Eczema from 7 m.o. - is diet likely to be a factor?

[AngelDog]

14 m.o. DS has eczema on his face which started as a red patch on one cheek but has spread to both cheeks, chin/neck and top lip. I think it started at around 7 months - looking at photos, he had none at 6 months and a 10p sized patch at 8 months. My gut feeling is that it's at least partially diet related as he started solids at 6 months. He was ebf before that and is still bf now.

Does that sound likely, or is it more likely to be just coincidence?

I'm allergic to penicillin, cats & hayfever and have a mild allergy or intolerance to dairy (but have never been tested for it).

My friend is allergic to milk. Both her children nearly share a gallon a day. They both have eczema. Hope this helps.

Hi Angeldog.

My feeling is that gut feelings are important. There are lots of reasons for eczema, and not all are food-related, but if you're concerned about food it's probably worth keeping a record of what your DS eats to see if you can spot any patterns.

As you no doubt know (you linked to the NICE guidelines on the other thread), what you eat can also affect your breastfed child - but I'm guessing that isn't much of a problem in your case as his eczema didn't develop until he started eating food of his own. Is there anything he has been eating that he wasn't exposed to in breastmilk?

No, I don't think there's anything he's been eating that I hadn't been eating before he started on solids. But I did wonder whether it was possible that being sensitised to allergens in food might subsequently make him sensitive to allergens in my milk.

I have actually taken him (and me) off dairy and nuts but it's hard to know whether it's made a difference as it coincided with some steroid antibiotic treatment. I'll try reintroducing dairy in a few weeks which hopefully should give me more of an idea.

We're back to the GP next week and I'm going to ask for a referral to the eczema nurse. Although my GP suggests different creams etc to try I feel in need of some more specialist advice.

I was reading a really interesting book by liz Earle who talks about most of us needing extra GLA in our diets and taking Evening Primrose Oil or Starflower Oil can cure eczema. It's worth a try.

Hmm, interesting. I'll have a look into it.

food does play a big part in the condition of your skin and skin allergies.. your doctor should be telling you what to avoid.. all processed junk and fizzy drinks are major culprits but mostly its the things you use around the home.. air fresheners,scented candles. perfumes soap powder no matter if its from Fairy and says gentle. bin it and try Surecare, same with fabric conditioners.. dont use unless Surecare also. as only one I can find with no perfumes.. Dogs dander is also dangerous for eczema sufferers.. Paint is full of VOCs so avoid this in the home and buy low emission paint , you can buy it now quite reasonable at B&Q or other good DIY shops.. Dont use bleach or strong toilet cleaners either.. buy say Ecover to clean the loo or just your Surcare washing up liquid... all this should make a big difference and you should see changes soon...

Wheatgrass from a good health shop is also helpful.. for this condition..but getting rid of the real culprits the washing powders and air fresheners , high VOC paint in the house and people using perfume has to be taken into consideration with problem breathing or skin conditions.

my DS and i suffer moderatly but i find it is heat and sweat (sorry) that gets us both bad

if DS has tomatos or a lot of acidic things hes worse, bold and daz washing products are also a no go

re-reading, is the facial patch raw/sore rather than dry?

it could be that a lot of face wipes, nose blowing contact might be hindering healing. drool was big prob with DS.

gp gave him a light topical steroid that helped any possible infection.

DS has a chin one at present and its cause hes got a cold. i have been putting a bit of drapoline cream on as the aqueous can be stingy when its wet.

I stopped dairy in my children's diet from a similar age due to severe eczema. You can get Wysoy formula on prescription from the GP and once you get into the swing of it it's not difficult to cater for those on a dairy free diet. You will notice a massive difference. My daughter has an actual allergy, whereas my son was just an intolerance. He grew out of it aged 3, my DD age 8 still can't have dairy but we do let her take lactase-enzyme supplelemt from Holland and Barrett for those times when eating dairy is unavoidable and this suits her. Both children now have beautiful, eczema free skin. You may find goats milk works for you ?

I just wish doctors would wake up and tell people not to use things near or on the skin that could cause this... One child I know suffers very badly wit eczema so bad that he is in and out of hospital but it clears up when hes in then flares up when he gets home.. does that not tell the parents that theyre using something in the home thats setting it off.. like their smelly soap powders.. which go on the skin the whole day then at night on bedclothes.. setting it all off again..Same with toiletries.. you cant put bubble bath or have smelly soaps or shampoos remotely near a skin allergy sufferer.. it only makes matters much worse.. take a tip and bin all your smelly toilt things and soap powder and fabric condtioiner.. and see how it changes.. good luck..

Thanks everyone. I've reintroduced dairy in the last week without it flaring up (apart from a new patch on his backside today). The GP said she was happy for me to experiment with excluding various potentially allergenic foods. Reintroducing nuts is the next thing.

allergyhelp, I know what you mean - my doctor hasn't really said anything about environmental factors which might be making it worse. I don't think that's a major trigger for DS though, as I've never used toiletries on him, avoid anything with SLS in for him & me, don't use things like perfumes / fresheners, wash with Eco balls and cook pretty much everything from scratch etc etc.

slightlymad, thanks for the suggestion. It's often been like that, but we're currently in a rare spell without a cold or teething drool. It does make it worse, though, especially since when he has a snotty nose, he wipes his face across anything he can which irritates the skin further.

My ds had eczema from being about 7 months too. The eczema on his wrists got infected a couple of times due to him chewing them when he was teething.

From what I remember when I read up on it, only about 10% of eczema is allergy related, it's very common in childhood - especially in winter/early spring - and most kids grow out of it. Ds's face definitely flares up when he has teeth coming through.

We use Oilatum in the bath and a emulsifying cream which has been keeping on top of it. He's now 21 months and still has bits but much better and no infections. It's worth trying eliminating possible allergens but hopefully time will help too.

DS has had exactly the same problem with his hands being infected due to gnawing on them when teething.

I'd not heard that stat on how much is allergy-related: that's interesting. I've been prescribed Oilatum for the bath but am trying to work out the best way to get it onto DS as he spends baths standing up throwing toys out of it, and doesn't like sitting in it.

AngelDog try a jug down, just over his shouldars and back whilst he's standing.

i also rub aqueous onto wet skin and rinse off whilst in the bath, you have to be carefull not to slip or drop him getting out but it really helps.

personally i don't use steroid cream unless DS is vv bad, which is rare now TG but this is only because i had it from 6 months to 18 and on and off in the 10 years past. my skin is awful, esp on my hands which look older than a 70yr olds cos the cream causes skin to thin. (i am not saying don't use them in gen. just for me )

the rest of my skin is good and i put that down to aqueous cream, lots of it like above. i try not to use when skin is dry as the oily layer stops my skin breathing, makes me over hot and rashes are worse.

DS's skin is better today than it has been for quite a while (without steroids). Diprobase ointment seems to suit his skin at the moment.

A jug seemed to work okay in the bath, slightlymadmoo - thanks.

Hopefully the milder weather (thus lighter clothes and less central heating) is helping too.

My ds was exactly the same last winter, but his eczema (and other infant problems like broncialitis and croup) much, much less problematic this winter. Hopefully your son will be the same.

bronchialitis, even

If you are excluding and re introducing, I would do it from your diet too - alot of allergens can pass through breast milk.

Did your mucus free time coincide with exclusion of dairy?

have you tried taking and giving D.S. starflower oil? Liz Earle's book says that lack of GLA's can cause eczema it cured her own. A Homeopathic remedy of sulphur cured my D.S'S eczema.

I've not tried supplements yet, although I'm using red palm oil (not the hydrogenated version) for cooking which is supposed to have lots of antioxidants and omega whatevers in.

The lack of mucus actually continued even when he started eating dairy, so I don't think there's a connection there. He's started teething dribble again now (incisors are just visible below the gum) so I'm expecting things to get worse again soon.

Yes, we're both doing the exclusion diets. It's been very useful, as it's revealed that I'm actually intolerant to dairy.

Another issue is water. as most has either flouride or other chemicals.. a water purifier fixed to the whole household water supply may help greatly..