What is causing my LO's eczema?

[badpixie]

Hiya

My lo has had a big patch of eczema on and under his chin since we weaned him onto solids. Looking for any advice for diet or topological treament. We use the steriod cream at the moment, but would prefer a gentler more herbal or holistic approach. I removed soya from his diet and it seemed to get better, but its worse than ever now. Recently removed eggs. Anything acidic in his diet irritates it due to dribbling so I try to avoid these. I also apply a barrier cream before he eats. Stopped putting him in woolen jumpers and started him on probiotic yogurt.

Will be upping his probiotics based on this, but his dad is a vegetarian, so not sure how he would feel about me boiling down carcasses, maybe if nothing else helps!

Thanks

[weaver]

There are some other discussions on here about eczema being linked to dairy: a lot of mothers seem to have found a link. My friend's LO had eczema fairly badly and it has cleared up pretty well since she took him off dairy.  She wasn't too keen on the steroid cream either, which was the only thing the doc seemed to have to offer!  Hopefully someone who knows a bit more about this will be along for you in a minute... Hang in there!

[Buntybear]

Do you think that it is probably a contact rash?i think you are doing the right things esp with a barrier cream when feeding. Personally we find sudocrem works well with eczema. Steer clear of anything acidic like tomatoes or strawberries.

[badpixie]

Thanks Buntybear - The dr said it was probably contact dermititis. I told her it had only appeared since i weaned him, and she said 'thats weird' and sent me off with the prescription - not very helpful I do try and avoid acidic foods and its not a red, but its still there. I know I had ezcema as a child and my mum had to avoid soap and anything fragranced so I was thinking of getting some 'simple' or 'e45', will try sudocreme, thanks.

Thanks anne, we don't have a lot of dairy in our diets because I'm lactose intolerant, but I have been giving him the odd bit of cheese and more recently yogurt for the probiotics. We were both given lods of antibiotics when he was born because my waters broke 4 days before he came out, so I've been giving him probiotic on and off since birth anyway. maybe I'll just give him the powder without the dairy.

[weaver]

I think the babies who had eczema linked to dairy had it pretty badly so hopefully it's just a contact rash!  Good luck.

(...4 days *after* your waters broke...yikes!!)

[badpixie]

He's got it all over his back as well now

[Buntybear]

All over? Have you changed your washing powder or softener?

[badpixie]

Hiya,
not changed washing powder. Its been feeling like it had rough patches for a while now but we didn't pay it much attension because his chin was so bad, but its now reddened and is really noticable. Could it be a washing powder build up? I've just discovered that this happens in nappies, so I assume it must happen in clothes to a lesser degree. We a gentle eco brand.

In better news the chin ezcema doesn't seem so bad now, I've been using pure coconut oil on it for a few days instead of the steriod cream and the emulsifying barrier cream the dr prescribed. Its still there, but its not flared up for a while but it seems to be spreading up his cheeks to his ears. Would a contact rash spread like this?

(Anne - I wasn't in labour for those 4 days, nothing happened after my waters broke so I had to be induced)

[Buntybear]

Sorry, how old is your LO? How long has he had dairy in his diet? If it is spreading like that  it could be an intolerance to something in his diet.

[badpixie]

Hi thanks for the reply!

I only started dairy about 6 weeks ago, but just the odd bit of cheese, but then I upped the dairy by giving him yogurt for the probiotics. I stopped a few days ago though when the ezcema seemed to be getting worse. How long before it would make a difference? I read something yesterday that said it can take a month for the skin to heal after the infection has died down! Thats a long time to wait to see if anything in his diet is affecting it.

Starting to feel quite anxious about it, there are patches on his shoulders and the tops of his arms now!

he's now off soy products, dairy and eggs. I don't let him have much gluten because we have a gluten intolerance in the family, but i've been a bit slack and let his dad give him bits, is gluten known to have a skin reaction? Gonna take him off it just in case

[weaver]

I'm not an expert at all but my friend said that she noticed an immediate improvement in the skin when she stopped dairy for her LO (she put him on goat's milk).  I don't think it was dramatic but LO stopped feeling so itchy, started sleeping a bit better and the redness reduced in some areas.

That's a lot of things excluded from his diet, very tricky for you!  I had a quick look for you on the coeliac society website to see if there's a link with eczema and this is what I found. 
http://www.coeliac.ie/coeliac_disease/dermatitis_herpetiformis

 I'd consider calling the gp for a referral to a dietician if I were you.  At least then you could speak to an expert about it.

[badpixie]

Thanks for that Anne, i think rash is definately ezcema rather than dermatitis herpetiformis. I am going to go back to the dr though, because it can't be contact dermatitis if its on the rest of his body can it? I thik she's just gonna say to use the cream tho. The dietician is a good idea.

I will keep an eye on him for a few days to see, its not really red at the moment anyway, its just dry. Not sure if its still itchy, He is rolling a lot at night.

[Buntybear]

Olly was off dairy from 3 weeks and still has a rash until I took eggs and wheat out of my diet (thru BM) at around a year. I cannot be sure if it was the eggs or wheat but I would imagine that wheat can do it too.

For you I would start with the dairy - I think you should see an improvement within the week. Make sure he is getting no hidden dairy so you can be sure.

[Erin M]

I get what doctors think is contact dermatitis sometimes but it will start as one tiny little patch somewhere and then spread over much larger parts of my body.  Not fun!