What to expect from dermatologist?

[Jessviola]

We have an appt for next tuesday to see a dermatologist about ds's eczema. It's all over his body and he's constantly trying to scratch/rub it. I've already eliminated dairy, eggs, and chocolate for 4 weeks and then 1 week ago added wheat, soy, peanuts, citrus, corn, caffeine, and alcohol. It only seems to be spreading despite all this. We're pretty desperate to find out what's causing this so we can help him feel better.

My question is for those of you that have BTDT and know what happens at appts like this and what to expect, what to watch out for, different types of tests they might suggest and just your general experiences since I really have no clue what to expect.

Thanks!

[Kashel]

Hi Jess

I don't have any advice for you on the dermo - but I just wanted to say that with food allergies and intolerances it can take up to 6 weeks to see dietary success! I know that seems like a long time, but with dairy for example, it takes 6 weeks for the proteins to get out of the system.

So while the new diet may herald results, you may just have to wait a little bit longer to see them.

My son suffers from reflux and it wasn't until 3 weeks into a strict elimination diet that I saw concrete improvements.... and that was when I cut out rice :-(

I notice that you have not cut out gluten - this is a major allergent, especially in small children. It may be that the wheat that you have cut out is not enough....

In any case, you should probably keep going on the diet for a bit longer to see if you gets results... It's hard work, but worth it if you can get answers!!

Good luck with your appointment.

[Jessviola]

i think we're starting to see a tiny bit of improvement. he's still really itchy though. i thought i'd cut out gluten, but then saw a little note on the rice milk saying there may be trace amounts. this is all so frustrating

[JaneS]

A lot of dermatologists would not be experienced with food allergies causing it...(even though there are studies back to the 80's showing the top 8 allergens as causes). Most usually only px steriods or Elidel/Protopic which are pretty dangerous drugs IMO. I hope you get a good one! Immunologist/allergists tend to do the skin/blood tests for allergies.

In our case it was yeast causing leaky gut which was laughed at by mainstream drs.

How old is your little one with eczema?

[Jessviola]

ds will be 5 months on friday. i hope she doesn't just prescribe something, i'm really hoping to get an allergy test so we can have a better idea as to what to eliminate/avoid. i feel so deprived and after almost 5 weeks we've seen very little improvement and what we do see i think is from my diligence in not letting him scratch/rub himself. i can tell the itch is still driving him crazy last night was really rough. i had to hold his hands pretty much all night. really i don't care so much if i have to eliminate everything, i just want to know that it's helping.

[L.J.]

My youngest had TERRIBLE eczema at that age and it totally covered his body. I used to put socks on his hands so he couldn't scratch. It was very frustrating.

Are you breastfeeding? If you are, you need to be completely avoiding all those things as well. And some of those things will still be in your breastmilk for a few days after you've eaten it.

Eczema is a problem that is deeper than the skin. It comes from the body's inability to get rid of waste the "normal" route, so it uses it's last method of erupting in the skin. The problem with seeing a dermatologist is that they only look at the skin. The problem is deeper within the body. And anything you put on the skin like steroids etc. will just push all those toxins back into your child's body and it will either have to find another method to get rid of it. (Quite often kids will end up with asthma as a means to get rid of the toxins.)

Acidophilous can really be helpful as are essential fatty acids. At that age, I was giving my son small amounts of acidophilous on my finger to help and small bits of oil.

We have also recently found that calendula cream really works well to keep my sons skin hydrated. It really stings him, though if his skin is broken or excessively dry. We've worked to get rid of allergies with NAET and we've also done a therapy that pulls toxins out of his body. I know what foods to avoid and for the most part, we finally have it reduced to just a small patch here and there.

I have no idea what the dermatologist will do, but I hope you find something that will really help your little one.

[Kashel]

Hi again

My son is 4 mths old and we (well me the BF mama!!!) are on a low natural chemicals elimination diet - it has rid him of reflux, bloating, green poos etc etc.... and a friend in my support group has had great progress with her son who has terrible ezcema...

We are avoiding salicytates and amines primarily, which are naturally occuring chemicals in certain food... the rule of thumb is that the tastier the foods the more natural chemicals... although of course you need to be a little more careful than just that!!!

You might consider thinking about going on something like this for 6-8 weeks to see if it makes a difference to your son? I am not going to say it is easy, because it isn't :-( BUT if it improves things for your son, then it is worth it - at least that is how I look at it.....

Here is some information - http://www.cs.nsw.gov.au/rpa/allergy/ and look at food intolerances info....

The problems are that 1. allergy tests at 5 mths old are unreliable at best and 2. allergies are only part of the picture - you can't test for food intolerances and these may have the same or worse effects than allergies :-(

If you want any further information pls PM me.... I would be happy to give you more info as I know just how difficult it is to deal with these issues in a young baby that is fully BF - I have nearly lost it many times!