Pregnancy & Eczema

[lunamegn]

I'm dealing with this right now and it's horrible. I'm trying to eliminate dairy and now I'm suspecting wheat might also be a culprit. So I have a few questions:
- Will is get worse before it gets better? Like, I haven't eaten dairy for a few days and last night I was so itchy. But maybe it's the bread I ate yesterday? It's the Ezekiel Seseame sprouted grain bread.
- Will it take 5-6 weeks before I notice a difference in my itchiness and eczema?
- Has anyone used the baby eczema products on adults and seen relief?
- What's your favorite product to help alleviate itchiness?
- Has anyone dealt with this while pregnant and then their baby had the same allergies?

Thanks!

[Sugre]

I suffer from dry skin and I have been using creams from Elave. They have a website are you can get the products online.

[greencat]

I would start taking dairy free probiotics now, but start slowly. If you suspect dairy, you may want to try switching to goat's milk/cheese. Better yet, if you can make your own yogurt from goat's milk. If you suspect 'bread,' you may be sensitive to various things, like gluten, yeast, sugar, etc. It could take up to 6mo. or so for all the gluten/wheat to leave your sys. My DD's change was obvious after 6weeks of eliminating the wheat.

I tried various lotions, but nothing really worked until her diet had changed. When it was so red and mad, and itchy, I put cold (almost frozen) compress with rose and lavender, chamomile with a bit of tea tree (since she had scratched her skin open.)

[mrsalf97]

I'm usually vegan and gluten free but have been eating dairy this pregnancy and now I have eczema too. If I can help you with food ideas, lmk.

[lunamegn]

Thank you for the responses! I made an appointment with an acupuncturist for tomorrow and I'm definetly eliminating dairy and wheat for right now. I'm hoping that it's dairy because like you mentioned, greencat, wheat takes longer to leave the system. My husband went to see a naturopath a while back and she gave him a book on different dietary things and one of them was an eczema juice (along with allergy and dermatitis and many many others) which was 10oz of carrot and 6 oz of spinach. I'm also taking a omega 3,6.9 supplement. We have probiotics, but unfortunately they have dairy. I'm also drinking 8 oz of water with about 18-36 drops of chlorophyll. Right now I'm basically trying to keep the itching at bay while I wait the two or so weeks to see if it is a dairy allergy. Ugh. I really wish I didn't have to worry about this - I'm hoping that my eczema won't translant to the baby having mutiple food allergies. No fun. Thank you for all the replies, though, if anyone has any other suggestions or helpful hints, I'm all for them.

Shannon, I'd be interested in some recipes. I have some vegan cookbooks and I was doing a raw diet before i found out I was pregnant.

~Meghan~

[greencat]

Originally Posted by mrsalf97

I'm usually vegan and gluten free but have been eating dairy this pregnancy and now I have eczema too. If I can help you with food ideas, lmk.

It must be very tough to be a vegan and gluten free while you are expecting. I did not eat dairy while I was pregnant, but I would have eaten the home made, 24hr. cultured goat yogurt if I knew what I know now. The only dairy I eat now is the yogurt.

There are ways to increase your value of your foods: Eat organically grown veg and fruits which will contain more nutrients and is also better for your digestion. Drink filtered or mineral water. I use filtered water for cooking and drink mineral water. Switch to olive and/or coconut oil and ditch the hydrogenated oil. (Cultured) butter is also good. Bone broth is also a good way to get minerals (go to 'traditional food' threads), although butter and broth may not apply to you. Especially if you are vegan, I would start culturing veggies. You need B12. Juicing is also excellent way of getting vit and enzymes. Eating a lot of green veggies with flaxseed oil is also good.

I use almond flour to make breads and muffins. The breads contain eggs, but you may be able to substitute. The recipes are found at www.pecanbread.com

I wish you a healthy pregnancy and safe delivery to both of you

[isaoma]

lunamegn -

I had the WORST allergic reaction while 7 weeks pregnant (turned into hives on 80% of my body - joints, eyes, throat were inflamed). I wonder the same thing too about whether my 8 month old dd will get allergies b/c of me. If I knew then what I know now, I would have given her a high quality probiotic from the beginning. There is also a mothering article that talks about taking probiotics while pregnant will decrease the likelihood of babes getting eczema.

Anyway, good luck with the acupunturists...

[lunamegn]

Thanks isaoma, I actually saw that article and I've been taking probiotics off and on this whole pregnancy (and before). I was talking with a friend who has eczema (he's had it his whole life) and he said for him keeping his skin clean is key to controlling the eczema. It kind of made sense to me and I had been avoiding showering because I didn't want to make it worse. So that night after talking with him I took a nice, luke warm shower and put on some chamomile oil (which has been working nicely to cut down on itching). The next day I went to the acupuncturists and she said I have some sort of deficency in my body and to avoid hot things (like hot, spicey, or just "hot" food (ie, garlic, ginger, beets, almonds, etc). After the treatment I felt good all through that day, sletp through the night. I still haven't eaten dairy since Monday and have been avoiding wheat. Yesterday I had some veggie sushi and a little soy sauce and was feeling very itchy yesterday in the late afternoon and into the night. So I took another shower and put the oil on and was only minimally itchy. I've been taking probiotics consistently again and so far I'm feeling very good toady. I think that the soy sauce might have made me itchy. So I'm just avoiding gluten and dairy. I thought by now I'd be seeing more of a difference cuttin dairy out, but only a small one. We'll see... Thanks for all the input!

[greencat]

Most soy sauce contains wheat.

[lunamegn]

Yeah, I realized most soy sauces had wheat *after* I ate it. Oops! Live and learn.

I wanted to clarify something - this has only started since I've been pregnant.

So, I'm not sure it's a dairy allergy anymore. I haven't been eating any dairy since last Monday and for a while after the acupuncture appointment I felt like it was getting better, but then in the last two days it seems to be getting itchy and worse again. My understanding is that wheat takes a while longer to get out of your system - but I haven't been eating any wheat either and my body is still reacting like I'm eating lots of wheat and dairy again. So maybe it's other things I should try eliminating? I think I will still continue on with dairy and wheat, but now what would be the next top thing on the eczema offenders list?

This just sucks so bad. I'm so freakin itchy again. Ugh.

[mariel0419]

Hi - just wanted to let you know that I can totally empathize! I've battled eczema my whole life and during my pregnancy and after birth, it got exponentially worse.

During pregnancy I did not limit my diet, but once I had my baby I eliminated dairy, caffeine and chocolate. Did not help the eczema : ...then 4 months post partum, it was still SO bad that I finally went to an ayurvedic health practictioner and he recommended that I eliminate all "dry" foods including wheat, breads, uncooked veggies (cooked are ok), red meat, fermented food (anything with yeast), sugar, alcohol, potatoes, seafood, garlic...the list goes on and on. Basically I could eat white meat, basmati rice, olive or sesame oil and cooked veggies. I was also taking some ayurvedic herbs and use a topical oil blend. He also recommended more meditation and yoga.

After 3 months of this strict diet, I was still red and splotchy until the past couple weeks...what seemed to work? We went on vacation to Maui - crazy as it sounds, I guess I needed some stress relief combined with the high humidity and relaxing environment. While on vacation, I ate wheat and I was still ok...go figure. Back home now, I am still battling the dry skin but the red inflammation is now gone.... I am still following the strict diet, but I think I will start loosening up a little.

DS is 7 months and thankfully has no signs of eczema...we are taking it very very slow with solids just to make sure.

When it comes down to it, for me, I think stress was the biggest part of my eczema. I'm over the newborn crazy period, still not sleeping, but starting to settle into my role as "mom"... Do you feel stressed and worried about your pregnancy? I was a basket case, worrying about every little thing. My advice having BTDT, if you feel stressed, frazzled and/or un-grounded...try to remember to take a deep breath, let go of any worries and remind yourself that everything will be ok...

I wish you all the best, and send you hugs ! May you (and I) have clearer skin soon.

[USAmma]

You don't have PUPPS do you?
http://dermatology.about.com/cs/pregnancy/a/puppp.htm

[SAmama]

Soy might be an issue. It is for us. I really hope you don't have a problem, because that might limit your foods a lot.
One often needs to take huge amounts of essential fatty acids to help with eczema, especially omega 3. I would go for several grams a day (I took 6 grams of evening primrose alone at one point, and lots of fish oil on top of that). And you need saturated fats to "use" your good fats (something like that), so coconut oil or palm oil would be good to.
Also, vit A (as in from an animal source rather than betacarotene that still needs to be converted) plays a major role with skin issues as far as I understand it. I have no idea what you would do for that without animal sources. Maybe casein free ghee?
If you have issues with wheat, make sure your probiotic doesn't have a filler like maltodextrine. And taking mega doses might help.
Hope something helps. Eczema is awful.

[lunamegn]

Eczema *is* awful!! I was in such a bad place with it all when I first posted this. I've been seeing the acupuncturist for the past 3 or 4 weeks and I feel like it's helping, after my last appointment I wasn't itchy for almost a whole week and some spots are fading. I've also been taking cod liver oil and probiotics. I cut out dairy for two weeks and didn't notice a difference so I started eating it again and haven't noticed the eczema getting worse. I actually feel like it's getting better. I'm not crazy itchy anymore. It gets dry and itchy but not intensely itchy like it was before. And I'm not dreading going to sleep anymore like I was - I'm not itchy going to sleep and not wakng up in the night itching. So nice!!

I got some of this stuff called x-zema balm from Herbs from the Labirynth (sp?) that I saw recommended in another thread and i really like the stuff. It helps stop the itching and also cuts down on the redness, which was what I was looking for.

My husband is dealing with eczema as well but he's dealt with it all his life. He's been taking cod liver oil and feeling better as well as rubbing down with olive oil and german chamomile - says it's the most relief he's found from oils or anything in a long time.

USAmma ~ No, it's not PUPPPs, I was looking into that. It's definetly eczema. It started on my face and has gravitated to my forearms, elbow and knee creases.

Another thing too is that I haven't been nearly as sneezy as I was before the oils and the acupuncture - like I sneezed the other day and realized it was the first time I had sneezed in days! And I was sneezing so many times a day for a while. Maybe my eczema was excacerbated (sp?) by allergy season.

Thank you for all the concern and advice, I really appreciate it!!

[Margot Adler]

Originally Posted by greencat

I would start taking dairy free probiotics now, but start slowly. If you suspect dairy, you may want to try switching to goat's milk/cheese. Better yet, if you can make your own yogurt from goat's milk. If you suspect 'bread,' you may be sensitive to various things, like gluten, yeast, sugar, etc. It could take up to 6mo. or so for all the gluten/wheat to leave your sys. My DD's change was obvious after 6weeks of eliminating the wheat.

I tried various lotions, but nothing really worked until her diet had changed. When it was so red and mad, and itchy, I put cold (almost frozen) compress with rose and lavender, chamomile with a bit of tea tree (since she had scratched her skin open.)

sheep milk is generaly the most easily tolerated animal milk. you can try this as well. also, look for probiotics with L. reuteres, it is supposed to colonize more efficiently than the others.