[Aletheia]

Hi mamas. I'm in need of some motivation. Why should I bother to look for the causes of DS' eczema? Or should I?

DS is 10 months old and mostly still breastfed. He is allergic to dairy, and I thought to wheat, though I've introduced that to him a little bit with no real reaction. Or so I think.

He has had really obvious but not painful looking eczema behind both knees since ~2 months old. He also tends to get red in the groin, and scratches there a lot. It is not diaper rash, but I'm not sure if it is eczema. It used to be a nasty, nasty yeast rash that did go away on dairy-free probiotics. The same is true of his neck folds. Still red, still itchy, but not really looking like yeast anymore.

He used to be covered in really dry, itchy skin and acne, both of which subsided when I did the total elimination diet and figured out bath products that work for him.
But the itchy knees, groin, and neck remain.

Should I still be trying to find their cause? Why? It's so exhausting. But tonight I observed (one of?) the reasons I think DS is such a crappy sleeper. He was itching his groin with his hands and the backs of his knees with his little toes.

How awful. I grew up with eczema (which went away when I went off dairy!) so I know how uncomfortable it can be.

I've resorted to prescription strength hydrocortisone, which I know can exacerbate a yeast problem. I'm tempted to just stop there, though. I have no idea what else to try, and it's not like he is covered in it. Is that bad?

: I'm also not getting much, okay, any more support from my husband on the allergy front. Every time I say "maybe he is allergic to X" he nearly rolls his eyes. Thus I am counting on the MDC ladies to give me the much needed support on this front.

 

[Maggi315]

Well, in my experience, it is worth it because if they have eczema that young, it continues to get worse and other problems can develop like asthma and environmental allergies.

but I totally agree that it is exhausting and sometimes you just can't seem to pinpoint it, I feel like in my very allergic household, we are always trying something new, staying clear of something, investigating a new rash, etc.

I would say take it slowly, one thing at a time, don't rush out and do painful tests if you can avoid it, and be easy on yourself when you mess up and forget what you are trying to avoid!!!

 

[Panserbjorne]

I think so. An allergy, no matter how mild is taxing on the immune system. You don't need him to develop more severe autoimmune conditions down the road. I would stop stressing his little system if I could.

I know it's frustrating, but I am interested in giving my kids the best possible start in life, not just doing what is most convenient at the time. It can be a struggle-but they are totally worth it. Good luck, mama! You are very loving to be considering this. He's a lucky little boy.

 

[goomjiji]

I know those eye rolls too well. I got them from pretty much the whole family until I took ds to an allergist and then had a dr. to back up my claims--insert my own eye roll and the finger to the family!

The long term implications can be pretty serious, so it's worth sorting it out now. I know it's hard. I know it's exhausting. But trust me. Once you've got it sorted out, you're life is going to be SOOOOO much easier.

 

[Aletheia]

Ah. You guys are like... having my own cheerleadding squad.

Thanks. Okay, it's back to the drawing board. Grr.

 

[my3peanuts]

My dd was just tested for allergies at 2.5 and came back that she's allergic to dairy. Up until a couple months ago she had no symptoms other than frequent ear infections. Even in the last couple months her only sign was once in a while she'd break out in a slight rash on her face. So now we're keeping all dairy from her to increase her chances of outgrowing it, even though she's not showing any signs of the allergy regularly.

 

[cat19]

My younger son started with eczema.

We pretty much eliminated it with identifying and eliminating his allergens (egg dairy peanut) from my diet when he was five months old and then he had an anaphylactic episode to cross-contamination at 11 months old.

Because we knew he had a peanut allergy, we had an epi-pen jr on hand.

Because we have a great allergist, we caught his environmental allergies early (at 20 months old) and are actively working to prevent him from getting the asthma he'd begun to develop. Our otherwise wonderful ped did NOT recognize the early symptoms; our allergist did.

My own sense is that kids with "mild" symptoms to the indirect exposure to fairly broken-down proteins in breastmilk are likely to react more than mildly to direct exposure through ingestion. Kids who continue to be exposed to their allergens throughout early childhood miss the best chance to have their systems "forget" that they were reacting to that substance. Kids with ongoing exposure are unlikely to outgrow their allergies. With their immune system already on the attack all the time, they're more likely to develop new allergies and untreated or undertreated allergies can lead to asthma.

I know that it's really hard and frustrating to figure out the causes. Our lifeline in doing that and then figuring out how to deal with it was the forums at http://kidswithfoodallergies.org.

My motivation has been that if he's allergic now, we're eventually going to have to figure them out and eliminate them--because reactions generally get more serious; they get better through early elimination and avoidance, and even then only if you're lucky.

And with my older son, once we figured out his environmental allergies and medicated correctly for them, he no longer had the perpetual runny nose he'd had throughout his toddlerhood.

I'd rather my peanut-dairy-egg allergic son learns NOW how he needs to be safe so that I'm not trying to teach a three year old that his diet needs changing, or that he can't snitch food from his cousin's plate. He has never gotten attached to real ice cream; he doesn't miss it. He knows eggs as fun plastic easter toys, not as things to eat. He doesn't feel sorry for himself; he has foods he loves and none of them are bad for him; he isn't giving up anything.

I am, but I'm the grownup. That's my job. And when he weans, I'll go back to the foods I miss.

Luck--it's worth doing, but it's not easy.

 

[Aletheia]

cat19- Wow, this is exactly the response I was looking for to help my husband support this decision. Thanks. Do you mind if I actually print it and share it both with him and my doc? I'd like to get a referral to an allergist, I think.

 

[lauriem33]

Just chiming in a little late here, but you mentioned that you were concerned about wheat but introduced it with no real reaction you thought. I've had eczema on and off since I was a teenager and only recently (at 33) got allergy tested (spt). I had a few eczema patches for the past several months before testing and although nothing came up in the food list, two days later my eczema flared really bad and I developed some new patches as well. This made me think that I must have a delayed reaction to something and the first thing I tried was wheat. My eczema is now totally gone after just a few weeks off wheat.

So even though he might not react immediately or obviously to wheat, that and dairy are the two biggest offenders in eczema, and it might be worth it to try and remove both from his diet and yours since your bfing. And know that even if you have him tested, the results are not always that accurate. I'm sure my allergist would say I'm not allergic to wheat but if eliminating it cleared up my eczema when no creams have ever helped, what should I call it?

 

[cat19]

It's fine with me if you print and use my response with your dr(s); glad to think it helped.

And one more thought: I have read that new thinking suggests that egg may be a prime culprit in infant and toddler eczema. It certainly was one of the issues for my son.

 

[bucaye]

My ds is allergic to eggs, peanuts, dairy, wheat and soy. The ONLY reason I knew something was wrong was horrible blistery exema on his thighs. I bf for 15 months and there was no BIG reaction to anything. He was not a good sleeper at all, like waking every few hours to nurse himself back to sleep. I asked my ped what she thought. She suggested a blood draw just to be sure. Bingo!! Big time allergies. His levels are not the scary very high, but enough that I have to carry an epi-pen at all times because I never know what the next reaction will be.

My ped allergist said total avoidence is best. Now that we have done that, if he gets anything he is not suppposed to have, we have a reaction (hives, upset tummy) We gave him some bologna we thought was safe (I read every label) and he still had a reaction to something in it. His lips and tounge swelled up. Luckily. Benidryl did the trick (no epi-pen).

Just a side note, ds is sleeping better now then he ever did before total advoidence of his trigger foods.

If your little one keeps getting the allergens, who knows what the next reaction will be. The more histimins in the body (building up over time) is bad.

That's just my two cents . . .

 

[rachiem]

As someone who suffers from eczema, it is painful. And itchy. ANd annoying as all heck.

You need to search for the allergy because unless you find and eliminate, it will get worse and this could be something you deal with for a long time. If it is a "mild" (delayed reaction) allergy, you could have a year or two of elimination and be done with it.

As for ignoring it? I've seen some children with VERY OBVIOUS food allergies completely covered in eczema to the point of cracking, dry, red and nasty nasty nasty skin.