healing Allergies and Eczema -Need Encouragement

[rosieb1]

Just wondering if anyone could tell me if I'm on the right track or what!  I have a 3 yr old who has had both of these conditions since infancy and I am just now attacking it through the GAPS protocol.  I have read things similar and am hoping this will help him.  But his eczema suddenly disappeared during the first month then came back even worse for the last 3 months.  It's a bit better now but does this sound like it's working?  Has anyone ever healed their child of allergies or eczema by diet and supplements?

his allergens are peanuts, eggs, dairy.

[scsigrl]

Nothing cures an allergy. Over time the immune system may get over the over reaction to allergens.  Helping the gut heal can help but it isn't going to cure it.  

Were these IgE diagnosed allergies?

[rosieb1]

most likely no.  we had a skin test, then a year later there was a blood test to measure how intense each allergy was and if it seemed like he was growing out of it.  I don't know what the tests are called.  do you mind telling me where you are getting your information that you cannot cure an allergy (heal the immune system to help it respond faster/better and end the bad reaction)?
 

[scsigrl]

You can outgrow and allergy but there is nothing in responsible medical journals that claims to cure an allergy.  You can avoid and hopeful outgrow and allergy as the immune system grows and changes.  There is work being done with "desensitization" by giving small doses of an allergen under a Dr's supervision to eventually build up a tolerance.

Healing the gut is a great thing.  There are a lot of things that that helps but to say "cure" is a strong statement.

[rosieb1]

wow thanks for the fast response.  I know it's hard to get resources together on the spur of the minute, but I like to do research myself and I just haven't read this yet (therefore this thread was started).  I'd really like the name of your sources so I can read myself.

[scsigrl]

I don't have sources. I google a lot and read a lot.  I've been on this road for 4+ years now and I can't tell you exactly where I have read things because it all blends together after a while.  I would site them for you if I could but it's just a bunch of information gained over time.  Sorry.

(I have a small one who nurses a lot, I spend much time one handed typing while nursing ;) )

[rosieb1]

understood.  thanks for your input!

[LoveRealFood]

There is a difference between "true allergies", which are IgE mediated and those that are termed "sensitivities", which are typically IgG mediated. It is commonly said in nutrition and medical circles that IgE allergies are not "curable" but that sensitivities are. An allergy will have a pretty immediate reaction whereas sensitivities can take up to 7 days to show a reaction and reactions can be as vague as mood differences. This makes sensitivities hard to pinpoint. 

Does your child have allergies or sensitivities? I have definitely worked with people who "cured" themselves of sensitivities. I myself had a sensitivity to light meat chicken (oddly) and I have eliminated it. And as scsigrl noted, children often outgrow allergies. I also know of a practitioner here who has cured a child of a peanut allergy (NAET: http://www.naet.com/) 

I agree that working on the gut is key. Excema and food sensitivities are related for sure. The idea is to eliminate the offending food for a month or so and then rotate those that are not big offenders. At the same time heal the gut using digestive aids such as betaine HCL, bile salts, enzymes, prebiotics and probiotics, and supplement with L-glutamine (fuel for gut lining cells), zinc, essential fatty acids among other things. And of course only whole foods, no sugar or refined grains, nutrient-dense foods such as veggies, meat, seafood/fish, and raw dairy. Those are just some basics. It is more complicated of course because you will need to find out your child's particular needs in terms of macronutrients as well as digestive needs. Some GAPS practices are great such as the bone broth. But some people find that no-grain thing is not for them. The thing is that we are all different. There is no one right way of eating for everyone. 

If you want to find research about allergies/excema/sensitivities go to http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

In the first entry bar at the top you can enter something like: allergies AND excema  or food sensitivities AND excema AND cures, 

you can try different combinations. Then you can also hit the "Limits" button and look to narrow your search. I usually check: Clinical Trials, Meta-Analysis, Randomized Controlled Trials, Humans, and then you can limit it by age range as well.  It's pretty cool once you get the hang of it.

Jill 

[scsigrl]

Originally Posted by LoveRealFood  I also know of a practitioner here who has cured a child of a peanut allergy (NAET: http://www.naet.com/) 

I would love to see the documentation that an IgE allergy was cured with this method.

[LoveRealFood]

There is no documentation. She is a personal friend and she told me. I am skeptical myself but I can't imagine she would lie. Her husband is a doctor and he was there when she told me and he said it was amazing....even knowing this, I still don't go to see her...I can't quite wrap my head around this....but hey, if works for some people, why not?

[scsigrl]

Originally Posted by LoveRealFood 

There is no documentation. She is a personal friend and she told me. I am skeptical myself but I can't imagine she would lie. Her husband is a doctor and he was there when she told me and he said it was amazing....even knowing this, I still don't go to see her...I can't quite wrap my head around this....but hey, if works for some people, why not?

It can also kill people.  I know many modern medical things can, don't get me wrong.  I have never heard/see a case where IgE levels were drawn before and after to see if there really is any difference.  I also have a issue with a Dr. sending someone off to "try" an allergen with no idea if it did "work".  Seems really irresponsible to me.

[LoveRealFood]

Yes, well I'm sure there are lots of things out there that can kill people. I don't see the harm in introducing someone to a possibly new idea. We are all thinking adults here I believe. I'm not a supporter of NAET per se and have never used it. However, I have obviously heard that it works for some people. My friend here has treated thousands of people. She hasn't killed anyone. And she is very responsible, I'm sure each person is tested. I can't speak about other practitioners and I didn't.

This is a forum for sharing ideas and information. We all naturally assume that the reader will do her own research.

[scsigrl]

I also know it is a forum for parent who are at the end of her/his rope and may look for something, anything and may jump the gun into something that has no proven success rate.  There is no scientific proof that this works (re testing prior/post treatment) for IgE allergies. Telling an IgE allergic patient to try an allergen after holding a vile of something is irresponsible.

[LoveRealFood]

I spend a lot of time looking at research and I'll tell you that probably 90% or more of the stuff that is recommended on this site or any other site frequented by the alternative community has no scientific proof. If we were limited to recommending only stuff that is scientifically "proven" we wouldn't be talking as much as we do. 

I think this topic is being beaten a little too much. I referred the OP to an idea that may or may not work. If she is interested she can check it out. I think your idea of protecting people from possible harm is noble but could be presented in a better way. Rather than accusing people of murder how about just saying something like, "hey, NAET is not a scientifically proven method and could cause harm". 

[scsigrl]

Originally Posted by LoveRealFood 
Rather than accusing people of murder how about just saying something like, "hey, NAET is not a scientifically proven method and could cause harm". 

Murder?  Your word, not mine.  

Irresponsible practice of "medicine" yes.  I know all parents of kids with allergies wish there were a cure.  The simple fact is that there isn't.  *IF* there were, we would ALL be on that bandwagon.  Believe me.  I think we would all pay whatever it took to "cure" our kids. 

Do you/your child deal with IgE allergies. LoveRealFood?  If not, I am just not sure you understand how quickly a parent may jump into something like NEAT in the hopes of a "cure" without doing the research.  

[LoveRealFood]

Well the word you used is "killed". Pretty much the same thing, imo. 

I do work with clients with IgE issues but my own children are allergy-free.

I still think you are blowing this whole thing way out of proportion. 

I believe in people. And I believe in the freedom of people to learn about what is out there. Are you suggesting that people should not talk about certain modalities or anecdotes because you deem them irresponsible? Are you so offended by the thought of people having hope? This forum is filled with anecdotes and ideas that are not proven by "science". 

I did not witness the "miracle" but I trust that my friend would not lie about this. Therefore I mentioned it. It's as simple as that.  

The ironic thing is that I do not use NAET nor do I regularly refer people to my friend. But if someone was curious about different techniques out there and interested, I would refer them. 

There is way too much negative energy with this conversation so I think I'm done. 

[sbgrace]

If you did skin testing (positive) you're dealing with possible IGE/true allergies. That said, allergy tests have a pretty high false positive rate. If you didn't see reactions to those foods eating them back when I'd talk to an allergist about a food trial (except peanut...I'd likely leave that one clear).

There is some work being done (this is a major university based allergy center but the name escapes me right now and I can't find it via google either right now) with the bucket theory of allergies. The basic principal is that food allergies are more reactive if the body has a full allergy bucket. So if the child is having issues with heavy outdoor allergies the bucket is full and food allergies are more reactive/likely to develop. Eczema and asthma add to the bucket. This doctor has found that if CAP-RAST levels of allergens are low and they empty the bucket by controlling asthma, eczema, environmental allergies, etc. sometimes the child will drop a very low CAP-RAST (blood test IGE allergy) food allergy.

So my suggestion would be to work to control the eczema and reduce allergies generally to empty that bucket especially since the blood tests had low levels. A friend's son had a major issue with balsam of peru that was behind his eczema. There is a lot online about that and it should be investigated if control is poor.

I'm trying http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000M5PVAM/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00 this product with my son, Ortho Molecular - D-Hist Jr., to see if it helps him with environmental allergies.

I'd highly recommend you make sure her vitamin D levels are 50 or above. If they aren't do D3--you can do up to 2000 IU per day safely with a child of her age if I remember correctly. It's a 25 (OH) D test if you want to do a blood test to see her level.

Supplement b12--you can't over-dose on it. I'd do a basic b with active folate (Thorne Basic B is very good./I give half a capsule a day here for a child) and extra B12. Some people don't tolerate methyl well and should use hydroxy if possible.

High dose vitamin C has support for reducing allergies.

I'd highly recommend probiotics for healing and immune support. Epicore would be good and I don't think it's dairy processed. Culturelle makes a dairy free form. Klaire labs probiotics are all great and are dairy/allergen free I believe. I like Florastor (not sure it comes dairy free but I think it might) and/or Epicore along with another good one if you can like Klaire lab.

For healing you can also do optizinc form of zinc. I would not do glutamine myself as it's an excitotoxin. For me the healing gut effects aren't worth the potential brain effects.

We do digestive enzymes here--Houston Brand.

As far as cures I think we'll get there someday! They're doing some exciting work on desensitizing. There are some up and coming Chinese herbal things (testing in clinical trials in the US right now I believe) that look extremely promising.

[Gingercat]

Your son had a healing crisis (or die-off). Actually it is pretty much expected to have such a healing crisis in about three months after starting the GAPS diet.

It will definitely get better if you stick with the diet.

Perhaps you'd like to check the GAPS yahoo group, it is a great discussion forum about restoring health with the GAPS diet.

It is too easy to get disoriented here and it'd be a pity not to continue your efforts with GAPS.

Originally Posted by rosieb1 

Just wondering if anyone could tell me if I'm on the right track or what!  I have a 3 yr old who has had both of these conditions since infancy and I am just now attacking it through the GAPS protocol.  I have read things similar and am hoping this will help him.  But his eczema suddenly disappeared during the first month then came back even worse for the last 3 months.  It's a bit better now but does this sound like it's working?  Has anyone ever healed their child of allergies or eczema by diet and supplements?

his allergens are peanuts, eggs, dairy.