Eczema and diet

[Milkysallgone]

My dd (3) and ds (22mths) both have eczema. Dd is much much worese than ds; her poor skin is like Rhino hide most of the time and she's havijng a really bad flare up at the moment. Ds only really suffers with 'patches' (mainly face) which can get quite nasty. I feel it's about time we tried to work out some of the triggers instead of constantly fire fighting.

So have decided to eliminate dairy for a while...
Should I cut out even tiny amounts such as chocolate etc? Is soya milk the best milk alternative? And has anyone had a positive result when they've done this? Thanks in advance.

Hi there milky,

I went through terrible eczema with DS for ages. I just wrote on another thread that we (EMBARRASINGLY) used to call him the Singing Detective, his skin was falling off all over the place.

Dairy surprisingly turned out to be the cause. We had tried to cut it out before several times, but there seemed to be no change with his eczema. I read some kooky article somewhere about milk leaving a 'footprint' in the body which only goes after 2 weeks of complete lack of dairy. So yes, your answer is if you are cutting it out, cut it out totally for at least 2 weeks. Once we had cut it out for 2 or 3 weeks, there was an improvement.

We now drink soya, there are some really disgusting ones out there and some nice ones too. You just have to try them. When they say sweetened, they are super super sweet. We also use Swedish Glace ice crean (soya) which is SOOOOO DELICIOUS! YOu can get it in tesco or most supermarkets.

Stick with it, it might make a difference. I also posted about Vitamin E which made a massive difference, I am a really big fan of this.

Good luck - hope it goes well.

Thank you very much- think we're just going to take the plunge. I really hope dairy doesn't turm out to be a problem.

My dd had terrible eczema when little and it turned out to be orange juice. She never has it now, nor eczema.

Yes my ds had terrible eczema from six weeks old. Dairy and egg were the cause. He is now 4 and has just tested negative for dairy. I used Goats Milk and soya alternatives. Although sometimes it is lactose which is the allergen and therefore Goats milk can be no good. See if you GP were will refer them both to the allergy clinic (usually at local hospital) for tests and advise. They are very helpful. x

Thanks all. I seem to have been given the impression by GPs in the past that they very rarely allergy test on the NHS. When we've been referred before the consultant was very dismissive of my suggestion that food triggers were investigated.

Orange juice here too. A homeopath who was treating DS for his excema suggested cutting it out and his skin cleared up immediately. We tried to re-introduce it gradually when he was a little older as he LOVES orange juice (typical!) but the excema came straight back, so it's off limits for poor DS now.

Apologies for the bizarre spelling in my last post by the way

Yes, homeopath suggested it to me, too.

It is really interesting reading this thread. My ds who is 2 has really bad eczema and I'm constantly having to slather him in steroid creams to keep it under control, which I hate. I am really interested in diet and allergy control, but when I mentioned it to my doctor he told me it was all a load of old wives tales and to ignore it, which I found really unhelpful. I'm going to see the specialist with him next week so I think that I should push more towards allergy testing as I don't want to end up applying these creams to him daily over a large body area for a long period of time.

Just out of interest those of you who have seem a homeopath, did you go on a personal recommendation? I have recently moved to a new part of the country and not knowing anything about complementary health on offer up here I wasn't sure where to start.

`It was dairy and eggs that gave dd excema - we got allergy testing on nhs, and it was really helpful. dd's excema improved as soon as i stopped bf-ing... now waiting to find out if dd2 is the same.

Yes - very interesting. I might go to the GP and push for tests. I too am completely sicl of having to cover them in steroids every other week. We've actually started making our own moisturiser now which works well but we still have these awful flare ups.

Have to say none of the homeopathic remedies actually helped - was just the avoid citrus advice. It is so often dairy or other allergy that you should really push for it. When I saw a consultant dermatologist she said so too. GPs are rubbish at this sort of thing (ducks and runs very very fast).

Sagitta, I read all this with great interest. I am desperate, have DS who is covered in eczema. He has a milk allergy - I know because the only two times he has had formula he was violently sick and from that time the eczema started. I feel like my breast milk is poisoning him. I ate eggs the other day and he came up in hives all over his body. I have cut out all dairy from my diet but he still gets flare ups. What did you use instead of breast milk? What ages was your dd when you did the allergy tests. Do you have any suggestions for me. Please.

Noobee
My ds had eczema when he was a baby - he had an allergy to milk (broke out in hives all the way down the first time he had something with milk in it)

I cut out dairy, but still had the tiniest bit here and there. The eczema stayed . It only cleared up when I took him to a homeopath. He can now have dairy, but not heaps of it.
Do you have any dairy at all? I would just have a bit of cheese every now and again, but that was enough for the eczema to stay.

The guilt!!!
The guilt!!!

In all his baby pictures, he has these little sore cheeks.

all 3 of DC have ezcema and food allergies: Dairy (3), eggs (3), wheat (1), Kiwi fruit (1), fish (1). The nursery kept poisoning the eldest and now his immune system seems to be the most paranoid. The younger too where better protected from dairy expsoure and their skins and reactions are more under control. If you look deep at the whole thing it seems that there is a whole range of auto immune diseases ranging from the atopic 3 (ezcema, asthma, food allergy) to Lupus, MS and many other things. All quite scary. Doctors seem to be learning this stuff on the job as there isn't much data. Our experience based on sample of 3 is to control triggers including dust mites (wooden floors if possible).

purpleduck
I have cut out dairy completely and it is killing me. I spend hours reading labels!!! Hence why I am trying to find an alternative. Everyone seems so against soya which does worry me. Haven't even tried him on it yet as the GP said he would probably react to the soya protein too. It is such a nightmare. I know on the grand scale of things it isn't something to get too upset about, but my diet and his skin is getting me down. I am going to have the allergy test done to be sure - hydralised milk is a no no as it tastes/smells awful and he hates it. Running out of options really. Have you ever heard of a baby taking soya formula?

Sainburys and tescos have "Freefrom corner" where we shop.

Noobee - insist the GP refers you to a paediatrican/dietician who can actually help. And I mean insist, they don't do it otherwise.

Ok I will insist - thanks for the advice.

Hi Noobee, sorry not to come back sooner. It was the same with me. I stopped BFing at 7 months, after hives/ excema etc, and dd went on to soya formula, which you can get on prescrption. I got allergy testing at about 9 mnths (?)

Really sorry you're having the same trouble. It is really hard to get HVs or GPs to admit that dairy, or BFing can cause excema if your dcs have allergies. Try to find a helpful one - which might be easier said than done...