Anothe Eczema thread...DD off school again! I need to try something new...perhaps food but where do I start???

[Nixz]

DD has just had her second course of Emolliant baths/Betnovate/Piriton x3 daily treatment and its not budged this latest flare up.
We have had a very emotional few months (DD's dad left us and DD had to start new school, i got a job but am not there to take dd to school etc) but we are doing ok... apart from DDs eczema.
Apart from the stress side of things, ive tried to think of anything else that could be the culprit. It always gets worse in the winter because of heating etc but im wondering if I should try the food side of things...but havent a clue where to start! PLease help!
DD's eczema has always been about treating it rather than the cause as it gets so bad, weve seen the specialists, had every emollient/steroid/new non steroid type there is. Ive removed all cuddly toys from her room, she now has blinds rather than curtains. Also, does it make a huge difference whether I use a anti allergy pillow etc?

Hi, i suffer from eczema since a small child, i find cutting back on gluten helps, at the moment i use steroid creams, i have used these on and off since a child. This time of year always seems worse (cold wet weather).
I would talk to your GP before changing her diet but i would say its worth a try.

Thanks...GP has just called and DD is being referred to Alder Hey.
Im going to book an appt with the dietician aswell.

What is the main culprit (foodwise)?

Total stab in the dark here, as I have zero experience of eczema...

But I do recall going to school with a boy who had terrible, terrible, chronic eczema. I remember it improved significantly when he was told to eat a couple of oranges a day

Maybe worth a try?

If you have never tried the food side of things please, please. please do. I had awful eczema til age 10 and it was all food related. Disappeared within a few weeks of cutting out the offending foodstuffs.

Suggest go to your GP and demand a referral to an allergy clinic.

Oh, cross posts.

Big culprits are:dairy, wheat, eggs, fish, soya, sesame, nuts and citrus fruits. These cause over 80% of food allergies in children I believe.

With me it was dairy and citrus (alreAADY KNEW i had a fish allergy) and I had to cut out both to benefit. That's why you need expert help.

Yes, for me its gluten but i think it can be anything including Dairy, nuts, fist etc. Mine cleared up within a few days after cutting out gluten, sadly i dont stick to cutting out gluten as i love bread and cakes so much but just by cutting down my eczema has improved alot.

wb...what was the food and how where you tested?

With me - dairy and citrus.
The skin prick tests I was given were only accurate for my environmental allergies (animal fur, feathers etc) not my food allergies, but was put on an exclusion diet (nothing but lamb, brown rice and pears for 3 weeks then reintroduce 1 food at a time - very tedious). Would recommend this if skin prick tests don't help though, eczema is the pits.

On a brighter note I cut out dairy and citrus til age 14 or so and thereafter was/am perfectly fine with them. Have had a little bit of eczema during both pregnancies but other than that literally nothing for years. Wonderful

wb...thats fantastic, you must be so relieved xx
So...whislt i wait for my appts, i may begin to cut down on some food groups. I will do one at a time, but how long do i need to do it before i woulod expect to see a fresult? Also, if i started on Dairy, is that just milk, cheese and yoghurts or does it extend to butter, cream etc?
As you can see, I am really lost when it comes to this.... I can do Gluten tho!!!!

Friend of mine has been taking and giving to her children the digestive enzyme-is it acidophilus? She says it is stomach based, excema that is and needs treated from there. Sorry cant be more specific. It has really worked for her and her children though.

Hi Nixz - no advice just support - my dd (3) sounds like yours and I'm on my own too - it does get you down and I'll be watching this thread with interest.I feel like I've tried every cream known to man and am now looking at her diet too - I've cut out dairy and have been giving her soya - bit horrified to now see soya may be a culprit!

The hard thing for me is that everybody gives advice but it just seems to vary so much from child to child as to whether it worksd- my ds also has it but responds completely differently.

Our cat is going this weekend - I don't think she is a factor but we will see

Zookeeper, my dd has very severe reactions to most animals...but as you said, it depends so much on that particular person and animal! I dont understand how she can stroke a guinea pig once and end up in hospital but live with a rabbit??!!!

Ive realised now that Eczema is very personal and even Drs and specialists dont know much more than the sufferers, its all about trial and error. And what works today, may not be the case in 6 months. My DD becomes sensitive to creams after a while and they end up causing allergic reactions.

Here is what i have tried, perhaps there may be something here that you could consider (if you havent already tried that is, which im guessing you prob have!)

Oilatum (severely rubbish product) E45 (same rubbish) Diprobase, doublebase (worked ok for 6 months, unable to use for 4 yrs, back on again now!), dermol, aveeno (Cream and oatmeal- worked great for 2 years), aquaeous (sp), Pimecrolimus cream (has to be prescribed from consultant, all levels of steroids and antibiotics Hydrocortisone, betnovate, fucidin etc We have had specialist eczema clothing that made no diffrence for her really, anti allergy bedding, humidifier for her room (will maybe try that one again), piriton, cetirizine, phenergan, relaxation classes in a sensory studio, meditation....the list goes on.

Let me know how you get on foodwise...
Have you tried aveeno? Anything with Lanolin in it seems to drice DD nuts! EVen a wool cardigan or carpet can trigger a flare up that lasts ages...something to consider...

As regards cutting out a food group, you need to cut out all of it to properly tell if it is a problem or not. Esp if you are looking for a link w. eczema where the reaction can take place several days after the trigger food is eaten.

So for dairy avoid: milk, butter, cheese, cream, yogurt plus anything with milk products in it - most biscuits, margarines, dairy chocolate, most bought cakes, some sausages etc. Look for the allergy advice on packaging and esp for the terms whey and casein, as these are milk derived products. Tis hard til you get used to it and you have to check EVERYTHING cause if some milk creeps in it can skew the results>

Hi,

My DD had chronic eczema from 4 weeks of age, she had it on her face, arms, legs and back (not the usual just behind knees etc, but everywhere)- I have hardly any baby photos, as she looked burnt. We tried all sorts of creams, emollients, dietary changes etc, nothing worked. When she was three and a half, we took her to a homeopath (out of desperation, didn't believe in it). It took about 4/ 5 months of appointments and trying different remedies (was really weird she used to ask DD what she dreams about etc). Eventually, homeopath said she thought she had come up with answer. She gave me three tablets to take home and said give one tonight, one in morning and one to tomorrow night. I did this and after one day me and DH (very cynical) noticed less scratching, after 2 days skin looked better and in less than a week all eczema had COMPLETELY cleared, only a bit of scarring left.

By now DD was 4 years old, Homeopath signed us off, and said to come back if flares up esp at times of stress eg starting school etc

DD will be 8 years old in Dec, and has still not had even a single patch of eczema since this and all scarring has gone!!!Who says homeopathy doesn't work.

We had two NHS consultants at time, one who believed in Homeopathy and other didn't. But even the one who didn't said "she may have grown out of it, but this would normally be more gradual than 5 days"!!

Sorry for long post, but really wanted to share my story with you!!

if yoyr child is dustmite allergic, sending a child to bed with creams on, sleeping in bed without some form of allergy bedding can make skin worse.
ask for more environmental tests as well as foods.

have add that they often recommend more than 3x a day emoileints...........which is frankly impossible for a school child..............

start by adding probiotics to their diet as that can help with eczema. If you can get them to have oily fish or a fish oil supplement that makes the probiotics more effective. If a couple of weeks of that don't help try eliminating all dairy produce - milk, chocolate, skimmed milk powder, casein, whey. Other foods can cause allergies but eczema is normally an intolerance rather than an allergy so allergy testing may not help. Milk is probably the most mentioned problem.

Sometimes nothing seems to work - knew someone like that who had to have wet wraps. They did eventually improve around age 8.

Tried most of your creams Nixz - E45 definitely made it worse!

the problem I have is that dd's sking continually gets infected and they tell me that none of the creams will work whilst she has an infection. She seems to be continuously on antibiotics.

Diprobase is my current favourite - Aveeno worked well for a while but doesn't seem to touch it now.

the consultant sugested that our next step shuld be wet wrapping - I have another appointment in two weeks and will fll you in.

I wish I could have it for her - she is constantly scratching and i feel really sorry for her

I have had eczema for years and something struck me in your OP. You mentioned that you and DD had been through a lot of stress recently ie your partner leaving, DD starting a new school etc.

In my case stress is definately a trigger for my eczema. I am awful at handling stress, I bottle up my feelings, don't open up and talk to people and hey presto, i have an eczema outbreak.

I am now slowly learning to break the bottling up habit and am learning to 'release' my feelings and can honestly say that my eczema is clearing without the use of any creams apart from moisturiser.

Does your DD talk to you or someone else she may be close to about how the recent events in your lives have made her feel? It must be devastating to a child if one parent leaves, she must be feeling sad, upset, confused, anxious, worried etc. Also starting a new school, anxiety about fitting in, trying to make new friends, you not being able to drop her off; to a child these are all scary, worrying, stressful events.

If you could try and get her to talk about how she feels it think it may well help her eczema. It is a gradual process, my eczema is taking months to clear, but it is definately definately improving.

Please give it a go, you have nothing to lose. Of course you can also try the food/intolerance route at the same time. Good Luck. x

Oneplusone, thankyou for your post. I have to say that I agree with you, stress is definately a trigger. DD is not very good at dealing with her emotions and struggles to talk to ANYONE! However, she has had some relaxation sessions in a sensory room and they seemed to help her with her confidence etc.
Im almost sure that it is allergy based, she seems to have 2 sorts, the atopic kind on her eyes, wrists, elbows etc and from her eyebrows to her ankles looks like she has a severe case of chicken pox! Even when her skin is moist, the 'rash' is still there.

THEMILDMANNEREDSNOTMONSTER and AARRGGHH, please tell me where you went etc

Sorry, haven't read all the thread, but can you get referred for skin prick allergy testing? That's the quickest way to find out. DD's excema left for good when she stopped having all dairy products...but it would have taken ages to find that out if she hadn't been sent to the allergy testing clinic.

Yes, can you do that for foods?
Do i need to approach gp for that or will i have to go private?