3 yr old Son has Chronic Eczema...

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scotslass
scotslass Posts: 317
in Food and Nutrition
Hi everyone,

Sorry I know this is an adult site but I'm hoping someone out there may be able to help me. My little boy suffers from Chronic Eczema, covered head to toe and tears his skin open during the night through his bandages, it's that bad. I have finally been refered to a child specialist Dermantologist after begging for help, but I'm lost to what I can feed him as I am cutting out dairy and wheat.

Any Help / advice welcome

Thank you xx
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Replies

  • Paxtonite
    Paxtonite Posts: 22
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    Poor mite. As with a lot of these things, diet can have a part to play. Have you tried the usual things - eating whole foods, super foods, fresh fruit?

    Maybe a child multi-vitamin?

    Of course, the dermatologist will be able to cover these things, so best of luck with that.

    Maybe this site has some good advice too - http://eczema-natural-healing.com/
  • scotslass
    scotslass Posts: 317
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    Poor mite. As with a lot of these things, diet can have a part to play. Have you tried the usual things - eating whole foods, super foods, fresh fruit?

    Maybe a child multi-vitamin?

    Of course, the dermatologist will be able to cover these things, so best of luck with that.

    Maybe this site has some good advice too - http://eczema-natural-healing.com/

    Thank for taking the time to reply, I really appreciate it :-) He only eats bananas, sometimes apples, but can't give him citrus fruit as it flares it up and tomatoes too, he's a plain eater and mostly wheat and diary, which I will be cutting out over the next few days, slowly easing him into a different way of eating, I will probs be the bad one as I am banning anyone from giving him yogurts and chocolate, even my family but I need to be cruel to be kind, I hope the dermatologist can point me in the right direction I am freaking out lol Thank you so much for the site I will have a look now! I will buy in some child multivits too :-)
  • samf36
    samf36 Posts: 369 Member
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    A trip to a good allergist would help. A little friend of mine has her just about all cleared up after eliminating what she was allergic too.
  • scotslass
    scotslass Posts: 317
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    A trip to a good allergist would help. A little friend of mine has her just about all cleared up after eliminating what she was allergic too.

    Thank you I will arrange this too :-)
  • MissCheese
    MissCheese Posts: 195 Member
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    Dairy, tomatos and citrus can all be bad for Eczema.

    You may want to try an elimination diet, no fun for your son but may give him relief in the long term. You basically eat a very plain diet for a couple of weeks and then start slowing adding foods in, if you get a reaction then remove it.

    You can google elimination diets and get lost of examples. A trip to see a dermatologist is probably in order if you haven't already, they can help with diet also.
  • CameoDouglas
    CameoDouglas Posts: 78 Member
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    I have eczema as well, nothing as serious as that but nonetheless eczema. Diet wise I couldn't really suggest anything but my advice to you would be to just be careful what you're putting on his skin. I know for me hand sanitizer doubled the severity of my eczema and it does for most people so I went out and bought special organic lemon hand sanitizer. It's alcohol free and they've taken out all those disgusting chemicals, it comes in a little spray bottle and you can find them at Sobeys. Other than that I would say make sure he's sticking to his medication and he should clear up soon. I apply my prescribed cream 2x a day as directed and I'm already seeing improvements. Also eczema usually hits in "waves" of years, you'll break out severely for a year or so and it will go away for a little bit in most cases.
  • NGMama
    NGMama Posts: 384 Member
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    We're dairy and gluten free around here and it makes a world of difference to eczema! You can try substituting coconut milk yogurt, coconut milk, rice milk. They even have rice milk chocolate bars and ice cream. My son was under three when we started. I did it cold turkey and explained those foods were making him sick and giving him eczema. He felt so much better he gave me no bother. I planned ahead and made special things for him if we were going to a party. Called ahead at restaurants. He can have a little bit of each occasionally now but it was a solid year before we could start that. You may also want to see a naturopath about probiotics and fish oil. Both will help heal his skin and probiotics will help heal his leaky gut. Just make sure if you buy it over the counter that the fish oil is certified mercury free. I would really see an ND though, he will likey need higher doses than what are on the bottle and NDs have access to higher quality supplements. Good luck!
  • sasarafo
    sasarafo Posts: 18
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    I also suggest an allergy test. I took my son who was only 2 at the time to a natropath. She did some allergy testing and we discovered he had some pretty severe food intolerances. Once we removed them it literally changed his life. No more chronic runny nose, congestion, skin rash, behavioral outbursts and aggression. He also started sleeping better and went off all reflux meds. It was interesting because I had done elimination diet with him myself and had my suspicions and she proved everyone of them right!

    Going wheat and dairy free can be rough at first but it gets easier...I promise :)
  • scotslass
    scotslass Posts: 317
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    I can not thank you enough for taking the time to reply for me, I have copied all replys so I can start a Diet overhaul, I have decided I will do it with him so he understands that it's doing it for his own good. He has an appt with a Dermatologist on Monday too, thank you so much again xx
  • jerristic
    jerristic Posts: 1
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    go to natural help for exzema and see if any of those things may help
  • scotslass
    scotslass Posts: 317
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    Thank you I will try that also :-)
  • impyimpyaj
    impyimpyaj Posts: 1,073 Member
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    I second the suggestion for an elimination diet. You can find tips all over the web on how to implement it. At 3 years old, he should be able to understand why you're giving him these foods and only these foods, if you just explain to him that the other foods are what's making his skin hurt. We cut out food dyes for my son because he was extremely aggressive, and I just explained to him that some foods have colors in them that make him angry, and that's why we couldn't have fruit snacks and various other things. He was ok with it, and he even tells people that he can't have things like Kool-Aid because they make him mad. So try talking to him about it. He'll probably understand far more than you think, and it will make the transition easier for both of you if he knows the reason. *hugs*
  • stroken96
    stroken96 Posts: 436 Member
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    My daughter had it so bad when she was a little one, the scratching, the bloody sheets, the stares.
    I put vaseline on her at night, as she got older we found out she could not eat nuts only almonds were ok, nothing with nuts, like peanut butter!
    Check labels
  • cobboldj
    cobboldj Posts: 1
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    My son has suffered from psoriasis for many many years and has been to all sorts of specialists etc, he has had light treatment the lot. Like most kids he is a fussy eater but after watching a programme back in November we tried him on Omega 3 tablets. Two months later he is completely clear of it and this is just taking 500mg twice a day. We dropped the dosage to one a day but it is showing signs of returning so back to two. No other diet changes happened although they also recommended Turmeric. Worth a shot......
  • mcmom0725
    mcmom0725 Posts: 53 Member
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    My heart goes out to you :( My son had eczema, vomiting and joint pain-to the point where he wouldn't walk (he was 5 at the time). I had taken him his pediatrician and allergist with no results or answers. In a book by Mary Lou Henner (believe it was geared to kids diet/cookbook). I read about lactose intolerance (which everyone swore he did not have) causing joint pain and eczema, took him off all dairy and put him on lactaid. It helped him immensely! My son is 16 now and is able to eat dairy. I think you are on the right track. I know how frustrating it is - wishing you the best!
  • suziecue66
    suziecue66 Posts: 1,312 Member
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    The diet and seeing a naturopath definitely the best. The fish oil and probiotics good advice. The dermatologist may just give a cream and not look at diet. But I will still go see what he/she prescribes.
  • laa0889
    laa0889 Posts: 4 Member
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    DISCLAIMER- I am a not a doctor, so dont take this as medical advice - it's just my story. . I had eczema also. I had it since I was a young child. When I was 19, I was studying nutrition in college. I read in one of my textbooks that lack of linoleic acid in the diet wouldn't cause eczema but could make it worse. I researched what foods contained linoleic acid. I learned it was in fats that were liquid at room temperature - things like safflower oil. At the time I didn't eat any salad dressing or things with oil in them so i tried an experiment. I ate a tablespoon of safflower oil twice a day. I just mixed it into orange juice and gulped it down. In about 6 weeks my eczema cleared. Could be coincidence - but I didnt think so at the time and still don't. My eczema has been mostly clear now for decades.
  • kelleybelly35
    kelleybelly35 Posts: 73 Member
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    I would take him to am allergist my son has eczema and was diagnosed when he was only 3 months old. turned out he was allergic to everything but mainly rice and they put rice powder in everything, he also had allergy induced asthma.....he is now 13 yrs old and it is much better now i wish the best of luck because it is not easy to deal with
  • AlabasterJar68
    AlabasterJar68 Posts: 121
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    A trip to a good allergist would help. A little friend of mine has her just about all cleared up after eliminating what she was allergic too.

    I agree with this too. Your Dermatogist or Pediatrician might recommend that your Son be tested for allergies. When my son was a few months old he started getting red patches all over his face. We had our Pediatrician check it out and he said it was due to an allergy possibly cow's milk. I wasn't able to nurse at the time so he was on formula. To make a long story short, he was tested at 2 years old and we found out that he had an allergy to cow's milk, beef, shell fish, eggs, and highly allergic to nuts. My son is now 18 and he has outgrown those allergies with the exception of nuts. His skin has cleared over the years as well. I wish you and your son well.
  • alli4350
    alli4350 Posts: 38
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    I feel his pain. I also have chronic eczema and I'm 26 years old. :( I would take him to an allergist. 80% of the time, eczema in children is caused by food allergies. If someone can tell you what those are, it'll be much easier to control.

    Unfortunately (and fortunately, I guess), I have no food allergies. I have had luck controlling my eczema flare ups with a combination of fish oil supplements twice a day and benedryl and steroid cream on the bad days.

    Good luck!

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