Ryan has had eczema since he was 3 months old. I quickly learned that this is something my dear hubby dealt with until he was a teenager. Over the years we've learned that he is allergic to nearly everything. The tests show that he's allergic to milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, tree nuts, dust, cats, dogs, tree and grass pollen. But over time we've tested and found that peanuts and tree nuts are his only food issues. His environmental issues progressed and he's now on a regular asthma medicine. His eczema is up and down, though I admit we have a difficult time controlling due in part to our inconsistencies. His allergist has recommended we try immunotherapy with him, but we are reluctant to do this as it is a 3-5 year commitment that begins with shots at least once or twice a week. We haven't ruled this out, its just on hold.
Fast forward a few years, we had a baby girl, Abigail (we often call her Abi). I took a year off of work for many reasons including that I wanted to be able to breastfeed Abi for a full year. Our allergist said that while nursing won't necessarily deter allergies, research does say that nursing for 8 months or longer can help deter eczema. I nursed her for 10.5 months. I only stopped when I did as I had my tonsils removed and was put on lots of meds and could not nurse. I knew I was going to return to work soon after and coincidentally she wouldn't focus on feeding from me, and I also felt it was become awkward. At about 18 months, Abi met our allergist and we were told that she also is allergic to nuts and eggs. Her egg allergy test is strong enough that the doctor told us not to give her egg products at all. We fully eliminated eggs from her diet (including from baked goods), but saw no change in her eczema. After a month we were told that we could bring eggs back into her diet in such items as baked goods, but that the test was strong enough that he (the doctor) was hesitant to challenge her to see how she did with a regular egg. We decided to keep her completely egg free.
It should also be noted that with lots of research pointing milk/dairy as problematic for those that suffer from eczema, we did take Ryan off of all milk products for a few months. Again, we saw no changes at all. Over the years, Ryan has been on steroids about once or twice a year due to his in eczema and/or asthma. He's also had 2 bouts of MRSA. The most recent spin on MRSA (in 2012) landed him in the hospital for 4 days.
This year, after more flares and problems in writing at school, on a whim, his pediatrician recommended we try putting Ryan on a gluten-free diet. (Yay!!! I have another ingredient to look for on labels!) He said there is no research to support this and that it is completely unscientific, but that he's had one patient who's tried it and had success. A patient that sounds like he's had a very similar past to Ryan's. So, I came home and have found many sources that point to gluten as a problem for eczematics. Thus, we are going to try it.
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