Eczema and allergies?

[marieangela]

My 11 month old has eczema on her outer thighs and the back of her neck. I would like to figure out if it has to do with allergies, but don't really know where to start. It seems fairly mild, as I can't see much a lot of the time. But, lately she has been scratching at her legs every time I change her diaper. I have tried a couple of different creams, but they haven't helped. My pediatrician recommended a steroid cream, but I'd like to hold off on that, if I can help in another way. Would it more likely be a reaction to clothing (material, detergent) or food that would tend to lead to her kind of eczema?

[balancedmama]

Eczema and allergies are strongly linked, but just because your baby has eczema does not mean that there is an allergy. I think eggs are the most common food allergy to trigger eczema. For DS, eczema is triggered by eggs and soy. If i recall correctly, milk, wheat, and peanuts are also common eczema triggers.

You might consider examining some of the most common food allergens and think back to when the eczema began. For me it was pretty obvious. I even (looking back) remembered that DS's eczema began during a period of time when DH was making me egg sandwiches for breakfast a few days a week. DS had a weeping rash that we could not identify for weeks.

We use ShiKai Children's Lotion 2x a day now with spot treatments of an eczema salve. It is tricky for us, because so many lotions have soy.