Need some help please...

[annamolly]

My second daughter, Molly, broke out with eczema last November and it has slowly covered her whole body. She will be eight months old the beginning of Feb. She has been exclusively bf since birth, but I realize now that I started solids too early and of course went with the cereals first. She tested negative to 38 common food allergens on her RAST, and yesterday negative again to 8 skin prick tests. No allergies came up-she did have a very slight reaction to eggs, but not enough to even qualify as allergic. I do not use soap, lotion, laundry detergent or anything with her and her pediatrician feels it is not a contact allergy given that it covers her. It is not extremely red or weepy except a few spots. I keep her lubed up with a mix of coconut oil and a little Aquaphor to make it last longer (I trialed the Aquaphor and don't think it is a problem, I know it is petroleum but her skin stays softer with it). She was c-section, and they gave me antibiotics for 2 sinus infections during pregnancy_ of course I now wish more than anything I could undo that!

So, the docs pretty much said stay away from eggs, put Cetaphil on her, here's some Zyrtek and hydracortizone and maybe we can do some more testing at 1 year of age. Not exactly what I wanted to hear, so I came here and have been glued to my laptop trying to absorb the knowledge you shared from your own struggles. I am immeasurably thankful.

I guess what I need are suggestions, my family and I have no allergies and have no experience with this-my husband has seasonal allergies and slight asthma which seem prevalent in his side of the family. I want to try probiotics since I killed my (and probably her) good bacteria with antibiotics. I have no idea what to take, will she get it through my breastmilk or do I give it to her directly. We are starting an elimination diet, but I have no clue what I am doing. I would really appreciate some ideas. Thank you in advance...

Also, I was going to eliminate some of the things from our diet that are supposed to be harder to digest like dairy, wheat, eggs, and I am not sure yet what else. Would you leave yogurt to gain the probiotic benefits? Do you know if individuals with cow's milk intolerances tolerate goat's milk? We have 2 does we hope to milk this summer and would love to feed the milk to my girls. I have been taking Fisol fish oil and thought of suspending that to see if it made a difference, does anyone recommend a substitute for omega 3's? Any suggestions welcome!

[Therese's Mommy]

For us the biggest eczema irritant is dryness. We use a warm mist humidifier (the cheap Vick's ones from the drugstore). I also bathe dd infrequently (usually about once a week under normal conditions) and use California Baby's calendula cream on her right after she is dried off. I used to use Aquaphor or Eucerin but they just weren't doing the trick because they just didn't seem to soak in. They just seemed to sit on her skin and rub off on her surroundings. The CA Baby stuff soaks right in and makes her skin SO soft and it is all natural. We have a prescription steroid cream that I may use a dab of once every 6 weeks or so (we are using the same tube that we got about 10 mos ago, we have used not even 1/3 of it). I use Charlie's Soap on all our clothes and her diapers, but I don't know if that makes much of a difference. For us, the biggest thing is skin hydration and moist air. Considering your dd's eczema flared with the onset of drier weather this might be the culprit for her as well.

hth,

Beth

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by annamolly

Also, I was going to eliminate some of the things from our diet that are supposed to be harder to digest like dairy, wheat, eggs, and I am not sure yet what else. Would you leave yogurt to gain the probiotic benefits? Do you know if individuals with cow's milk intolerances tolerate goat's milk? We have 2 does we hope to milk this summer and would love to feed the milk to my girls. I have been taking Fisol fish oil and thought of suspending that to see if it made a difference, does anyone recommend a substitute for omega 3's? Any suggestions welcome!

Very familiar story for the moms here (c/s, abx, etc.)

I would probably start with taking out dairy, soy, and eggs (and possibly gluten.) No yogurt, no goat diary, nothing. Watch for hidden sources, like deli meats (check my blog for more hidden dairy.) You can find dairy-free probiotics, or you can try food sources for probiotics- water kefir, kombucha, fermented veggies.

A cod liver oil is a great thing to take, and it might be less allergenic that a fish oil (that has lots of different fish in it.)

You also need to work on gut healing for yourself- CLO, bone broths, vitamin C, etc. There's a sticky in Health & Healing.

ETA: I forgot to say- welcome to MDC and the Allergy forum!!

[Chinese Pistache]

OP, I agree with everything CS said. I would do an Elimination Diet + Food journal. Check CS's blog or look at the resources sticky at the top of this forum. Welcome!

Originally Posted by Therese's Mommy

For us the biggest eczema irritant is dryness. We use a dry mist humidifier (the cheap Vick's ones from the drugstore). I also bathe dd infrequently (usually about once a week under normal conditions) and use California Baby's calendula cream on her right after she is dried off. I used to use Aquaphor or Eucerin but they just weren't doing the trick because they just didn't seem to soak in. They just seemed to sit on her skin and rub off on her surroundings. The CA Baby stuff soaks right in and makes her skin SO soft and it is all natural. We have a prescription steroid cream that I may use a dab of once every 6 weeks or so (we are using the same tube that we got about 10 mos ago, we have used not even 1/3 of it). I use Charlie's Soap on all our clothes and her diapers, but I don't know if that makes much of a difference. For us, the biggest thing is skin hydration and moist air. Considering your dd's eczema flared with the onset of drier weather this might be the culprit for her as well.

hth,

Beth

Yes, dry air can be an irritant to eczema, but it does not cause eczema. Eczema is an outward immune reaction to something going on in the body. thiHave you investigated the triggers in your/her diet or in your environment (pets, molds, pollens, etc.)?

[Therese's Mommy]

Originally Posted by Chinese Pistache

Yes, dry air can be an irritant to eczema, but it does not cause eczema. Eczema is an outward immune reaction to something going on in the body. thiHave you investigated the triggers in your/her diet or in your environment (pets, molds, pollens, etc.)?

I am not doubting what you say, but since I was told my dd had eczema I haven't eliminated anything other than peanuts from my diet and her eczema has totally cleared up. I don't even have to make sure that I am on top of it, that is I am not too vigilant about it. People are shocked when I say that she suffered from eczema because her skin is beautifully soft and not red at all. Is it possible that the peanuts in my diet were the main cause of her eczema? She has known allergies to peanuts, wheat, dairy, eggs, bananas, and avocados. I eliminated everything from my diet for a month and her skin didn't change at all (in fact it looked like it got worse). I added everything back in one by one and there were no flare ups, but I never added peanuts back in.

[annamolly]

Thanks for your ideas. It did dawn on me to use a humidifier and that helps her skin from cracking with dryness. We use a Air-O-Swiss and although expensive it is the best we've used-it never gets mold or mildew. (Just in case you ever need a replacement for your Vicks, Therese's Mommy they are worth the price) I will try the calendula cream, I use California Baby shampoo on my older daughter and have liked their products.
CLO has been added to my shopping list-thank you changing seasons. I have some beef bones that I can make broth from, I didn't know that was gut healing, but it makes sense know that I think about it. Your blog has been very helpful to me.
I would much prefer natural, whole fermented foods-however, I don't know the first thing about making them, so I will have to take some capsules until I educate myself in that area. Do you recommend any specific bacteria? Is my taking it enough for Molly to benefit through my breastmilk?
A food diary is a good idea for me also-I am a little overwhelmed at the restrictions of the elimination diet and it helps to write it all down.
Sorry to be so full of questions, but I have a couple more: the allergist suggested doing my own "poor man's skin tests" with food on Molly's arms. Anyone have any luck doing this?
She tested negative to cats, mold, dust-so I am thinking it is food, just not sure what since all the usual suspects were negative. Maybe a spice or food additive?
Thank you all so much-it is amazing, and scary, that mainstream medicine makes no mention of this side of treatment for allergies.

[kjbrown92]

eczema can be from a food allergy or a food intolerance, so even though you "tested" negative for food allergies, doesn't meant that those same foods are not an intolerance for her. It is probably one of the top intolerances if it doesn't come and go. Dairy, gluten, soy, egg, and corn are the top 5 food intolerances. Corn doesn't even make it on the top 8 allergen list, and it is in everything. Food journaling is great when paired with an elimination diet. My DD2's eczema trigger was corn, but there were other foods that were causing her terrible sleep issues and other things.

And there were no "food allergies" in our family either. I have mild seasonal allergies (didn't have them until college age) and DH has allergy-induced asthma. The GI specialist said that was enough to make us an atopic family: prone to food allergies, seasonal allergies, or food intolerances.

[momtob]

Hi there, your experience sounds very similar to mine with only a few differences.
I didn't take any medications during pregnancy and had a drug free (oxytocin after my water broke and 48hrs with no contractions) Vag birth.
My husband sounds the same as yours and there are no food allergies in our family.
My son started getting "eczema" at 2 months. It changed from cradle cap and crept down his face eventually going all over his body by about 4 months. We went to a homeopath (who gave us probiotic and other tinctures) and a dermatologist (who rx'd hydrocortisone 1% 2x day until it cleared up)....it never cleared up. At 6 months I had had enough. He was still strictly breastfed. I cut out dairy for 21 days with no change. Within 5 days of cutting out ALL gluten it started to clear up. Since then (he's just over a year) I have avoided all gluten and all acidic foods (tomato, berries, oranges....) and he's pretty much clear. Recently he has developed a rash under his chin again but, like before, it doesn't quite seem like eczema, more like some sort of rash. I have just contacted the naturopath again now that we know what is causing it.
For me it was helpful to cut out one thing at a time but everyone likes to do it differently. We used Glaxal base as a moisturizer though I don't know if you can get that in the states.
Good luck, I know it can be very frustrating.

[annamolly]

Thanks for all the advice.
kjbrown, I think you are right about the corn, I don't know why it didn't occur to me earlier (and it is in EVERYTHING!). She cleared up when we started our elimination diet, then I increased the amount of corn products I was eating and her eczema went crazy again. It is still there, but not flared up at all since I eliminated corn. Also on the radar are tomatoes, peas and the fish oil I was taking. Thanks for all of your info, I think we are dealing with more than one intolerance, but I know we are lucky compared to many families dealing with much more severe reactions.

momtob, I think we are kind of in the same boat. I hope to eliminate Molly's triggers and work on strengthening our immune systems. I wonder if I should periodically retest the foods to see if she reacts. Everyone keeps telling me "a lot of babies get eczema, she will outgrow it" I know they mean that to be comforting, but... I think we will try the same kind of things you did.

Yesterday I took my oldest to the dr for a lingering cough and they ordered a nebulizer with Albuterol and steroids. I am supposed to treat her every 4 hours until her cough improves. I feel weird about this, but we will do it. I started giving her CLO, a good multivitamin, and probiotics to try and strengthen her immune system. I wonder if she has some food intolerances as well, I may do some experimentation with her diet. Thanks again.

[kjbrown92]

It only takes one side of the family (my DH has allergy-induced asthma, I have very mild seasonal allergies). They pediatric GI doctor said that was enough to make our family atopic. DD1 is just seasonal allergies. DS and DD2 have both seasonal allergies and food intolerances. Now I see them everywhere in everybody (nobody listens to me though). DD1 had a lingering cough, and the doctor said allergies. We had her tested and it's dust mites and cats. We had her on Zyrtec for 2 years and modified her room -- mattress/pillow protectors, swapped out dusty heavy curtains with funky purple roman shades, all bedding is washable in hot water, and all the stuffed animals are in the closet. She doesn't take anything anymore unless we're going to a house with cats (family; what a PIA). So once their allergy "load" is lessened, it's much more manageable.

If your oldest is having an allergy "load" issue as well, depending on her age, you might just want to keep a food journal for her to see if you can see any triggers (dairy is a biggie in mucous production).

[charleysmama23]

I worked as an RN in an allergy clinic at Children's in LA for two years so I saw A LOT of atopic dermatitis, eczema. I worked with a wonderful physician who specialized in the treatment of AD and I saw him take kiddos who tested negative for food allergens, etc but looked like burn victims and heal up their skin so you'd never know they had it! He avoided the use of steroids until it was absolutely necessary as he felt it increased the risk of infection and obviously prolonged use of oral or topical steroids have consequences. So what did he do? He believed that AD was always related to allergies, we just can't always find them, so instead of trying to prevent the reaction (when he couldn't find the cause) he treated the skin like it was severely dehydrated (which is what is going on). I'd suggest seeing an allergist who knows about AD, it sounds like your lo's AD isn't too horrible, but I know how awful it an be for lo's, all that scratching, so sad.
Here is the basic regimen (it's very intense so I'd still suggest seeing an allergist and figuring out if your daughter's AD warrants this or something else):
Once or twice/day (depending on severity) bathe your daughter in warm but not hot water with a non-allergenic, all-natural, no fragrance soap and wash the skin gently.
Cover skin in aquaphor (I know this is controversial, but unfortunately with AD it just works) (you can use your oil at this step too!)
Then dress your lo in 100% cotton long sleeve top and pants that [I]have been soaked in warm water and are wet but not dripping[I] Then cover the wet clothes with something warm/dry like a little sweat suit. Have lo stay that way for 1 hour.
Take off the whole outfit and dress lo in normal clothes, and go about your day. You can do this once/day until the AD clears up and then decrease the frequency, and then increasing again when she has flares.

Like I said, it's intense, and may be more than your lo needs, since I don't know how bad her AD is, but I just thought I'd share. Good luck mama!