Eczema or Food Allergy?

miss.brittany · February 2014

We have had skin issues with DD off and on since birth. She had the lovely newborn rash for the first few weeks of life and then every now and then would get little bits of eczema on her face. Usually if I put coconut oil on it, it would clear up. However she's been battling this most recent bit of eczema for two-three weeks now and it just seems to keep getting worse. It's so red and raw that her skin is actually flaking/peeling off her cheeks.

I took her to the pediatrician last time it happened (Novemeber) and asked if it could be a food allergy. I was told that it just looked like eczema and that a food allergy would likely have gastrointestinal symptoms and the rash would be on other parts of her body too, namely on her trunk area. This time since it's been so bad I showed it to one of our doctor friends who also agreed - just eczema and said food allergies would also have the above mentioned symptoms.

However the eczema is so bad that strangers have commented on it, and several of our friends keep telling us that eczema can be a symptom of a food allergy and their kid had it and once they found out their food allergy and stopped eating it the eczema went away. Also one time when she was eating dinner with me and DH her cheeks all of a sudden went from sort of irritated to be blood red. And then this week at my moms the same thing happened when my mom gave her lunch. No connections in the meals though. With us she was eating tomatoes and with my mom she was eating avocados and blueberries.

Anyone have any thoughts? Should I talk to the pediatrician again and ask about DD being tested for food allergies?

martha919 · March 2014

They're definitely linked. Our allergist says so, as does my aunt-in-law who is a retired allergist (30yrs experience). Also, I can tell you that when Amelia first tested positive for peanut allergy, her only noticeable symptom was eczema. What could it hurt to test? Geez, doctors can be ridiculous. I'm sorry your DD is suffering. The peeling eczema is the worst. :-(

miss.brittany · March 2014

Thanks so much for your input! I think I'll try the food diary and schedule an appointment to talk to our pediatrician again. The one we talked to last time was not our regular doctor, since it was a sick visit we had to see whoever was available. I really thought the two were linked as well!

Do you have any suggestions on anything I can put on her poor cheeks in the mean time?

bennikki · March 2014

My eczema is food intolerance related. Like a previous poster, gluten was my trigger. Also, tomatoes are part of the nightshade family of vegetables which can cause autoimmune issues to inflame. Eczema is an autoimmune issue.

ta78 · March 2014

My niece (15 months) has the same thing and the pedi told them it was just eczema. I will pass along this food allergy info to my sister in law. Hers has gotten so bad it's scabbing over.

martha919 · March 2014

Did the pedi tell you to use hydrocortisone cream? I know steroids aren't everyone's fave, but if you use it once a day for 3-5 days it should clear up some. And of course, moisturize like crazy. I actually just learned this, but apparently rapid changes from hot to cold can aggravate eczema--just something to think about if you're in the frigid north...or Midwest even, lol. We often pre-lube DDs cheeks with Vaseline to prevent drying if we're going to be out in the cold much.

Fwiw, coconut oil made DDs eczema worse, but obviously that's not going to be the case for everyone. Just might be worth trying something else. But if it helps, go for it! Eczema is stupidly tricky because it affects people in different ways and you have to find that unique treatment combo.

Eta: more words ;-)

miss.brittany · March 2014

@bennikki I had no idea about the tomatoes. That's really interesting. Maybe we'll avoid them for a while!

@PrivacyWanted that's good to know! I loved the Earth Mama nipple butter. I ran out of my last jar a while ago but this sounds like a good excuse to buy more.

@martha919 No the pediatrician just recommended moisturizing but one of my coworkers suggested hydrocortisone cream yesterday. I'm not big on steroids but if this keeps getting worse instead of better, like it has been, then I think I'll try it. I can't stand to see LOs face like this!

Thanks so much for all of the input. I really appreciate it.

Msdancnusa1 · March 2014

From a medical standpoint, do not use steroid creams on the face unless truly necessary. Skin is very thin and can have effects long term. Probably the same reason pedi didnt mention it.

martha919 · March 2014

Hmm. Would it be possible to see a dermatologist? They can help determine whether a steroid cream would be helpful in this case.

ungraceful13 · March 2014

It can totally be related to a food allergy. I have had ezcema for years and never thought to have an allergy test and recently just found out I am allergic to some foods so I am going to cut back on them and see if it helps.

SWOG31 · March 2014

My DD gets eczema breakouts periodically all over her body. When she had a particularly bad breakout, the pedi prescribed a steroid cream, but told me she wasn't a fan of using it all over the body, just on the parts that seemed to bother my DD. I used BabyGanics eczema lotion all over her body and the steroid cream on the back of her neck where she was proned to scratch. The BabyGanics worked really well and cleared it up. I still have pretty much the full bottle of the prescription steroid cream because I use it so sparingly. My pedi said it could be a sign allergies, not just food allergies. However, she also said most babies will outgrow it.

miss.brittany · March 2014

I bought the baby ganics eczema cream this weekend and have been putting it on her several times a day. I'm not sure that there's been an improvement yet, but it's definitely not worse. On the other hand this crazy weather in my town is not helping either! It was 70 degrees and sunny on Sunday and we played outside, and today we had a snow storm and it's like 6 degrees out right now!!

@SWOG31 I'm glad to hear that she might outgrow it! I really hope that's the case for us.

@Msdancinusa1 That's a good point about the thin skin. I'm normally super cautious about what I use on DD (and feed her), hence my choice of using coconut oil to begin with. So I was nervous about the idea of a steroid....now you really have me leaning away from that!

@martha919 I'm not sure about a dermatologist. I should call my insurance company and see what's covered.

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