paediatric consultant?

[tolstoy]

my 8 month old has severe excema (i breastfeed exclusively, therefore, maintain a dairy, wheat and nut free diet - but see no improvement). does anyone know who is the top paediatric allergy consultant in the uk? many thanks cathy

I was recommended Gideon lack and saw George du toit on his team at the Portland. Both are recommended for paediatric allergies.

many thanks strawberrycornetto.

Gideon Lack's team at St Thomas' seem to be it... researching a few years ago for my ds I came across him - he was at St Mary's and has now moved to St Thomas'. They are running lots of research and the big trials with peanuts.

Helen Cox was one of his partners at St Mary's and is still there afaik. I saw her privately initially and was very impressed. Less so with the NHS clinic at St Marys - chaos! Have now moved to St Thomas' which is much better organised.

I think you can get referred to either via your GP.

many thanks catilla and hoochiemehmeh. you're all really helping.

Agree with hoochie, egg and soya caused reactions in my DS when he was EBF.

while you are waiting to see a consultant try adding probiotics to your diet and possibly to your child's. You can get dairy free probiotics in health food stores. There are studies that suggest it helps, you can google it easily.

Not all eczema is allergy related. You may need to see a dermatologist for advice.

Lots of other things suggested on mumsnet that you may wish to try - aveeno being a popular cream.

that's great HoochieMehMeh. In controlled trials probiotics do help more than placebos - but yes, could still just be outgrowing it . Unfortunately no evidence probiotics help adults eating a good diet.

You could consider enrolling your child in the LEAP Study - they are looking for babies with eczema and/or egg allergy, who are therefore at higher risk of developing peanut allergy. Read all the info on the site and decide for yourself.... The project is being run by some of the top experts in the country, including Gideon Lack and George du Toit who were mentioned by an earlier poster.

You contact the team directly so don't need a referral from your GP, and the screening appointment in London includes both skin prick testing and blood tests.

If you struggle to get an appointment with the consultants already mentioned, I can highly recommend Adam Fox, (part of Gideon's team). You can also see him privately at the Portland or Viveka.

I didn't know that babybarrister but I've just checked their website and see it's changed since Friday when I last looked. That's a shame but at the same time great they've got the numbers they need to make the study valid.

We are under Dr du Toit at St Thomas' and I am very happy with him. We have been referred to dermatology thoough for the eczema....but they stay in contact with the allergy unit.
Privately (think he does not do NHS anymore) we have seen Dr Atherton at Gt Ormond st and the portland who was also very nice.
I would highly recommend getting a referral to St Thomas' though.