How Did You Find Out??

Whenever I talk with someone about my son's food allergies, the question inevitably makes it into the conversation...."How did you find out that he was allergic to all those foods?"

In our case, our son had terrible ezcema as a young infant. He had red, scaly patches all over his body - including his face and scalp. In fact, his scalp was one of his two worst areas. His head was so crusted that if he scratched his head (which he did often), his hair would look wet from the oozing. He also had a spot on his hand that we swore would be scarred forever! He scratched this part of his hand on ANYTHING he could get to! It would ooze and bleed several times per day.

We tried everything under the sun to get rid of the ezcema but nothing seemed to work. We were bathing him in cetaphil, using atarax nightly, doing probiotics in his food, and using prescription creams. Finally, when all else failed (and mommy was in tears!), the allergist decided to test him for the top 8 allergens at 7 months of age and, at that point, he was positive to wheat, milk, eggs, soy, peanuts, corn, oats and green peas.

We changed him to Nutramigen from a milk-based formula at that point and started an elimination diet of all of his allergens. His skin was better in a matter of days! He also had very good results with Protopic, which is a non-steroidal ointment. However, three years down the line, he developed a rash and hives in the area where it was applied so we do not use it anymore.

The best solution that I got from anyone was from my father - an italian! He kept telling me to rub olive oil on him. I refused as this just seemed useless and messy. Well, when I was at the point of tears, I tried it - it worked like a charm! The best thing about it is that olive oil is great for skin and it's such a pure solution!

Many people, after hearing that, fear that their child will have numerous food allergies because their child has ezcema. This may not be the case. However, children with atopic skin disorders (ezcema) do have a higher tendency to develop allergies and asthma. Food allergies can possibly manifest as skin conditions. I, as a child, had severe ezcema as well and I have food allergies and mild asthma. Allergies can be genetic! So, if a child or an adult has problems with ezcema or other skin conditions, an allergy visit may not be a bad idea! A skin condition does not necessarily mean that a person has allergies but it is worth checking into if it is bothersome or you're just curious!