Diaper rash making me think food allergies?

[treeoflife3]

I've been struggling for months now trying to clear up a rash on my daughter and can't seem to find a cause. It comes and goes (although never completely clears up) and doing a food diary, I can't find anything that can be causing it routinely.

At one point, at its worst, her rash created small sores (like little ulers or boils but after they have popped/drained and are starting to heal. never closed and filled with anything I guess?) with one in particular that WOULD NOT GO AWAY.

Our doctor had her tested for bacteria and fungus. It came back with nothing. It isn't yeast. We also had her blood tested and the only thing that came back was very minor elevated liver and kidney levels. We see a specialist for that in a couple weeks but as far as I can tell, that is unrelated to the rash and just coincidence that we found it. Doctor thinks the numbers aren't a concern but feels seeing a specialist is the only smart thing to do in case we just stumbled on something early.

Currently, the sores are finally gone (other than purplish scar looking spots) but she has a rash again. It started looking out like the sunburned red rash but now it is more speckled and uneven rather than looking all red. It is on her vulva and thighs, not her butt.

My first thought was maybe urine (not changing her enough or not washing her diapers well enough) but the couple of times that has happened, wearing a disposable with some sort of rash treatment clears it right up. This time it made it slightly better but it isn't cleared up which makes me think I'm about to enter another round of the old rash.

I read something today about salicylates and it clicked that MAYBE that is what we are dealing with. This came back after eating a few things in the 'very high' column on salicylatesensitivity.com. I've also noticed that blueberries are the only thing guaranteed to cause a rash if she eats more than just a handful of them in a day, which is also in the very high column (and her favorite food currently.)

However, the only symptom for this that I can find is the rash in her diaper area. She has nothing around her mouth or any other symptoms so I also feel like I'm just reaching for something.

Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions? Should I just go ahead and try an elimination diet? I can't find many pics on what the rash looks like and I can't find ANY pics that looked like hers at her worst with the ulcer like sores, however I have hidradenitis supperiva and if she has bad skin like me, I can assume that any rash will be worse on her. We considered that she might be a rare case of pre puberty HS but they don't seem to hurt her and don't look like my sores do so we crossed that off the list.

Should I call her doctor and push harder for food testing? I just want her bottom to be pretty and clear sometimes it seems to itch her.

ETA: when we had her tested when she had the sores, the doc RX'd an ointment that helped clear up the sores faster although not completely. They finished healing when I stopped using the cream other than the purplish little scar spots she has now.

[mamafish9]

Could totally be salicylates. They are a bucket load type reaction, so eating blueberries one day could be fine - eating them several days in a row, or other high sals foods as well, could cause the problem.

There may be other symptoms that are less obvious, like sleep disturbance or more frequent nursing or more hyper behavior.

However, it could totally just be the rash. First step would be to try taking high and very high sals foods out of both your diets, or at least significantly limiting quantity, and see if the rash clears up.

Try an Epsom salts bath and see if that helps - mag deficiency is one of the common causes of sals sensitivity, and the Epsom salts can also help the rash heal directly. The other two supps that help are molybdenum, and P5P (active form of B6 - she'll get that one through breastmilk if you take it).

[treeoflife3]

Thank you for the reply mamafish I'll get some epsom salts and give that a go. I've never bought any before and she hasn't taken a bath in months (we shower together now) so this could be interesting!

are there high mag low sal foods I can also give her too to help on that end of things?

Also, looking at some other pictures online, I realize that she MIGHT have had a rash around her mouth before. I found a mild picture ant it was dots around her mouth and she has had a couple of those dots. Not all around her mouth or anything, just a couple. I figured it was from not wiping her face well enough (sometimes she fights me like CRAZY) and since she had awful baby acne for a few months and since I have horrible skin because of my HS, I figured it was just that. hmmm

[mamafish9]

Pumpkin seeds are high mag (I grind them into flour and make cookies). But they are also high in omega 6s, which can make sals sensitivity worse, so go easy on them. Omega 3s help a lot, will she eat salmon? And if you can get some natural calm into her, or other form of oral mag (don't use mag oxide, anything else is fine), that would also be good.

Is she on any supps/vites? Chewable kids ones are always fruit flavored, and any flavor except lemon is super high sals (ditto for mint and herbs being really high). Same for you (are you still nursing?), although it's less likely yours are chewables .

[treeoflife3]

Originally Posted by mamafish9

Pumpkin seeds are high mag (I grind them into flour and make cookies). But they are also high in omega 6s, which can make sals sensitivity worse, so go easy on them. Omega 3s help a lot, will she eat salmon? And if you can get some natural calm into her, or other form of oral mag (don't use mag oxide, anything else is fine), that would also be good.

Is she on any supps/vites? Chewable kids ones are always fruit flavored, and any flavor except lemon is super high sals (ditto for mint and herbs being really high). Same for you (are you still nursing?), although it's less likely yours are chewables .

she doesn't take any supplements and I only rarely remember to take my prenatal (now brand) but yes, I am still nursing so I'm figuring I'll have to go on this diet as well as I doubt she will take well to weaning... I could use a strict diet anyway. I have serious eating issues which are totally off topic here haha.

I'm opening to adding supplements to her diet like mag though if it could potentially help. I wanted to look into some things anyway as she is definitely not getting a balanced diet (she has been refusing to eat and going to bed with tummy growling since daddy left.) I guess I'll have to either hold a multi vitamin off or look into a sal free one!

[mamafish9]

Don't worry about a multi for her - she gets most vites well through breastmilk (B's, A, D - IF you remember to take them). So the first step is to get yourself a good multi, and take it daily. Then get her on some basic trace minerals + mag. I use Thorne trace minerals (I get them at iherb.com) - about 1/4-1/3 cap a day for my son when he was still nursing. And get as much mag as you can into her without causing diarrhea (for my son, that was 200-300mg). If the trace minerals don't fly, try adding molybdenum drops for her, Allergy Research Group/Nutricology makes ones that are virtually tasteless. 2-3 a day to start.

ETA: Just looked at the NOW prenatal. It's fine, but you might try this one instead - it has better forms of folate and the active form of B6 (P5P - this can really help with sals sensitivity). The folates might help with your issues, possibly. Worth a try. If you do make the switch, ramp up slowly (e.g. take 1 cap in the morning for a few days, if that is fine, then add a second at lunch for a few days, then a third).

[treeoflife3]

oh man this is going over my head... I'm so not good at this sort of stuff. I've never dealt with supplements and no one in either of our families has any allergies. ack.

Thorne trace minerals OR Nutricology molybdenum? what is molybdenum? the first one I found googling.. thats safe for toddlers?
does brand matter at all for the mag? just make sure it isn't mag oxide? I don't need to be concerned about weird additives?

How concerned should I be about sals in a multi for me? Do they often have a lot for adults? I still have a lot left of my current prenatal.

[mamafish9]

I so know how you feel. My son suddenly started reacting to practically everything when he was 22 months old, I had no idea what was going on (that was about 18 months ago). You'll learn, trust me

The NOW prenatal is fine for sals, I checked that for you .

Molybdenum is a trace mineral that is required by the enzyme that processes salicylates (as are magnesium & P5P). If your stores get depleted, you can end up sals sensitive. For now, get the nutricology drops (I shop at iherb.com, quick and easy), they'll be easy to get your DD to take.

For mag, any form besides oxide is OK - and yes, avoid the weird additives. I use bluebonnet mag glycinate, but glycinate is the worst tasting mag, so hard to get in little ones that don't swallow capsules. Try the baths, try some unflavored natural calm, or some mag citrate (good form, and not as bad tasting). Just open capsules and mix in a little food to hide.

If adding mag & mo for your daughter doesn't make enough progress, add some P5P for yourself (your current prenatal has B6, but not the activated form, for some people, that makes a huge difference).

I read that your HS sometimes has autoimmune components, and there are some things you can do to maybe help with that (my son has autism and I have a family with tons of autoimmune issues). So once you try this stuff for your daughter, if you're interested in trying some stuff for yourself, post again .

[treeoflife3]

Thanks for looking that up! You are so helpful I'll definitely look into the mo and mag (thansk for the mag rundown too!) For now I'll probably just use my current prenatals as I don't want to spend the 16 dollars if just adding the mo and mag to kiddo's diet helps her out, I can always get it later (and I really should get in the habit of taking it first before spending the money anyway... ) or just get psp.

and if you have any ideas for my HS, that would be awesome. My mom and grandpa also have it and I have a feeling kiddo will get it eventually anyway. it has yet to skip a generation in my family. I'll take anything you got. I'm pretty good at this point now at keeping it from flaring up too badly but I always have a little something going on, which is always annoying of course. That is, if you have the time/are willing

[mamafish9]

First step would be to try supporting your methylation better - that's the way your body clears garbage and modulates your immune response. However, a warning first - getting your methylation process working better could trigger a flare.

Lots of people have genetic mutations that impact how well their methylation process works. You can use supps to help with that. The two key ones are folates & B12. What I suggest to people is to start with 200mcg each of two kinds of folate (both available on iherb from thorne) - folacal (folinic acid) and mthf folate. The capsules have more than that, so you need to open them and mix a little with food - doesn't need to be totally precise, just about 1/4 capsule of each a day.

Next piece is sublingual/liquid B12. Methyl B12 is the most easily available, and some people tolerate it very well, so start by trying that. If it makes you crazy, get some hydroxy B12 instead (I get mine at holisticheal.com, the mega drops - by far and away the best and cheapest source). Work up to 3-5000 mcg of B12 a day (take it before mid-afternoon, or it can impact sleep).

Keep an eye on your daughter when you do this as well - this all passes through breastmilk, which may cause some initial detox/reactions for her as well. Add things in slowly, and back off if you or her get reactions that are too strong (it's kind of like getting a creaky wheel moving, you'll get some squeaks and creaks before everything is rolling smoothly).

[treeoflife3]

Thank you so much!!

[treeoflife3]

Question:

how concerned do I need to be about sals on the skin? Her rash is starting to get better but I'd really like to use something to encourage it to heal faster and the skin around it is getting really dry. I know olive oil and coconut are supposed to be high sals but those are also the only things I use as moisturizers and all the natural rash creams seem to have one of them. I don't want to make things WORSE, but I'd really like to try and make things better.

I am pleased though that there is a noticable difference after each epsom salt bath! Makes me happy

[mamafish9]

Great, glad it's getting better. Absolutely don't put sals on her skin right now, you can absorb through your skin. Can you find some palm oil, that's not high sals, and shea butter is OK as well, if I remember correctly. Most skin products have at least one high sals ingredient, especially natural products.

[Theloose]

You're in great hands with mama fish, but I though I'd pop in to say that ds gets a diaper rash that goes away with just the Mo drops (directly to him, I started at 4 or 5mo) And at different points in her life, dd has gotten a rashy spot thats gone away with either Mo or increasing my folate foods. Her rashes started as red spots, then peeling red spots, and I could see them getting worse to the point of sores if the folate/Mo didn't fix. Beans and lentils are really high in mag, Mo, and folate if you can do them!

[JaneS]

Originally Posted by treeoflife3

I have hidradenitis supperiva

This is because of insulin resistance and high insulin in the blood.

Do you have PCOS?
Do you have Acanthosis nigricans?

I would mega dose on magnesium and do magnesium baths for you. Magnesium deficiency is one of the chief causes of insulin resistance because it ushers the glucose into the cells.

Also 500 - 1000 mcgs GTF chromium and a low carb diet. If you eat high carb, you require more insulin to keep your blood sugar constantly down.

Do you have hypoglycemic episodes? If you have had HS for a while, I'd be concerned about diabetes type 2.

[JaneS]

We use Spectrum or 365 Whole Foods brand of palm shortening as a skin cream, works fabulously.

[treeoflife3]

Originally Posted by JaneS

This is because of insulin resistance and high insulin in the blood.

Do you have PCOS?
Do you have Acanthosis nigricans?

I would mega dose on magnesium and do magnesium baths for you. Magnesium deficiency is one of the chief causes of insulin resistance because it ushers the glucose into the cells.

Also 500 - 1000 mcgs GTF chromium and a low carb diet. If you eat high carb, you require more insulin to keep your blood sugar constantly down.

Do you have hypoglycemic episodes? If you have had HS for a while, I'd be concerned about diabetes type 2.

I don't have PCOS, acanthosis nigricans or diabetes of any type. Neither does anyone in my family and many of us have HS. I have nevern heard of HS being connected to insulin resistance and high insulin in the blood or diabetes.

Edited to add, everyone in my family started showing signs of HS at puberty, including my grandfather who also does not have diabetes, despite having HS for many many years now.

I looked it up.. the only thing I can find on HS and diabetes is that people with HS also might have diabetes. However just as I thought, the CAUSE of HS is still unknown. Hashimoto's, rheumatoid arthritis and a bunch of other things are also jointly in patients with HS as well as smokers, obesity, and acne. I can't find anything that says without question that HS is CAUSED by insulin resistance. What is your source?