Tomatoes and skin reaction

[taliac]

Hello all.. My 11m dd adores tomatoes. Especially the cherry ones that you can pop and make a big mess with. Except that recently, anywhere she gets tomato juice, seeds etc on her skin comes up bright red for an hour or two. It got quite excema like around her mouth last week, so I have stopped serving them for now.

Can anyone tell me if this is just a reaction to the acid in the tomato so maybe I can solve it by changing variety, or more likely to be an allergy??

[BarefootDancer]

Yes I think it is just coz the tomatoes are acidic. The skin gets less sensitive as they get older.

Tomatoes also can aggravate stomach ulcers in adults.

Very good for you though - lots of antioxidants.

[Mummy2TandF]

Taliac - I am not really much help I don't think but my ds 2.6 has the xact same reaction! He loves tomatoes but every time he eats them he has the red skin aronud his mouth and chin and it can appear excema like as well. It took me a while to realise it was tomatoes but he has no adverse effects except for the red marks (which doesn't seem to bother him at all), so I do not stop him eating them - I hope that this helps .... I too have put it down to the acidity of tomatoes, I think he might have a milder version of the same reaction with strawberries as well but they are another thing he loves

[Aitch]

this happens to dd too, tbh i've stopped giving her raw tomatoes just to be on the safe side.

[taliac]

Yes, strawberries affect her too, but they are easier to avoid.. Maybe its a sensitive skin thing then..

Aitch - interesting that you've stopped giving raw tomatoes - anything else that you find causes the same reaction?

[Boredveryverybored]

My dd also gets this, still hasn't grown out of it yet, she's 6 now. Happens with ketchup too which really pees her off, she'd drown everything se eats in ketchup if she was left to her own devices!

[Aitch]

well now you've got me wondering about strawberries actually...
i'm just thinking about it, and in fact she does get a wee reaction to cooked tomatoes but it's not bad. she always licks raw tomatoes, winces and then leaves them same with peppers, cooked and raw. of course it may just be that she doesn't like the taste of peppers..

[powerpuffgirl1979]

Hi, I've recently started BLWing with my 6month old. He's had tomato twice (raw in both instances) and both times his face and anywhere else on him that the tomato has touched came out in red blotches. The first time I wasnt sure if it was the tomato but now I know it definately is, the 2nd time he was eating it some of the juices squirted over his arm and the same red blotches appeared. It died down as soon as I cleaned him up tho, and he didnt seem bothered by it at all.

[IsabelWatchingItRainInMacondo]

Have a look at the allergies topic. There are a lot of threads about reactions to tomatoes.

It may be the acid in the tomato or that your child is allergic to them, in either case is better to avoid them for a while as they obviously don't agree with her.

If you really don't want to live without them, ensure that you serve them well cooked, she may be able to tolerate them this way until she becomes less sensitive to them.

[callmeovercautious]

I have a sensitivity to tomatoes and still even at my tender age of 32 come up in a tingly rash around my lips if I get them around my mouth (very attractive!) Although it is better than when I was small.

Apparently it is the acid content and concentrated tomato is worse eg ketchup and puree. Cooked fresh toms are better.

Have also read that it is more common in people with excema (which makes sense in my case).

No real advice except perhaps either aviod them or make sure you wash dds face straight away. I have only given them to my dd once or twice and only in small quantities. I substitute toms for squash in things like bolognaise if she is eating it (nice).

[KittenKat]

DD aged 12 months has had really bad nappy rash with tomatoes, at first, but this has improved over time. I limit the amount I give to twice a week, for now, and it seems to be ok. I was told by GP that it was the acid, very common with babies and should sort itself out over time.

I would do as you are, give it a rest for a couple of weeks, and then introduce them back again gradually.