our eczema update/new food allergies

[jtsmom]

dd eczema still as bad as ever, she went to an allergist on Monday, ready for this? She is allergic to:milk, eggs, peanuts, almonds, potatoes, chocolate, citrus, peas. She can eat: rice, wheat, barley, oats, carrots, bananas, apples chicken lobster and tuna.

I cut out milk, eggs and nuts out of my diet, have seen no improvement. We have started to notice that her eczema looks worse if she goes a few days without a bath. Also, the cream we've been using which seemed to be doing some good, (cetaphil) has almond oil in it. She is eating a lot more now, and it's easier for me now that I know what not to give her. This was all a shock to me, I didn't expect this many allergies, it doesn't run in our families.

I don 't know how long I can continue this restricted diet, it is very difficult, I am considering switching her over to soy milk or formula and cutting back on nursing only a few times a day. Don't think I am horrible, I just can't do this for much longer, I feel like I am hungry all the time!

So, lots of different things going on here, any thoughts, support would be helpful. Feel free to add your updates!

[Mama Katrina]

dd gets exzema from dairy, but never got bad. ds also has a lot of allergies (dairy, wheat, MSG, dill, cloves, garlic, black pepper). Having more than one is tough! Hope things get better.

[HollyBearsMom]

Sorry about your DD! It so sad to see them to red and itchy!!
I am very sympathetic as I have (and still am) living thru it!

My son had SEVERE eczema at 3 months and he was exclusively breast-fed. Changes in my diet had zero effect on him. We finally ended up at a pediatric dermatologist. After months of trying every homeopathic trick in the book it was the only thing that worked.

We were surprised as well since food allergies don’t run in DH’s family or mine. However I have since learned that any family history of asthma, pet/dander or pollen allergies are all in the same family as eczema. We do have asthma and pollen allergies in my family

He is now one and we have been extremely cautious with everything that is put in his mouth. Yes it is stressful and difficult to manage but my understanding is that the longer you put off "trigger" foods (like nuts, strawberries, egg whites etc) the better. We plan on waiting until at least 2 or 3 before introducing any of the known triggers. The only exception is egg whites. We tried those at 12 months and he is fine. Same with whole wheat

Even so today he had a severe allergic reaction. The only new foods introduced were raisins (in a homemade pumpkin muffin) and molasses (in homemade oatmeal bread). Go figure! Needless to say they are both off the list for the next few months.

Good luck to you. And while it may not be very AP to say so, don't be afraid to get medical help/advice if you need it. I am very glad we did as severe eczema can cause lasting scars and can lead to other health problems. We really thought we could take care of it ourselves and in the mean time he kept getting worse and worse. He is so much better know that I know we did the right thing!

Keep us posted on your progress!

[MamaOui]

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[jtsmom]

This is just the most terrible thing for these little ones to go through. Actually, it seems that each childs trigger is different, even doctors I have heard talk about this have said that it can be anything, food, contact (like soap, etc), or some sort of inhaled irritant. Also, weather and temperature play a part. I think my dds gets better when it is humid. The best it ever looked was when we were camping and it rained all day. This past week was really hot and humid and it looked pretty good. When the allergist told me what she was allergic to, and I cut those foods out of my diet, I am just very discouraged that it didn't seem to help any. Also, I feel hungry all the time. What's the worst is that everyone I see anytime I go out has to give me advice, and just last week, some woman yelled at me because she said dd feet were getting sunburned and she should have some sunscreen on. Well, they're always red, thank you, but she does have sunscreen on. :

[MamaOui]

????????????/

[jtsmom]

Ok, here's what my grandmother said to me- honey, aren't you going to do something about this? yes grandma, she is seeing a dermatologist, and she has a whole bunch of creams, we are working on it. Grandma says, is it a good doctor?:

Most of the time I just smile and nod, then do my own thing. What I am doing though is pretty mainstream stuff, I can imagine when using alternitive type stuff, you really get it. I just wish everyone could understand we are doing the best we can.

Oh, yeah, and after my mother in laws last visit, she called my dh and asked him if dd could possibly have scabies. : :

[T. Elena]

Both my son (2.5) and nephew (1 year) had eczema, and fortunately both have mostly grown out of it. My son now has a serious food allergy to fish, but that's another story.

My nephew's eczema symptoms were really bad, perhaps because he lives at high altitude in Colorado where it is very, very dry. Sister's conventional doc recommended long daily baths with no soap or other potions, then immediately after the bath (before the kid is totally dry), grease him completely with Aquaphor. (Aquaphor is a vaseline-like product that simply helps hold in the moisture; I'm sure you could find a natural product that would be hypoallergenic and would also do the trick.) The re-hydrating daily baths worked wonders, and the kid really enjoyed them too.

Good luck!