1 Year Old with Severe Eczema and Food Allergies-Any Suggestions

I don't personally have any experience but someone that I work with passed this info along to me to share with my cousin who has children with food allergies. I hope it helps!

Melissa Dalton
Circle of Food Allergic Families
http://www.geocities.com/cofafdetroit/home
____@____.com
###-###-#### home
###-###-#### cell

I don't have any answers for you, but there is a great group in the area started by local moms w/ allergic children. They may be able to help:
Circle of Food Allergic Families, COFAF
http://www.geocities.com/cofafdetroit/home

Have you tried bathing him in Cetaphil? It is #1 Dermotologist recommended. I use the Gentle Cleansing bar and the Hydrating Cream for my kids itchy skin. Alcohol free and fragrance free. You can find it at most pharmacies. I buy mine at Target/Walmart. It tends to be a bit cheaper.

I feel for you & have been there! I have a now 6 year old that at age one was covered in terrible eczema due to food allergies. Initially he was sensitive/allergic to a list like yours but now we are just dairy and nut free. First - are you nursing? If so everything you eat totally effects him, even in the slightest quantities. Eliminating foods that are allergins in your child's diet and then trying them again much later (at least 3 mos.) is the first thing I would concentrate on...we did this and it really made a big difference. You are right about the steroid cream - we also did this a while but when our traditional allergist told me to use perscription steroids and zertech (perscription drug) daily and come see him in a year I knew I had to try something different. There are several lotions that I found worked much better than the aquafer - ShiKai makes one called Borage Dry Skin Therapy, Children's lotion avail. at Whole Foods. Also, two ointments I purchase from my homeopath and pediatrician's office made by unda made in Belgim - 1. pommade au calendula (calundula) and 2. onguent 270 (hypericum). Both of these helped greatly - sometimes one better than another. We still use it on bad spots. I don't know if you are into homeopathics but the homeopathic sulfur (pellets) are good for general skin conditions. Be sure you are not using any fragrance anything - for a long time we bathed only in the oatmeal bath packets because it was soothing. And bath only ever 2-3 days to not dry out the skin. Always totally coat the skin with a lotion upon leaving the bath to hold in that moisture. Plain Sea salt baths (1/4 to 1/2 cup) in a very warm bath seem to help with the skin irritation also. Once we finally got to a point where we could use a soap several that worked ok for us were Weleda brand calundula (but this does have some almond oil in it, may not be good for you), California Babies (whole foods) fragrance free body wash & shampoo, and Miracle soap (must purchase from a dealer). I ended up changing all our cleaning products to back to basic stuff like vinegar, baking soda, etc because any chemicals seemed to irritate even if washed out of the tub several times, etc. We changed our laundry to Dreft for years for the whole house and then finally to a dye/free fragrance free one that seemed to work. Baby wipes - for years I made my own or just used a cotton wash cloth with water - the wipes would irritate. I also switched to cloth composite dipers for quite a while which helped. I could write a novel on this subject but there's a start...feel free to ask more - I've tried so much and there is light at the end of the tunnel. My son is eating and living a very "normal" life these days after itching until he bled at age one on a daily basis. It is heart breaking and as a mother... you just want to make it better. Hang in there and don't try to change everything at once you will go crazy...voice of experience.

Hi L. -

I have a some with very minor eczema, but not all the allergies. I see a holistic M.D and he had mentioned to use Crisco (in the blue can) to help provide some relief. I have never tried it and I hate to recommend something with all the allergies, but just thought I would pass that along. Also, I give my son Fish Oil (Carlson Brand). They say eczema can also be caused from a lack of Omega-3. Again, I would hesitate with his allergies, but there is also flax oil (not as strong, but still better than nothing).

Just some thoughts, but I realize you may not be able to try them on your son.

L.,
You may want to take him to a ND(naturalpathic doctor). They deal with natural medicine for allergies ect. They may have ideas to help get you son's skin issues in control. My son had eczema and the pediatrician wanted me to use steroids on him(at 3 months old) I wasn't comfortable with that decision and found a ND in Flint. She worked with me and I have to say that my 2 yr old has had clear skin for well over a year. J.

I can help with the Eczema in terms of skin care. If you'd like a free sample of my product, let me know. My son was born with mild eczema and it worked wonders on him. You have to really understand how to nurture the skin and you'd be surprised how many times a topical treatment is prescribed that contains so many irritants to the poor baby's skin. Please email me your address or phone number if you're interested.

Your struggle sounds familiar - my sons have nearly the same allergens plus egg, fish/shellfish, cocoa bean, peas and lima beans. I'm sure you've tried the hydrocortizone route and possibly also topicort, but there's a new non-steroid cream that worked for us called Atopiclair. It's a prescription and you'd need to talk with your allergist. It contains shea butter and some allergists are shying away from shea butter with tree nut allergies. Mine thought that the occurance was not risky (surprisingly since my son has anaphylaxed twice) and thankfully it worked without issue.

By chance, do you have pets in your home? Beyond all the basics of detergent, cleaning supplies, etc. we still had problems until we realized that one of my sons allergies was to our dog.

Good luck!

There are some studies which show if the liver is not functioning properly, skin problems such as you have described, are prevelent.

If you would like to know more about the studies, let me know.

I have had good luck with the skin problems my 10 year old daughter had, and the liver problems I have had.

L.,

I have a 5 year old son that has allergies to gluten, casein, soy, corn- just to name a few. He reacts horribly whenever he gets even a trace amount of these foods. I found out about a doctor in Florida that clears sensitivities to food, mold, trees, synthetics, etc.. We just returned from two weeks of treatment this Monday. Our whole family was treated and we have seen some wonderful results in our son- already he is more focused, able to listen better, initiating and responding in conversation much better and able to redirect with out the previous melt downs and anger. We should also be able to reintroduce foods that he has previously had issues with and within a few weeks he will be able to eat a more normal diet. We still intend to keep him away from as many preservatives as possible, but it will definitely make life easier!

Below is a link to Dr. Debra Gaffney's website with information on her allergy sensitivity program, AcuSet. She uses a laser to treat children with acupuncture- looks like a small flash light, and my 2, 4 and 5 year old all found it to be relaxing. If you are traveling from out of town the office can help you get a reasonable hotel or condo rate and they will complete two treatments a day, Mon, Wed., and Fri. to speed the process along. If you've heard of Bioset, its like Bioset on steroids- she has trained under Ellen Cutler for NAET and through her own research made it possible to speed along the process of eliminating allergies. The program is called AcuSet- Dr. Gaffney uses computerized software to test your sensitivities (less subjective than muscle testing)and acupuncture- and she has been able to reduce the number of visits you need to make for treatment.

http://www.acudebra.com/

So far, our family has seen some positive results. We made the journey from Michigan to Florida as we knew other families with severe allergy sensitivities that have found relief after this treatment.

J.

we've been delaing with our daughters severe food allergies and eczema for 3 yrs.. i am part of a yahoo group that has soooo much knowledge to help with all of this. we were told to buy spectrum brand shortening and or eucirin lotion but in the long run the spectrum would be best and cost less(this is a palm kernal shortening) recommended by a dermatologist. here's the group site for gfcf kids with many more allergies etc..
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/GFCFKids/?yguid=1725...
i hope this helps.. i look forward to chatting with you on there. ~J.

With this much trouble, I would REALLY seek out an alternative, natural way of dealing with it. Steroids? They aren't good for adults as it is. And it just acts as a band-aid. Get to the root of the problem to reach resolutions.
Alternative, healthy, natural is the best. I wish you the best. It's difficult in a world where conventional medicine is the norm. It's like the salmon swimming upstream.

I have a friend who's daughter suffered from the eczema and took her to a dermatoligist (spelled wrong?),who had his own pharmacy. He makes his own lotion. Ask your son's dr. for a reference to one.

Personally, my daughter suffered from it on a low scale plus it clued us into her asthma acting up. Her dr. told me to watch the lotions because they have so much alcohol in them that some will make it worse. The thing that helped and still does is Eucerin Plus, intensive repair lotion.

Your sons flair ups might be a sign that he has came into contact with something he is allergic to.

I the dr.'s and others info help you with this difficult problem. Another thing I remember my grandmother always saying was "oatmeal bath takes the itch." I never did it but I don't if it would work.

Look forward to hearing when something works. Good luck.

The new aveeno eczema care is awesome. Find it in the first aid section of Target. We also get 2.5% cortisone ointment from the doc for major flair ups. Don't bath more than 2 times a week. That is our regime!! Every night with the cream and ointment.

Hi. I am the mother of 4 kids with another on the way. Our youngest is now 2 1/2 and also has severe food allergies and asthma. He doesn't have quite as many as your son but he is allergic to wheat, eggs, milk, and peanuts/tree nuts. When he was an infant he also developed SEVERE eczema all over his face and body. He would scratch at is and a couple of times it became infected and required antibiotics. What we ended up doing was first of all giving him a bath every night. After the bath we would slather him with a cream like eucerin or aquafor, etc. and (this will sound so weird, but the allergist suggested it) we would put him in wet pajamas that we had dunked in his bath water and wrung out. Then we'd put a heavier sleeper over that. We thought is would be terribly uncomfortable for him, but it didn't seem to bother him and after about a week and a half, the eczema on his body had cleared enough that we could just spot treat it. His face was a lot harder but the allergist prescribed a cream called cutivate that we would put rub on twice per day and over the top of that we would put bactroban cream to help avoid infection. We also did a temporary steroid treatment too that seemed to help a lot while he was on it. Eventually the eczema cleared up and this year he hasn't had any trouble with it at all. Some of it has to do with his age I think but also I think just taking out all of the allergens from his diet made a big difference. That is a very tricky and often costly thing to do, but is so worth it . Health food stores have a lot of allergy-free foods that can make things a little easier. Good luck and hang in there!

L.,

I have a friend who must be on a strict gluten free diet and has other allergies. She drives from Plymouth to Ferndale to purchase her grocery items from The Natural Food Patch ( http://www.naturalfoodpatch.com/ ) because they are so helpful and soooo reasonable as far as cost goes. The difference in a loaf of bread for her or a box of pasta is sometimes as much as four dollars. They are also very nice and knowledgeable.

As for the eczema, mary kay used to, and may still, sell Calming Lotion. My father and ex husband both had skin issues to the point their fingers would crack open. They both used it and Loved! it. Also.. the old body care lotion they used to sell helped my girlfriends eczema. I do know two Mary Kay consultants. If you would like their names and contact information, please let me know.

Good luck,
L.

My son as well developed severe eczema at about 4 months old. He however did not have as many food allergies, but I found that many other foods outside of dairy and such had a tendency to cause flair-ups. You will find more foods probably unfrtunately too, such as eggs made my son break out with these hives that swelled his face up and everything. For instance, I noticed that his rashes got better on the days when he ate no banana's. I assume with all the other allergies that you are using a free and clear detergent such as All and using no fabric softners. I even used the detergent to shampoo my carpets to remove any residue from previous cleanings as well as any pet dander. Also, I see he has allergies to milk, so I assume you are giving him soy milk...I suggest trying goats milk for a while as well. Also I did not use any soap or shampoo when I bathed him, just good clean water. He drank only the goat milk and reverse-osmosis filtered water too. I used Calendula Cream on the rashes...this cream was not scented or colored with no artificial ingredients whatsoever. I also used Evening Primrose Oil-which also can be found at your local pharmacy-ask the pharmacist for assistance, thats what they're there for :o)
At nighttime I bathed his body in plain unscented Vaseline all over the rashy spots, too. But I did notice that by putting the Vaseline on the spots directly without washing it off such as with a lotion only made the spots worse. Lastly, consider finding a really experienced homeopath (not an ND who dabbles in homeopathy), I found this helpful & if you have none in your area I would also recommend the book "the homeopathic treatment of eczema" which you should be able to find on websites such as amazon.com

My son now is 5 and does not have it anymore, but he still has drier patches of skin on his legs (almost like scarring-also I think a reaction from the steroid creams) and occasionally gets spots of drier skin that freak me out a little bit eventhough they are possibly just normal dry skin because I notice it only in the winter months. Unfortunately, if he is like my son, he will always have new allergic reactions...my sons new thing as of last summer is allergic conjunctivitis were the white part of his eyes swell, sometimes so badly where you can see the swelling heighth in comparison to the colored part of his eyes. Benadryl I have found worked with the eczema as well and even now & all of his physicians he has ever had have said that you can use it daily. The benadryl actually surprised me because out of all of the remedies I used this one being the simplest seemed to work greatly. Probiotics is something that I have recently heard discussed too...not completely sure what it is all about, but hopefully some of this will be of some help.

Jen

check out celiac.com

if he's allergic to wheat his problem may be gluten. it is a protien fornd in wheat barley and rye. many chronic conditions arise from some grains, including ADD and skin problems. dont use any otc creams or lotions, if you need to moisturize use a pure vegetable oil (one he's not allergic to) to avoid alcohol and fragrances. good luck.

This must be heart wrenching for you!

I would suggest getting the toxins out of your house... switch to safer non toxic cleaners, laundry, shampoo, body wash. I use lotion called Renew that was shown more effective than Eucerin in a double blind study.

In our house we have found that changing our products has really helped, my husband was on allergy medication for YEARS! 2 months after switching products he is drug free.

If I can help in any way message me! Good luck!

My cousin's son has similar allergies - peanut, wheat, etc. and has also been experiencing a nasty case of eczema.

She was sick of not seeing improvement so finally took him to her chiropractor for some alternative suggestions. Dr. Sven said that he probably has a yeast infection running through his body and suggested a yeast cleanse. So she went to Zerbos and they did not have a yeast cleanse, but an oral spray she could give him called Yeast Free (it is all natural and there is an infant and child dosage listed on the bottle). She has been using it for a little over a week and most of his eczema has cleared up.

The staff at Zerbos is very knowledgeable and will be able to answer your questions if you're interested in pursuing such alternatives.

You might want to try plain aloe vera gel to moisturize his skin. My daughter had trouble with most of the lotions because of the multiple ingredients even the ones for sensitive skin. It is messy but you might want to give petroleum jelly a try too.
Also don't use fabric softener and switch to a laundry soap that is free of dyes and perfumes

My daughter has eczema also- she is 3.5yrs old but was diagnosed at 6 months. We have tried many creams, lotions, prescription steroids and OTC stuff. We have not done allergy testing- but that is next on our list of stuff if we cant keep it under control soon. Anyway I apply baby oil on her right after bath-before I even dry her off, then I pat her dry and apply more lotion either Aveeno or Aquaphor. Hers is bad on her wrists/knuckles so I sometimes really lotion her up good and put cotton socks over her hands for the night. I dony really have any more advice to give as I am still searching for soemthing to help my daughter. One thing when it gets really bad I give her benadryl as directed by the derm that we see. He is great his name is Dr Tor Schwayder- he is on staff at Henry Ford Hospital- he is the head of pedi derm down there and I love going there- this passt summer my daughter had an extremyl bad break out and he got us in the same day as a new pt and cleared her right up- well for the time being as you know eczema is never"cured". If you have any more questions or need his # let me know.

M.

Look into homeopathic treatments, but keep in mind that the skin is one area that is very hard to clear because it is the outward expression of the person's constitution. Find a good homeopath, they have to get their MD before they may practice this aspect of medicine first, so a good one will not be adverse to trying other methods. But most of those methods are suppressive in nature and homeopathic medicine helps the body heal itself.
Good luck, keep us posted!
J. A

I don't know if I sent you an email on this back in March. If I did, I apologize for the repetition. I can't see the responses you've received either. However, if you have not tried the Arbonne ABC Baby Care line and their Rejuvenating Cream, I would give it a try. Arbonne is a botanically based skin care line. I have a lot of clients who are able to control their excema with these products. If you are interested and haven't tried it yet I would be happy to send you some samples.

I sure hope that yr little guy has found some relief and that you are enjoying this wonderful summer.
Take care.
Barb

My daughter is 15 months old and she had horrible eczema for the first year of her life. She was at the regular dermatologist, pediatric dermatologist, allergist etc... many many times!!! She had every lotion and steroid imaginable!

She is also allergic to peanuts, eggs and dogs (we have 2).

As soon as I stopped all formula her face cleared up. Does your son get his regular milk supplemented with any of the formulas or vitamins????

Try a warm bath with aloe soak they have ones made for very senstive skin. It works for my son. I have used it for almost 2years now. Any drugstore should have it or something like it.

I feel so sorry for you baby, poor thing, and also for you, being a mom trying to help him out the best way that you can, my daughter is allergic to kiwi so it is easy for me not to buy things that have kiwi in it, but for you since it is a variety of things that he is allergic to you have to be really carefull, I am praying for you all,and that he will outgrowth these allergies.
T.

In my best advice I would say ,try healing from the inside .Pills and steroids treat symptoms .My son had allergies.I did research and found that all the preservatives in our foods were contributing to his malady.
I put him on a totally natural diet ,increased his Vitamin C and vitamins .That was 30 years ago ,when all they offered were drugs that in my eye changed my sweet loving child into a depressed unhappy boy.
Today I would suggest getting him into a herboligist,a natural healer .They know about things that the body is lacking .In other words ,allergies, though attributed to the outside in reality are the body's attempt to react becasue it doesn't have what it needs to flouish.
Not sure the area you are in but there is a great healer in Howard City.She runs Nature'Atrium.
Best of luck .My son had asthma from allergies ,so I know how scary it is .I also know given the chance the body will heal itself .

L., I am affliated with a company that has products by a lot testing and hearing many testimonials from people that has helped their children with severe eczema. I have a website that you can contact me at: www.livetotalwellness.com/susank

Montel Williams had a guy by the name of Kenneth Boch on his show one day. He wrote a book called Healing the New Childhood Epidemic: Autism, ADHD, Asthma and Allergies. I purchased it through Amazon.com. It has been very helpful to me and it only cost $10.88. You may want to purchase the book and try some of his ideas/diets.
C.

Hello,

Wow it sounds like your little guy is having a hard time. I was wondering if you had ever heard of (N.A.E.T)? Google it and read up on it and see if it is something for you. It is an allergy elimiation technique that clears your body of them.I took both of my kids to do this and have had good results. If it sounds like something you want to try and you want more info, I would be glad to help direct you. The doctor that we saw is in Ann Arbor.
Thanks,
S.

Have you tried chiropractic care? I would recommend a holistic chiropractor. Best to you!

Hi,
My almost three year old has some eczema problems. Nothing like what you are describing, however, we use the same treatment for major flare-ups (basically all winter) and it really helps relieve her itchiness. We give her a luke warm bath every day and pat her dry (as per our peds. rec.). I then cake on the Eucerin Calming Cream. I have tried aquaphor and the topical steroid creams, but have not had a very good result. I love Eucerin. It's kindof greasey, but it really helps tame the eczema. I put it all over and then put her pajamas on right away. Sometimes she'll have it pretty bad and I might put it on first thing in the morning as well. I feel for you and wish you loads of luck! I hope you get some relief for him soon! Poor little one!
L.

Hi L.
I also have a son..he's 16 months and he is allergic to dairy products. He also had severe eczema..that started around 3 months old. But luckily, since he's gotten older..it has gotten alot better..So I can relate to how your feeling. Some basics, I'm not sure if your doing right now. Tepid baths, We use Cetaphil Cleanser when we give him a bath. A humidifier is also a big help..especially at night, when they tend to itch more. I'm not sure if you have any pets..but that might also be something to consider, and also if you have alot of carpeting. I'm not sure who your doctor is...But we have an awesome Allergist...his name is Dr. Marc McMorris..he's at the U of Michigan...at Domino Farms..he spends so much time with us, and is so compassionate and caring. He's the best Doctor...I've come across, super knowledgable. His number is ###-###-####. Let me know if you need anything else:)
R.

L., My son also had severe eczema. We tried all the different creams and ointments with no sucess. We ended up going to a pharmacy that also takes a more natural approach. We put him on probiotics and also cut out any excess sugars. This helped tremendously. The only time we have break outs now is in the winter. Hope this helps.
R. R.

L.

I read a book called the "pH Miracle" by Dr. Robert Young and his basic concept is that our bodies are alkaline by nature and acidic by function, that is why what we eat is so important. Anyway, he talks about alkaline water, and the benefits of it.
So my husband and I are looking into buying a water ionizer which run from $600-$1500 or so. In my search I was on you tube looking at different videos on the benefits of the water and I came across this one on alkaline water and eczema. It's called "Kangen water and Eczema" Just type that into the you tube box and a video will pop up that will potentially change your child's life, naturally.
Kangen is just a brand of water ionizers and I do not know if they are sold in the states. However a very reputable brand is called Jupiter ionizers, here is the web site, you can read different benefits of it on the site and it give very nice explanations as well. www.jupiterionizers.com

I would also recommend reading the book I mentioned earlier the "pH Miracle" by Dr. Robert Young. He has an all natural approach to eating and living, it's wonderful and has helped my husband, daughter and myself with different issues that we have had in the past.

I hope this helps, I would really really recommend that you watch that video it shows little kids being healed by alkaline water, pretty amazing.

If you have time, let me know what you thought about it!!

B.

I reccommend a book called "An Alternative Approach to Allergy" by Theron Randolph MD. This is an old book, the doctor is already dead, but I think it is still in print. This book was a lifesaver for me. Look on Amazon.com. Take heart, there is hope. It requires a lot of you to take care of your child with extreme allergy, but you can figure out what works for him. Keep a food diary. See what keeps him well. Look into other things such as what laundry soap you use. Does he have carpet in his bedroom? curtains on the windows? do you use perfumed cosmetics? do you clean with bleach? All these things can further weaken him. Have you found a vitamin supplement he can use. I reccommend Shaklee, or Bronson or Amway (now Quickstar) instead of grocery brands which have all kinds of extra stuff in them. He is limited in what he can safely eat, so you have to work more carefully to see that he is actually getting the nutrition he needs. Try to make his bedroom "safe" so he can get the sleep he needs. Build him up with vitamin C, but you have to be careful which ones you can use. Besides dealing with the rash, by alleviating the itch, you have to think about what's starting the rash in the first place. All that I have said, comes from personal experience. Just know you are not the first, nor are you alone. Best wishes

Hi I feel so bad for you. I have a son who is now 4 at 1 he had eczema and we found out he was allergic to milk, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat. The eczema has cleared up now. He has outgrown most of the allergies except nuts. They will retest him next yer to see where he is at with everything. It has been difficult. You learn to read ingredients on everything.They usually list allergy information at the end of the ingredients in bold letters, however your son with the fruit you may have to look a little harder. You will need to let everybody know that will be in contact with him. He probably will outgrow most of the allergies, I hope for your sake and his. I take my son to St. John pediatrics, they have 2 locations one in Macomb Twp on Romeo Plank just south of 21 and one in St. Clair Shores on 9 mile between Harper and Mack. Good Luck with everything.

Hi L.,

I have eczema pretty bad I found this cream in hawaii about 7yrs back. It works great on me! It's called Kukui moisturizing cream It's all natural you can order it online under Oils of Aloha. It's used for dry skin, sunburns and eczema and psoriasis. If you use it everyday it will help keep eczema at bay. I think it also helps with the itch. Give it a try I think on the website it will give the ingredients since your little one has so many allergies. any questions email me at ____@____.com luck my twin boys are crying.
Tammy

Go to www.ahccenter.com This group is AMAZING!!

YES CALL ME and I can introduce you to a store where the products are under Wal-mart prices and yet EVERYTHING is non toxic, no more eczema, no more allergies and itching...J. ###-###-####. OR EMAIL at ____@____.com
I teach mothers how to protect their children for free.
I have seen hundreds of children get off nebulizers and get rid of eczema...even adults.