Some eczema help, if you please

[Caden's Mom]

After starting the elimination diet, DS's eczema got better. Now, its getting worse and I don't know why. I'm being conscientous about reading labels and paying attention to the allergy info (I know that not all labels have the allergy info and I check the ingredients on those). DS has had no new foods. He gets a nightly bath without soap and we wash his hair once or twice a week. I'm not eating dairy, but my soy intake has increased. HOwever, he didn't test positive on the soy a week and a half ago.

He has had tomatos, as have I in the past two days. The allergist initially said he was allergic then said he wasn't allergic, so I took his second answer to be the correct one. But would a tomato allergy cause welts on his arms even the next day?

The only other possible thing it could be is DH not putting enough cream on him. I'm just really confused. We go back to the allergist in a couple weeks and I'll talk to him more than. But I thought the eczema wouldn't be present if the allergen wasn't present. Any thoughts?

[henhao]

Tomatoes are very acidic when cooked. I believe they are alkaline when raw.

When our bodies are acidic -- and we tend to have acidic diets (think cheese, milk, meat, processed foods, etc) -- then we break out in rashes.

I broke out in a rash after having tomato sauce.

[cat19]

For my kid, the eczema may have been triggered by the allergen but it didn't necessarily heal as quickly as the allergen might clear his system, KWIM? So an exposure to something he was allergic to might happen on Monday and on Wednesday his skin might still look and feel awful even if he hadn't had any more of that food. For my kid, it takes far more time for his skin to heal than it does for me to stop feeding him something.

Which tests led to the allergic/not allergic flip flop by your allergist? My kid did have a false positive skin test, but he's also had false negative blood tests; our allergist always says that no matter what the test result says, if the kid reacts, he/she's allergic.

I'd think your best bet is to add lots more cream, wait a week or two for healing, and then, if you want, trial tomatoes again--but carefully, without changing anything else in the environment (insofar as you can--it's hard to keep everything else the same).

[mimim]

When I cut out dairy, my dd's eczema got better - it almost went completely away for several months. Then it started coming back worse than ever.

We're off of gluten, pineapple, peanuts, tomatoes, and eggs now too and her skin is awesome again. You can see faint silvery patches if you look carefully, but no flaking, itching, or redness. Her poop is perfect as well.

I'd bet you have more foods you need to eliminate

Of course, it is possible you are exposing him to his allergens without realizing it too. Have you checked labels on everything? Lotions, soaps, cleaning supplies, your makeup, etc?

Are you doing probiotics or EFAs at all? I'd find a good dairy free infants probiotic for him and start taking evening primrose oil if you haven't yet to start some healing.

[Caden's Mom]

Can you tell me more about the evening primrose? Isn't it used for menopause? Would that mess up his hormones? Where can I get it and how do I administer it?

I do have a probiotic, but I'm very lax about giving it to him. I need to get better about it, b/c I do suspect a leaky gut.

[mimim]

Originally Posted by Caden's Mom

Can you tell me more about the evening primrose? Isn't it used for menopause? Would that mess up his hormones? Where can I get it and how do I administer it?

I do have a probiotic, but I'm very lax about giving it to him. I need to get better about it, b/c I do suspect a leaky gut.

EPO is very high in GLA, an omega fatty acid that is often lacking from our diets. It is considered to help regulate hormones, not enhance them artificially. A broad range of omegas are crucial to skin, digestive, and neurological health. If you do a google search you'll get tons of info.

You buy it in capsules at many stores. I get mine at Trader Joe's, but I've even seen it at CVS, etc. My dd likes to chew up the caps, but if you take a healthy dose it will be transferred in your milk. I take about 4500 mg a day and DD takes 1000mg.

[Caden's Mom]

Thanks Molly! If I took the dose that you do, do you think it would be enough for DS to get? I don't think he's ready to take a capsule and the internet research I did said that capsule form is the most recommneded.