Reaction to olive oil?

[AngelDog]

I put ozonated olive oil on 3 y.o. DS1's face. He has eczema and it's really dry and a bit inflamed at the moment. It hurt him and made his eczema all red.

When I've used olive oil before it's made his eczema red but not hurt him. I've used normal extra virgin olive oil and Waitrose baby bottom butter and both made them red.

Does it sound like a likely allergy? I was wondering about salicylate issues.

He has diagnosed allergies to hazelnut, peanut, kiwi, coconut, banana, butternut squash, melon, cucumber and tomato, and has suspected allergies or intolerances to egg, walnut, peppers, ginger, dairy and gluten (and possibly more to acidic fruits like grapes, strawberries, cherries, blackberries, oranges).

I find olive oil (topically applied) or any cream containing olive oil doesn't do my eczema any favours at all. Makes it red and sore. Though I can eat it without any problems. Actually, I have to avoid creams and lotions which claim to be for sensitive, dry skin but contain lots of 'soothing' plant extracts, 'natural' oils etc . It always ends in an eczema flare. But with that list of diagnosed allergies, I think it would be wise to mention the olive oil reaction to your doctor. Has your doctor/allergy specialist/dermatologist given any advice about emollients? Finding the right emollient for one's eczema involves a lot of trial and error, I've found and seems to be a very individual thing. Good luck and hope you find something that works.

my son had a big reaction to olive oil when younger when applied to legs.

however can eat it, no problem. it was applied in a hyper sensitive time iyswim so anything would have reacted on his skin quite frankly.
I suspect that once that high peak dropped olive oil would be quite useful!

also, my son has hyper dermagraphism ( no idea how this is spelt btw) and he gets redness and hives /marks from anything. clothes, chairs etc. its not something that bothers him or hangs around much on skin iyswim.
This did explain his early years of not finding the correct ezcema treatments, we learnt that we could take care of his skin, but that for him, this odd hive type behaviour is his norm.

good luck.

Thanks, both.

We did use Diprobase which seemed ok, but have been trying to get him off the petrochemicals and onto more 'natural' products as part of a detox to help address gut health issues.

There were articles in the press a couple of years ago, mainly concerned with Professor Richard Cork's work on aqueous cream and why it shouldn't be prescribed as a leave on emollient in eczema. But he also gave an opinion on olive oil and its unsuitability as a moisturiser for child eczema - here.

"...Another substance commonly applied to babies? skin is olive oil ? but Professor Cork says this is also unsuitable as it has a very poor balance of oleic and linoleic oil, which is damaging to skin before it develops properly.

The acid-alkali balance in these oils (measured on the pH scale) is not suitable for a baby?s sensitive skin, as it hydrates it for several minutes but then has a drying effect..."

I've found the DM one, there was one in the Independent which seems to have disappeared. The Eczema Society has a piece here though not mentioning olive oil.

I've ended up with Aveeno, which I find effective. I would like to use more 'natural' products but I've never found one (and I've tried lots!) which was as effective or, even worse, didn't exacerbate the eczema.

Angeldog - A bit off the subject, but what happens when your ds eats melon? Is it a similar reaction to peanuts?

My dd is allergic to peanuts and has typical allergic reactions to this - rash, facial swelling, hives. Fortunately she's only been exposed to tiny amounts so it hasn't tipped over to anaphylaxis. However, she has also reacted to tomato, melon and pineapple but the reaction has been different - hives, itchy mouth and pain where the juice has made contact with her skin. I've never met anyone else whose dc had a melon allergy before, so wondered what your experience had been?

ClaireOB, that's interesting - thanks. A US friend has recommended this company: www.seaweedbathco.com/.

neolara, DS's symptoms are the same for most allergens - red face, some swelling - eczema on face flares. He doesn't always get hives (it just looks like contact irritation) but if he's had another allergic reaction within the previous few days then hives do appear.

He's never actually had a reaction from peanuts as far as we know - dx was just from skin prick / blood tests.

I suspect he has latex-fruit syndrome, a cluster of allergens which cross-react. I think pineapple and tomato can be involved, though lists differ as to which fruits are problematic. In many cases, latex-fruit causes oral allergy syndrome, which IIRC is connected to birch pollen allergy. Your DD sounds like OAS to me, whereas DS is the normal type of allergy, I think.

Lots of info if you google.

AngelDog - Thanks for sharing your experience. Yes, I suspect dd has OAS and hopefully will get that confirmed in the next couple of weeks. I'm hoping she's not going to react to latex too, but I guess only time will tell.

Yes, it's a big unknown, isn't it? DS1 doesn't react to latex - yet.

Shea butter is best avoided by people with latex syndrome, apparently, as it cross-reacts with latex and can cause an allergic reaction.