Eczema and DC's Diet

Sorry in advance for all the questions

Has anyone changed their DC's diet in order to help with their eczema? Has it worked? How long did it take to see an improvement?

DS developed eczema when he was 11 months old (after he had a high fever, ear infection, antiobiotics). Some days his skin looks fine, but more often than not, he has a rash somewhere on his body (neck, torso, elbows, knees).

Before 11 months, he never had an issue with any foods. He was EBF and never seemed bothered by what I ate. I introduced cheeses, yogurt, eggs, gluten well before 11 months and his skin was always fine. (He is now 13 months old)

I plan on starting a probiotic this weekend (as suggested by Leb when I posted about this last month). I was also thinking of eliminating eggs and dairy from both of our diets (he is still BF 4-5 times a day) to see if it makes a difference.

If you changed your diet, did you use egg and dairy substitutes? I feel like DS' entire diet consists of these food. He LOVES yogurt and cheese. How strict were you with it? The pasta I bought must be made on machines that process egg products as well. Should I steer away from those as well?

Thanks Everyone!

Re: Eczema and DC's Diet

I did and it didn't work.

My son had horrific--and I mean horrific--eczema from birth, practically until just about age two. Around 10 months we discovered he has an egg allergy, but can eat egg baked into stuff just not scrambled, fried, etc. Our pediatrician suggested we eliminate ALL egg products, so we did. The boy lived on pancakes for breakfast, so I researched how to make them egg-free (btw, egg substitutes like Egg Beaters still contain egg) and they were gross...lol. And I eliminated all other egg-related foods for about two weeks and there was no improvement, so we went back to his previous diet.

Subsequently, we discovered he's allergic to all nuts as well and then "on paper" to dairy and soy (although he consumed/consumes them fine)...in retrospect, I do wonder now if eliminating dairy would have helped bc for the first year, he also had reflux.

In the end, he's 4.5 now and almost three years after bad infections due to the eczema, three doctors, and MANY medications his skin is totally fine.

Re: Eczema and DC's Diet

DS's eczema flares have nothing to do with what he eats, but more about his environment.

Re: Eczema and DC's Diet

You got it - eggs and dairy. May help, may not. Also eliminate all dyes and fragrances - soap, shampoo, laundry detergent, if you haven't already. And over hydrate the skin, let him soak in a tub, and moisturize with cream, not lotion within 3 minutes - our dermatologist said this is the most important thing. The skin in craving moisture so bathing daily is actually a good thing - most people think the opposite.

The fact that you breastfed him without issue probably points to more environmental issues, but ya never know. It's also very common for eczema to flare up whenever they have a virus.

My 8 month old has super severe eczema - it sucks. Most kids outgrow it by age 2 though. Good luck!!

Eczema and DC's Diet

My dd doesn't have eczema BUT she gets eczema like patches when she has too much dairy. She has a dairy protein intolerance. She is fine on cheese and yogurt. She cannot drink regular milk. And cannot have ice cream. Maybe 1-3 spoonfuls that's it.

I cut out the milk and ice cream. If she should have ice cream (like she did over memorial day weekend cause grandma doesn't listen LOL) I use lotion for sensitive skin especially on the spots every day and body wash for sensitive skin and it will go away.

Re: Eczema and DC's Diet

certain foods could very well be worsening your child's eczema, the hard part is pinpointing what it could be because it could involve multiple foods/food groups.

you would have to eliminate the major allergens like eggs, dairy, gluten, etc. for several months (not just a few weeks) and then slowly reintroduce to see if there's a reaction. a daily probiotic as well as vitamin d are also very helpful. I noticed that my psoriasis got much better once I started eating better and taking vitamin d.

I belong to several whole foods based groups on facebook, and its amazing how many people are able to control skin issues like eczema through diet. obviously, this doesn't apply to everyone, but it doesn't hurt to try.

ETA: my oldest DD who is 7, had eczema when she was young. it went away then flared back up around the age of 4 and for several years she had this area where it wouldn't go away. I took her off cow's milk a year ago, and now that area with eczema has completely disappeared. it did take almost a year to completely go away though.

Message edited 5/30/2015 11:16:47 PM.

Eczema and DC's Diet

My almost-2 year old's eczema is triggered by gluten. We discovered it when he started eating solid foods. It goes away when he's completely gluten-free.