Eczema or Allergic Reaction

[Tee20x]

Hi all,

Created a thread a few weeks ago in relation to DD eczema. She has had what I think might be a flare up & it looks the worst it has ever been - practically her entire face bar forehead is red/blotchy, rough & she was itching (with scratch mits) throughout the night. Also has patches in typical places inc. behind knees, in crooks of arms, back of shoulders etc.

I have already contacted GP and have taken her to pharmacist for them to have a look and confirm that it is nothing sinister that I should be concerned about. Both said it sounds/looks like a flare up and suggested using steroid cream to reduce inflammation, redness and itchiness. In my other thread I said I was hesitant to use steroid cream but now will do so (I am waiting until tomorrow morning incase she has any type of reaction to it).

I have suggested a few times whether this may be linked to a food intolerance or allergy but have been advised that this is unlikely and that I shouldn't cut things such as dairy out as of yet. I have my suspicions that she is allergic to something I have eaten or something in the house for these reasons

• woke up this morning with face as described in initial paragraph. Creamed her with usual emollient and breast fed as normal. Face still red and blotchy.

• went out for a walk for about 2 hours, during the walk noticed that skin was less inflamed and had more or less returned to normal skin tone bar a few remaining blotches.

• back in after walk, creamed with normal emollient and breastfed again. Face became red etc again. Obviously because I creamed her, fed her and was back in the house it is hard to tell which one is causing the issue.

I am wondering if anyone knows of any common things that may cause this reaction. Can allergies cause existing eczema to flare up? Or is this just a coincidence.

I have been through the house top to bottom and cleaned to remove any dust that may be causing the issue, removed plug in air fresheners etc and all windows are open to air it out.

I am wondering if I should continue using the emollient cream Incase this is causing the issue? But have been using it for weeks and it actually seemed to initially be helping clear up the eczema?

Pharmacist suggested keeping a food diary to see if I can identify any triggers. Yesterday my dinner had quite a few chillis in it - is this something which could have affected my breast milk and caused this reaction??

Sorry for the dump! Just not sure what to do and it's awful seeing her skin like this :(

What emollient are you using? My dd has eczema. Some creams seem to make her look worse, very red and irritated.

@WandaD at the moment I am using the Aveeno night balm - thicker than their other creams and found that it would make her skin more supple. Have been using it around 4 weeks and have not had any issues with it so far - last week it looked as if the eczema had practically cleared itself up! So not sure whether this could now be an issue.

Previously was prescribed zerobase but found that it would irritate her skin more so stopped using it.

My DDS excema and asthma were allergies

Dairy, beech pollen, wool and dust.
She was very allergic to dust
We keep most allergy exposure low and she rarely, very rarely gets flare ups at all

Tbh with skin issues, push for being seen in person. As treatment failed, the GP should already be considering seeing you in person anyway.

I was given diagnosis A over the phone; diagnosis B over the phone when I sent in a photo; then diagnosis C in person! As you can imagine it was a mess trying to get treatment from start to finish. Especially as you think there’s an allergy involved, as it’s not as straightforward

Not the same at all but DS gets eczema behind knees and inside elbows. Only thing that helps (and works miracles) is Sudocrem (the one in the pot)

@Pagwatch how did you go about isolating these specific things - was it a case of accidentally coming across it or sitting down and working out a pattern?

Also for the dairy allergy, is it a case of having to cut out dairy. I haven't yet had the chance to read up on this properly but is it as simple as cutting out "proper" dairy such as milk, yoghurt etc or also more complex dairy items such as maybe a cake that has been made with dairy (sorry I can't explain this any better).

@wingsnthat yes I will push to be seen in person again. To be fair I have been seen a few times and have been able to get appointments that coincide with DDs jabs so get someone to look at the eczema beforehand but they haven't really been all that helpful. Mainly just confirming that it's eczema and reiterating that I have a long road ahead and it can be difficult to find a combination of treatment that works for her.

@MiniMaxi I have also tried the sudocreme but for me it seems a bit hit and miss - on some areas it helps clear it up, others such as the face it seems to make it worse and dry it out :(

Would it be worth consulting with a dermatologist privately? Or getting her allergy tested?

I had to get a full panel of allergy testing done. She was being hospitalised with breathing problems and her skin was so bad

The dairy was literally excluding all dairy products. Her brother was gluten and dairy free so it wasn’t too challenging for me

I’m not suggesting you go the same route but it might be worth keeping a diary to see if there’s a correlation between flare ups and food/dust/ pollen levels etc

I’m just adding here to say that yes, sometimes it can be allergy

I’m happy to give more info (if that sounded curt) it’s just her allergies were multiple and complicated and I don’t want you thinking you have to head down that expensive and complicated path.

If she reacts to emollients in certain sensitive areas then coconut oil will at least stop it drying out without irritating. It used to at least stop some of the dry:itchy thing without making her flare up

@Pagwatch Nono, your message came across fine! Gosh that sounds so scary with your DD, glad that you have been able to identify the allergens and keep them to a minimum. I know there is no simple solution but just want to find out what is causing the issues as quickly as possible to alleviate any discomfort. I will look into allergy testing anyway as I have concerns surrounding peanuts & several family members on her dads side are asthmatic & I know there is a correlation between that and eczema and hayfever.

Funny you should mention coconut oil as it is what I used to cream DD with after her baths since birth but felt it didn't really help when the eczema started and it felt as if it wasn't penetrating the skin but was just sitting on the surface if that even makes sense.

You can get patch testing on the nhs but you need a derm referral from your gp. Private would be great if you can afford it

@wingsnthat I think I'll give it a few more weeks, and then request a referral from GP & push if they try to say no. Have spoken with many different GPs about the issue and have tried a few things so hopefully should have some luck.

If not I will gladly pay for it - though will probably wince when I see the price.

Do use the steroid creams enough to clear things up. Then when it is fully settled, keep going with the emollients and watch out for flares. That's when you've got some chance of spotting triggers. While it is flaring and uncomfortable a lot more things can make it worse and it will be really difficult to determine if any particular thing is a cause.

Good luck settling it.

Hi all,

Thanks for your support and advice the other day. Skin has now pretty much returned to normal - I say normal, but what I mean is pre-flare up.

Having had a think, the only anomaly I can think of in my diet around the time of the flare up is chillis. Sounds stupid but I cooked chorizo gnocchi with a whole bunch of Birdseye chillis in.

I have had spicy food before and have been fine - but I am wondering if something about the quantity of particular type of chilli could have caused this irritation? Is that even something that can happen?

Anyhow, my suspicions have been noted and will keep an eye out in future.