advice needed for infant with eczema

amother

Sun, Jan 23 2011, 7:22 am

My dd is k"ah 6 months old. practically since she was born she's had reactive skin to anything johnson and johnson. At 2 weeks old she had baby acne which stayed as eczema. She's had blood allergy testing at 4 months which showed allergy to eggs, dairy and peanuts. I'm exclusively breastfeeding so I've been avoiding these foods. However, there has been no improvement at all! So this Shabbos I decided to enjoy some nosh in moderation. I ate some almonds, cashews, and leftover dried fruits. And of course dd has a major eczema crisis all over her body today. I'm at my wits end! I'm scheduling an appointment for her somewhere! Should I go see an allergist or dermatologist? any recommendation? Oh, and her pediatrician feels it's not food related and she'll outgrow the eczema....

allrgymama

Sun, Jan 23 2011, 8:36 am

First off: you should read all of the other threads regarding children with eczema so that you know how to treat it. There are a number of creams/soaps (Clear Cream/Aquaphore/a variety of Aveeno products) you can use and combinations of different medications (Benadryl/Hydrocortisone). You should use these every single day for the rest of her life (or until she's really 'grown out of it' and you should probably continue anyway, because it's just a good practice to moisturize.) While she's having a really bad attack, you should be doing it twice a day.

Also: if you were lucky enough to diagnose your child with food allergies as early as 6 months (I didn't until DD was a year old) then be thankful and, for God's sake, avoid the foods that your DD is allergic to!

I'm not sure that the breakout requires a trip to the doctor at all. The connection between foods and her breakout is very clear. Avoid the foods, she won't break out (as much). You just need to medicate and moisturize.

Her pediatrician is an idiot. I'm sorry. Mine was, too.

Mommy3.5

Mon, Jan 24 2011, 8:31 am

She probably also has other allergies. An allergist is the place to start. A dermatologist can only treat the symptom (the excema), you need to find the trigger. In the meanwhile stay off nuts, eggs, and dairy. It can take a few days to get out of the milk. Get a good cream (vani cream is great) and moisturize her 3-4 times a day. Don't go off the diet until you decide to stop nursing her. Its very hard, but very worth it at the end.

HTH

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 2:53 am

Use Vani cream. Moisturize as often as possible. I was recommended to keep one everywhere around the house as reminders to moisturize a lot. Hatzlacha!
As with food, it pays to refrain from the troublesome rather than dealing with the consequences.

allrgymama

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 1:47 pm

@ amother: In my experience, it depends on the person in question and the allergy. Some people are allergic only to egg whites, some to egg yolks and some to both. Some people can't have a scrambled egg or a cookie, but they can have a cake (bakes longer at a higher temperature).

I believe it was a recent study at Duke University which found that the majority of children included in the study (regardless of the severity of their allergy) had no reaction to egg that had been baked in a product at 350 degrees or higher for 20 minutes or longer.

As always, the best thing to do is consult an allergist. I would recommend taking dear daughter for testing and going from there.

cuties' mom

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 4:28 pm

I went through a similar thing with my oldest. The ped didn't think it was allergy related despite the severe eczema, reflux, and bloody diapers. I started out going to an allergist who wasn't so good. She told me to go on the TED instead of testing ds or treating his eczema. After a month, there was still no improvement so I switched allergists and went to a dermatologist and GI. I also started wet wrapping ds every night for 3 years. I finally stopped last year. Ther allergist I use is Dr. Sicherer at Mount Sinai. Our dermatologist is Dr. Fishman. We still go to Dr Sicherer every year but haven't used Dr. Fishman for 4 years B'H. The reason for going to a dermatologist is that not all eczema is allergy related which is why ds still had eczema when I wasn't eating anything he's allergic to.
ETA: I switched peds since then.

Mommy3.5

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 6:37 pm

amother wrote:

op here. Does egg allergy include eggs in baked goods?

for some people yes, for others , no.

baking the egg changes the protein, people less allergic can eat it, those with a higher sensitivity cannot. I would remove baked in egg from my diet until she was all clear then see what happens when you add it back into your diet.

sky

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 8:27 pm

I'm no expert so take this with a grain of salt but ds#1 had eczema since he was born and other then 2 uncommon foods (strawberries and pineapple - I figured out on my own) I don't think it is food related. I believe it is stress, seasonal, environmental. b'h its gotten better as he is getting older. At this point he only gets minor flair ups (he is 4.5), so I do believe that he is growing out of it even though it is taking a long time. I know most people don't agree but my son followed the path that your ped is describing. (b'h he recently had strawberries and did not have a flare up but I'm still not giving because I remeber how bad it was and am so scared of going there again - One Pesach I had to change his pants numerous times in one day because of the blood that was leaking from his eczema, b'h he is a different child today)

I was told that before 3 years of age the testing is not always very accurate.

I found using lots of aquaphor 3 times a day helped. If dc is scratching yet then put on neosporin or bactirban on any open cuts immediately. (I didn't find that Aveeno worked, in fact I found it made the flare-ups much worse)

ysydmom

Sun, Jan 30 2011, 9:41 pm

stay away from the nuts, and don't use cetaphil it has macadian nuts in the ingredients. You will want to take her to a dermatologist to get a script for some cream she can use like cortozone and then call the allergist. you can also give her some bendryl if it's really bad.