Eczema and exclusion diets

[AngelDog]

With my GP's agreement I'm trying a variety of exclusion diets to see if it helps my 14 m.o.'s eczema. I'm reintroducing the excluded food to see if that also has an effect. He's bf so I'm following the diet too.

How soon would you expect to see an improvement in eczema when an allergen is excluded / how soon might it flare up again once it's reintroduced?

DS has been off dairy, nuts and soya for about 3 weeks and there's been some limited improvement. We're on day 3/4 of reintroducing dairy but his eczema doesn't seem to have worsened. I don't know if this suggests he doesn't have an allergy at all, or whether it would take longer for a mild non-anaphylactic reaction to become obvious.

I'm guessing that if he does have a bit of an allergy to something, it's only a mild one.

Hi Angel

cows milk proteins take a couple of weeks to clear the system so I'd expect to see an improvement about now. In our case, I didn't introduce dairy at all but noticed it wouldget worse when I tried to have some. When DD was a bit older we gave cheese and notices ezcema on his tummy and legs fairly soon after (a day or two) then it went after a week.

I've answered your other thread - consider whether it's things like central heating and dustmites giving him ezcema?

Useful, thanks. It looks as if he's clear on dairy - his face is pretty good after a week of eating LOTS of it, although he's developed a sudden red patch on one of his bum cheeks today.

It could well be dustmites - I'm not known for being particularly houseproud. I have been making a bit more effort lately though.

Well DS's room is the tidiest and cleanest - the rest, not so much

you have to test out exclusion foods one at a time for a week.. but as Ive said many times please get rid of all the smelly soap powders. and fabric conditioners.. think about it. 24 hours a day this substance will be on the skin from clothes.. pyjamas to sheets on the bed.. and nothing will change till your soap powder does.. also dont use any perfumes in the bathroom or in the bath... good luck.

Iggly,

I think soya or eggs will be our next trial. I know soya sensitivity often goes with dairy issues, so that will be useful for me even if not for DS.

DH was commenting on how good DS's face was today, and a red patch on his leg has gone which is good. I've been using Diprobase ointment which seems to be much better than anything we've used before.

allergyhelp, I don't use soap powder, fabric conditioners or any other products (other than emollients from the GP) on DS. I've just discovered the joys of soapnuts after being an Ecoball user for years. :)

Would you consider seeing a Kinesiologist to help identify possibly food triggers to direct your exclusion testing?

Angel how well do soapnuts and Eco balls work? Ive been tempted but not convinced they'll tackle DS's poo stains (we use flannels for nappy changes)!

Eco balls are okay IMO as long as you don't want sparkling whites. I use them for most things but I do occasionally wash DH's work shirts on a very hot bio wash with Vanish to clear up the cuffs/necks. Alternatively you can use something like Ecover bleach, or a nappy sanitiser.

A Which? report found that Ecoballs were no better than washing with plain water though, and I have to confess I usually do nappies with normal non-bio as I get a bit twitchy about them.

I've only done about 4 washes with the soapnuts so far, but they're supposed to be a mild antibacterial / antifungal. Certainly the sites that sell them say they're suitable for washing nappies (but they would say that, I guess...)

You can get free samples here and here.

Misty, thanks: I'd not heard of kinesiology before, although a quick search shows that NICE warn against its use in allergy diagnosis.

Thanks Angel. We use ecover stuff already so might try the balls or nits (sounds rude ) for stuff like darks etc. Thanks!

Nuts not nits

When I'd excluded various things including dairy to help DS with eczema, congestion etc., I noticed that reintroduction of eggs in my diet brought back his symptoms. Exclusion of eggs, dairy, soya and nuts in my diet and his has led to eczma free, congestion free child - but I'm always slipping up somewhere. Eczma usually flares up 24-36 hours after any small slip-up. Good luck with the diet - it's not easy is it?

mama was this eggs in any form? Eg in a cake as well as say, scrambled eggs? Interested as I know DS isn't allergic to eggs but he does get congested and I never know why unless it's obviously a cold!

mamacheeks, it is so easy to slip up - I managed to accidentally lick my finger after getting cream cheese on it whilst loading up a rice cake and have had an upset stomach all afternoon (I'm intolerant to dairy.)

I first noticed it really obviously when I had some poached eggs. I'd been just about dairy free for a few months, but had cut out various things. After I had poached eggs congestion and schema flared. I had been a little naughty with blueberries muffins but when I cut those out and went strictly dairy, egg free DE seems to be congestion free. So many possible factors though it's difficult to know for sure without reintroducing. On dietician's advice I tried RD on soya at 8 months and resulting d & v was so nasty I've kept us both on quite a strict diet since. Poor angel with a finger of cream cheese!