Eczema & Allergies (RAST results back-- EGG allergy, pg 5)

[melk]

Forgive me for not reading all the replies but I just thought I would add my 2 cents.

My friend has struggled with eczema her entire life, has been on different medications, treatments, etc. She finally did a lot of research on her own and decided to try going gluten-free. Her eczema has improved 100%, but she will have flare-ups if she deviates off her new diet.

Also, my dd gets it on her eyelids and recently her pediatrician did a blood test and found she is allergic to strawberries and apples. We have cut those out of her diet and her eyes look a lot better. So I really believe that allergies have a lot to do with it. So seeing an allergist is a great step to take (we're going next month to see an allergist to get a more complete list of what she's allergic to).

I realize everyone is different, but thought I would share our experiences in case it helps anyone.

By the way, your daughter is such a cutie!!!

 

[vettechick99]

Forgive me for not reading all the replies but I just thought I would add my 2 cents.

My friend has struggled with eczema her entire life, has been on different medications, treatments, etc. She finally did a lot of research on her own and decided to try going gluten-free. Her eczema has improved 100%, but she will have flare-ups if she deviates off her new diet.

Also, my dd gets it on her eyelids and recently her pediatrician did a blood test and found she is allergic to strawberries and apples. We have cut those out of her diet and her eyes look a lot better. So I really believe that allergies have a lot to do with it. So seeing an allergist is a great step to take (we're going next month to see an allergist to get a more complete list of what she's allergic to).

I realize everyone is different, but thought I would share our experiences in case it helps anyone.

By the way, your daughter is such a cutie!!!

I am anxiously awaiting to hear the results of her RAST - they tested for seafood, dairy, nuts, eggs, and wheat (I'm guessing that goes along with gluten?). I already know about nuts and eggs and I'd really hate for her to have a dairy or wheat allergy, but at least we'd have answers.

 

[DVCisME]

Gluten is an allergy or intolerance to wheat, rye, and barley. I my self have celiac disease and cannot properly digest gluten. Thus I eat gluten free, but still have eczema.

 

[disfan07]

Waiting on RAST results, but this has popped up this week.

Scooner's eczema is getting worse, in a different way. I am able to keep it from getting to the cut-up/wound stage. Instead now, it's always very blistery looking. This past week she had two areas on her lower bottom (the area of your upper thigh, lower bottom where you sit) and now above her knee cap. It's red and puffy and lots of welts. She scratches at it but never complains of pain. Sometimes she can scratch til she bleeds.

We are wondering if maybe this is detergent or fabric related. But if she was allergic to some detergent or fabric, wouldn't her entire body break out, everywhere she is exposed to the allergen?

We have an allergist appt at the end of the month, but would love some answers now. Any advice?

That is me. I am allergic to lanolin, parabens and basically every lotion and detergant etc in existence.
That being said, before we found out that i was allergic to all of the chemicals, i only broke out from it majorly on my legs...it was blisters and minor infections, etc. But even though i used it all over, only my legs broke out the way you are describing. i would say that it would not hurt to have her tested for chemical allergies if they do it that young (i was 16 when i had the chemical tests done)

Also, the only 2 detergents we ever use are arm and hammer (i think its teh sensitive skin...all i know is that it has a green cap) and seventh generatioin.

My previous dermatologist was at Johns Hopkins and all of the doctors who had seen me there said my case was one of teh worst they had ever seen...i ended up on immunosuppresents b/c topical treatments did not work alone

 

[JennsBabySky]

My eczema comes and goes (depening on what I'm exposed to and my stress levels and ?), but when I'm having a flare up, I'm super sensitive to almost everything and that includes chlorine and detergent/fabric softener. I don't always react to detergent/fabric softener, but if I'm having a flare up -- forget it! Be careful with Dreft, I think they have a new formula, but their original formula is full of perfume. The worst flare up I ever had (as an adult) was aggravated by washing my pajamas in my dd's Dreft. Also, I've heard mixed things about Tide Free, I think it depends on the person. My dermatologist does not recommend Tide Free and I am aggravated by the Tide Free. I can use All free and Purex Free and I can use the free Downy fabric softener. Recommendations really vary from person to person. I also second the concern regarding the hotel sheets.

Sorry that you and your daughter are going through this! The pool can be really tough, I'm in my 30s and I have to fit the urge to scratch the entire time while swimming in a chlorinated pool -- and we have a pool, so I know better!

It can get better. By the time I was 5 or 6, I only became aggravated by chlorine, perfume, and dyes and I barely ever think about it now. I just need to do a couple things (no perfume, dye free soap, lotion, laundry detergent, fabric softener) and my life is normal!

I'm fighting it now cause my 5 year old son has eczema, but over the last two years it has greatly improved. Fingers crossed that the same happens for your daughter.

 

[vettechick99]

Ok, nurse called and left me a message. But she said on the message that Scooner has an egg allergy. Which I already knew because when she ate scrambled eggs at 11m, her face broke out. So we've never given her any eggs since then. Nothing new there.

But she said that it was a level 4 (can someone tell me what that means?) and since that is apparently significant, I'm wondering if I've underestimated this allergen. Does this mean that she can't have anything cooked with eggs. I thought I had heard or read (maybe here) that egg is fine when it's cooked in foods like cakes and cookies, but maybe it's not for her.

I'm online doing research and trying to figure this out. Maybe she can tell me more when I talk to her. I would be so happy if she's just allergic to egg and all I need to do is cut out all of it to keep her skin happy.

Any experience here? Thanks for all your advice!

 

[mckryan]

My daughter had a bad eczema breakout that lasted a long time, and no topical treatments were touching it. The allergist finally gaver her a 2 week prescription for Omnicef and also had her treat topically, and it finally went away. She was 'thisclose' to a punch biopsy to see what was going on. She had sores that bled, itched, and just looked horrible. I was frustrated thinking that she could have been treated so much earlier and avoided the pain that she had when she took showers, along with the scars the eczema left when it finally cleared up.

We have been lucky in that we haven't had to deal with food allergies, so I don't know what a level 4 means, but I hope that you can get an answer so you can start getting her eczema under control. I know how frustrating it is, and it's even harder when they are so young!

 

[Christine]

My son had a severe allergy to egg when he was younger. It was also deemed severe. At least on the skin prick he was 4++ (we did not do RAST on that one).

I will be honest with you. Eczema is just so mysterious. For most people, you will never find a concrete cause and effect. For the first few years that we knew of the egg allergy (from 10 months old and on), we gave him no egg products of any kind. His eczema was always bad. When he got older, we started giving him things that had eggs in them and he never had a reaction, nor did the state of his eczema ever change.

As he has gotten older, he has gotten better.

When I really think about it, I have to say that his eczema has never really been affected by what he eats that we know of.

I can see real changes depending on the weather, where he is, what the pollens/environmental allergies are like. For instance, when we were at Disney he had some fairly significant breakouts on his arms. Probably due to the heat/humidity. I think he got bothered when we were at the waterpark too. We have found that the only way to really break the cycle is to use the Elocon sparingly. Nothing else has ever really helped.