Food Allergy Rashes

Updated on May 06, 2011
E.M. asks from Boulder, CO
8 answers

My 3 year old test positive for mild reactivity to milk, egg and cats. She has eczema but also breaks out these darker red patches kind of like hives but sometimes really big patches of it instead of small individual hives and kind of rough--these appear on her upper, inner thighs (maybe it is just eczema that is flared up?). She is also getting red cheeks. We are having a more specific allergy test in a month that will test for a bunch more things. My question is do food allergy rashes tend to break out in certain areas? The upper, inner thigh seems like a weird place for a food allergy rash. Her eczema is on her back, upper arms and behind her knees. I am keeping her off of straight milk and eggs right now but am allowing her to have food with those as ingredients like breads etc. The doc said this should be ok since she is only mildly reactive.

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So What Happened?

We do use the oatmeal baths and we already use a detergent with no dyes, scents etc. I hadn't thought of rosacea on her cheeks but that is a possibility for sure since I have it somewhat and so does my mother. I just can't figure out all of these horrible patches that keep appearing all over her!

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J.G.

answers from New York on

My 2 year old gets hive-like things mostly on her thighs/legs. I thought it was weird, too. She has a mild egg allergy, but her reactions to other things (like fever, virus...) also seem to involve a skin flare up.

The Aveeno stuff worked great for us, too.

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M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

My daughter breaks out on her cheeks in a couple different spots, but the same spots, if she gets a hold of a food she is allergic to.
If it is rice then she will have a full blown hives episode that warrants Benadryl.

Be careful, when allergic to foods. The more they eat the more they are setting the body on high alert for these foods. SO one day she will eat something offensive and BANG full scale hives and an ER visit.

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L.L.

answers from Denver on

I have food allergies and eczema and yes it shows up in weird places just like your daughter.

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A.S.

answers from San Diego on

I would bather her in Aveeno oatmeal bath for excema and use the cream as well that has helped my son. It will also help with the rashes. I think maybe you need to switch your laundry detergent. As far as her cheecks go it may be rosacea. I would ask your physician about that it could be just a teething thing or something else.

Updated

I would bather her in Aveeno oatmeal bath for excema and use the cream as well that has helped my son. It will also help with the rashes. I think maybe you need to switch your laundry detergent. As far as her cheecks go it may be rosacea. I would ask your physician about that it could be just a teething thing or something else.

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J.P.

answers from Denver on

Hi--
I know I'm going to sound frustrated because I've answered this question before for you, and because I have been through it with my own children. Your doctor is just plain wrong. If you want the rashes to go away you HAVE TO take her off the food she is allergic to--PERIOD!!!. Small amounts can cause the child to become more sensitized to the allergen. The body will have a big reaction to small amounts trying to deal with the allergen, and the rashes will not go away. Food allergy rashes show up all over the place. The inner thighs aren't surprising because that is a warm place on the body. Mildly reactive or not, she will STILL REACT!!! Especially because the milk protein takes 7 days to leave the system. You have to give her body a brake from the allergen before you can even think about reintroducing the food. Her body needs a chance to get back in balance. As long as she is ingesting the allergen her body doesn't have the chance and the rashes remain. Also, I know you've asked about ADHD before. A side effect of food allergies is ADHD like behaviors. So if you'd like those behaviors to cease you'll also need to take her off the foods. I'm not frustrated with you---I'm frustrated with your doctor. If I had listened to western medicine my child would be covered in rashes and have asthma. We went an alternative route and my kids are both healthy now. I can give you the name of the doctor if you are interested--he is in Denver.
Good luck!!!
J.

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N.M.

answers from Los Angeles on

There are breads that do not have milk or egg in them. Mostly the whole wheat or whole grain brands. Just read the ingredients on the back. Those are the ones that we give our daughter. They're really good too.

Our daughters also has a certain area where they break out due to an allergy. Our first daughter breaks out on her face and down her back. If it's really bad, it's all over. Our second child seems to break out on her cheeks only.

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C.J.

answers from Lancaster on

Have you tried goat milk? Many people who are allergic to cow's milk can drink goat milk with absolutely no problems.

As to the eggs, my suggestion would be to ONLY buy organic eggs. For years I was told I was allergic to eggs and chicken...Turns out I was actually allergic to the antibiotics and medications they GAVE the chickens. D'oh!

I second changing your laundry detergent. We use Seventh Generation (they're all natural) but at the very least, switch to something "free and clear" with no fragrance or dyes. And don't use fabric softener; more people are allergic to fabric softener than you would think.

Oatmeal baths are greatly helpful for eczema, but the commercially available kinds sometimes contain fragrances or artificial ingredients. Here's a recipe I use to make oatmeal baths for my kids: http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/healthissues/a/oatmealb...

Good luck.

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J.W.

answers from Lexington on

My food allergy hives broke out anywhere and would change places. My anywhere - I do mean that. I hated on my feet, and OMG when on private areas, UGH! I had them for 8 miserable years with the allergist not having a clue as to why (he didn't "believe in" the IgG blood testing or enetrolab's IgA testing). I was on multiple allergy & asthma meds, but when the hives got bad, Benadryl helped. Because it was systemic (from the inside) and could move positions, creams didn't do much for me.

As for how they would look - big swaths of angry dark RED with a multitude of little bumps.

The few times one of my daughters (see www.ItsNotMental.com) got hives as a toddler, they were bigger, like big round welts, that would come and go and they were sparse. Later she got different types of hives with areas with small itchy-stingy bumps.

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