Question:
I have a 6 month old baby girl who has atopic eczema. Very common in babies I
am told and will hopefully pass by the age of two. However, two years is a
long time to see her suffer the terrible itch and irritation associated with
this condition. We have started weaning her, but even this has become so difficult because if
her skin flares up we do not know whether it is a particular food or just her
condition. The more I look into different foods and their possible adverse
reactions, the more confused I become. She is already on a dairy and wheat
free diet and has Nanny Goats Milk. Anyone with any suggestions or experience in this area, I would be very
grateful to hear from.
Answer:
This sounds much like our doughter four years ago. She had atopic eczema
so bad over her whole body, itching so bad. She got blisters and her
skin had to be treated with different creams to avoid infection and to
keep it moist. When she was one years old we were so tired of her
sleeping an hour or two at the most, and she was of cource tired of
itching and being uncomfertable we were hospitalized. I wish we did it
earlier, but we went to this doctor that said "It is very uncommon to be
allergic to ... and to ...", "It will pass, use these creams" etc. We
talked to another doctor that got us on the right track. We had to bath
her in a liquid called Kalium-permanganat (in Norwegian) a purple bath,
to avoid infections, she used cortison cream in one week and got better,
then one week off so her skin could rest when she got worse again etc. We found out by ourselves that she became better when not eating certain
foods.We put her on a strict diet. Had to make it all our selves. She
could eat pure grained meat, boiled vegetables, boiled potatoes, boiled
carrots, corn and rice. She was off all different graines (especially
wheat), milk, poultry, citrus, nuts, soya, most fruits (banana and kiwi
was OK, but I know many react to those). Slowly her skin started to get
better. And also her mood was better. She was feeling good. She slept
through a whole night. She can now at the age of four eat alot of
different foods, just started with a bit of dairy products. And her
eczema is gone. I would try to find out if and what she is allergic to, and avoid those
foods. The her skin needs treatment so she is as comfortable as
possible. Most of all trust your own experience. You know your child
better than any doctor! Goat's milk *is* a dairy product; some people with intolerance to cow's
milk can handle it, many can't. Have you investigated non-food allergens that might be affecting her skin
by direct contact? - some common ones are soaps, synthetic fibres or dyes
in clothing, washing powders (particularly enzyme detergents), and house
dust mites (if you have central heating and carpets or old mattresses your
home will be heaving with these). A few things that might help: using pure
soaps and undyed cotton clothing and bedding; throwing out old mattresses
and pillows; avoiding any household sprays like polishes, insecticides or
air fresheners, hoovering the whole house *very* thoroughly with either a
Dyson or wet/dry vacuum cleaner; getting carpet out of her bedroom; and
regularly turning off any central heating and opening the windows so that
every part of the house gets *cold* and stays that way for long enough to
discourage mites.
