Help me with my diet - severe eczema in baby

[remijo]

I have been referred to this forum a couple times. My LO (9 mos) has very severe eczema. It is so bad she constantly has red welts all over her and itches so that she cannot sleep more than an hour at a time. Of course she is also fussy and irritable most of the time.

I already eat a pretty restricted diet - I am a vegetarian with no dairy. I do not eat soy or wheat. So I am going to start on an elimination diet - mainly eliminating eggs, corn and nuts. But here is my sticking point. I can do without peanuts, pecans and walnuts but I eat alot of almonds in almond butter and roasted almonds. Nuts are a huge source of protein and fat for me. I read online that almonds rarely cause allergies. Have any of you had problems with almond allergies? I have already had some deficiency issues - mainly iron and b12 and I get symptoms of low protein at times. I know this is only a couple weeks and then I can add back in some of those things but... Those of you that are totally allergen free, how do you keep from getting deficient? Thanks alot.

[kjbrown92]

My DS is intolerant to almonds. And any food is a possible trigger.

You eat NO wheat or soy - not just obvious, but things like modified food starch, soy lecithin, etc.? Because even small amounts matter sometimes.

Has the baby had eczema the whole time? or once they started solids? have they started solids? is there a waxing and waning to it? or has it been pretty consistent the whole time? I'm just trying to figure out if a food journal will help you, though I pretty much think everyone should do it.

Being vegetarian and eliminating lots of foods is very difficult. There are some moms on here who've tried it, and some who've added some animal products back in because they had eliminated so many other foods.

I'd be more likely to think eggs and/or corn than almonds, personally, but again, anything CAN be an issue. I'm assuming you have legumes, and it could also be those. Or nightshades.

[remijo]

Kathy, I try really hard not to eat any processed food at all so no, I don't get any of the hidden foods. I basically eat like a raw vegan except I cook my veggies sometimes and I eat beans. So anything that has been processed or cooked during processing is not in my diet. Of course, I have been a little less diligent lately and her symptoms have really flared up. She has had eczema since she was tiny (about a month old) but it has gotten alot worse just recently. Just recently I have been eating more peanuts so I think that is the main culprit but even when I wasn't eating peanuts she still had a mild case of it. She has started on solids but I have seen no correlation there.