Food allergy testing in 9 month old with eczema?

[Pammym]

Hi, I am new to this board. My DS is 9 months and suffers with eczema on and off. I can generally keep it under control with hydrocortisone and double base cream but every so often it will flare up and he needs anti b's to clear it. He is on about his third dose already (fluxocillin) and I am concerned about it. I have a feeling that one of the triggers for a flare up is bananas and since I stopped giving him banana, his skin has been good. However, last weekend I gave him egg for the first time and this was followed by the recent flare up resulting in more anti b's.

I asked my GP if certain foods could be causing the flare ups and whether I could get him tested but he dismissed the idea and said there was no scientific basis for suggesting that certain foods cause or worsen eczema, furthermore it could be considered inadvisable to start eliminating certain food groups from a young infant as this could cause worse problems later.

Having had a quick look at some of the threads on here, I guess you guys would disagree strongly so I am wondering if you have any advice for me please. I know if my DS had had a severe reaction then I might have been able to have him tested by now but it is just a hunch I have about the eggs and bananas making his eczema worse. Should I push for him to be tested do you think?

Thanks and sorry it turned out a bit long!

Pammym.

Hello,
Was in exactly the same baot as you this time last year year. DD had eczema from about three months to 1 year, and it was really hard trying to control it. I was convinced it was dairy products that flared up the skin condition. We're prescribed the same medicines as you, and did ask for a test and the doctor said no for exactly the same reasons, plus he mentioned it might not be the food it could be do with an allergy to the clothes she wore, washing powder, even purfume that I wore which might have accidently rubbed off onto her.
We were refered to a specialist at the local hospital who suggested 'Wet-wraps' to control the eczema, which helped a little, but ensure DD had a cold all the time.
Anyway she did grow out of it by the time she was one and now thankfuly her skin is clear and she is ok with diary foods.
I hope this has helped - but just wanted you to know that we had the same issues with our doctors (as well as loads of people saying what's wrong with your baby - when they saw the scratch marks etc on her face).

See a different GP, or insist on being referred to a paediatrician - preferably one that specialises in allergies/eczma.

I dont think your DS will be deprived or suffer ill-effects from not having any more bananas, or egg. If you excluded all fruit or all protein then, yes, that would be daft.

Seems your GP was being flippant and dismissive without being helpful.

There is some indication that food can stimulate eczma flare ups, but usually where the food contacts the skin. It has been reported by quite a few eczma sufferers too that their symptoms have improved when they have stopped eating certain foodstuffs. Unfortuntely, there have been no major studies to confirm this afaik.

Now, your DS can be tested, but, it isnt particularly pleasant to have done. They usually do a blood test, for which they need quite a few phials of of blood. Although they put a local anaesthetic cream which takes an hour to work, and then they draw blood from the back of the hand. I can be distressing to watch.

So, its up to you.

I would say to wait until he was 12 months though, simply because milk is the most important thing in the first year anyway, so food not so important right now.

HTH

hi, im in the same boat. Ds is 2.3 and still has flare ups. He is on constant hydrocortisine and i hydromel him 4 times aday.
He also has anti-b when its bad (although im not keen on this) When he was one he was referred to the skin clinic at hospital, the doctor refused to test him as he was so young and instead put him on higher steroids to clear it up.
I feel like im constantly going round in circles and cant see it getting better. I do worry about long term effects of steroid use.

This is so typical of an ignorant dr. Did you read lasy week that most drs know nothing abut allergies?

Many years back I saw a dr- now a Professor- who was one of the first to discover the link between foods and allergies- he is Prof. Jonathan Brostoff. He has written a book on allergy and food intolerance.

There are some drs who do know about the link- though they are usually consultants. I don't know where you live, but if you canget to London or Hertfordshire, and have private insurance or are willing to pay, I can recommend a lovely dermatologist who my son sees for his eczema .

Test are not conclusive- you can get false positives. The only test that is worth having is the RAST test and drs still like to challenge the results with withdrawing suspect foods then introducing them. Your son can still eat healthily without eggs or bananas, so why not leave them out of his diet and then "test" his reaction yourself after a few weeks.

P.s.

My son went on to baby formula soya milk at 6 months and has been dairy-free for 20 years - he now drinks soya milk.

sorry not read all thread as not got much time. My ds had probs with vomiting and bowel probs from about 7 months old about same time started on solids. It took the doc over a yr 2 admit this wasnt normal, she kept saying he prob just repeatly keeps getting tummy bugs. When he eventually got referred to hosp they tested him for virtually everything including food allergies and everything came back normal. When he was 3 and a half I was so frustrarted I paid for him to be tested privately (as a single parent on IS was a big deal)it came up as wheat. He has now been off wheat for a year and had no further probs infact prob saved money in long term due to the amount of nappies and carpet shampoos I went through. Anyway got test done at local health food shop.

Hi Pammym, my dd is 14 months and we have just had tests done for the same reason as yours. She has had eczema from 2 months old. At 12 months she had an allergic reaction to egg. We saw a Allergy/Immunology consultant and dd had a RAST test and a skin test. This test confirmed she is allergic to egg and she has to avoid them completely for the next 2 years and then be tested again. Like you I thought there may be a dairy or food trigger causing the eczema but in both the blood test and the skin test she came back clear.
I am glad we got the tests done as now we know she can eat everything except eggs. The doctor said as her eczema is mild to moderate he would advise us to continue with emollient creams and hydrocortison and she will probably grow out of it.
I am a bit disappointed that the tests did not give an indication of what is causing the eczema but it is good to know she has only one allergy.
I would advise you not to pin all your hopes on the tests like I did. Best of luck.

Thank you so much to everyone who replied to my post. Sorry for blanket reply, not quite sure what the forum etiquette is for replying to people but I am grateful for your advice.

x

Hi I know this is a very old post but I am in a similar situation. @Pammym how did you resolve this?