to help too (he also loves "shaving" with daddy and because my DH used sensitive skin stuff with moisturizer, my son's skin is getting softer and smoother...might work for your daughter too depending on where her eczema is). Like you said, use hypoallergenic things and consider stop using fabric softener as that is a big allergic causer.

If you have a suspicion that it might be food-caused or you have a family history of allergies, keep a food diary with any allergy symptoms (for example, within minutes of having milk, my son's cheeks turn bright red and gets horrible eczema and within a few hours, he gets horrible diarrhea) for a few weeks proceeding the appt with the allergist. The skin test sounds bad, but it really isn't-I have had my son and myself tested that way-but the information you get, though inconvenient to remove it from the diet, is well worth it! If you have any other concerns or questions about allergy testing, just write me and I can give you greater details!

It could be a food or other type of allergy but it is hard to avoid the trigger if you don't know what is causing it. There is a company that offers safe alternatives to your household products which can help w/ allergies. That same company has a product line called Renew which helps with eczema and other skin sensitivities. If you would like more information, please contact me, I would be happy to help.

My 8 year old daughter has had excema since she was born. I have struggled with it her whole life with different doctors and specialists even taking her to a dermatologist in the Sun Valley ( Idaho) area. She has scars on the tops of her feet, ankles front and back, and behind her knees. We still continue to have flare ups where she scratches until she bleeds and we have decided she will have this her entire life. My sister was the same way. With both my sister and my daughter asthma went hand in hand with this so watch for that. One of the best things for her we found was natural hot springs. I am not sure if you have any near you but after we take her to one of the many in our are her skin looks AMAZING! There must be something in the natural minerals in the water. Do not put the prescription meds on her face and limit where you put them on her body because of the steroids in them. As you will find they burn your baby when applied and sometimes not worth the fight to make her put it on. My daughter always cried and said "ok I will stop itching Mama just please don't put that on me". It would break my heart, and sometimes you knew as a mother that it had to be done. Blowing on the affected area always helped when applying the meds.. Try applying Cetophyl lotion on a daily basis to keep the skin hydrated and eliminate the rx meds being needed as often. Lubiderm works well too and they are both over the counter. Hydrocortisone cream is also over the counter and works wonders but again it will burn a little. Make sure the prescriptions are a cream and not an ointment as the ointment just traps the heat in and makes the skin even more irritated. Like I said my daughter is going on 8 years old so if you have any questions you can email me ____@____.com, and I am not a doctor but happy to answer any questions you may have. Good Luck!