If your child had infant eczema, did he/she end up with actual allergies?

[LittleIzumi]

Ds (4 months) has definite infant exzema. It looks like it flares up with food (peanuts were HORRIBLE), and in certain places (it always goes crazy at church or one particular grocery store, for instance), and then it just flares up on its own often too, or he'll flare over something and stay flared up for days. I know a LOT of people who have babies with infant eczema, and it seems pretty common. I don't think serious allergies are nearly as common. If your baby had eczema, did it turn into permanent allergies or was it outgrown? We have no eczema history in our family at all, but we do have allergies (environmental, animal, and food) & asthma so the genetic predisposition is there.

 

(They don't want to test for allergies until he's at least 1, so I'm stuck just worrying about it for 8 months.)

[Quad Shot Academy]

Mine has no allergies, but did suddenly develop full blown asthma at the age of 4.5, even though we have no family history of it. He does still have eczema too. It goes away for long time periods but then becomes a daily battle again for long periods. :grouphug:

 

ETA: He is actually allergic to all antibiotics and tested positive to cat, but has never shown symptoms.

Edited February 9, 2011 by Quad Shot Academy

[Kipling]

My son was diagnosed with eczema at 4 months and stills struggles with it today. However, he has no other (known) allergies or asthma. He is five, so that is still subject to change.

My niece also has had eczema since she was a baby or toddler and now has asthma. Her asthma is fairly mild, I believe. She is 8.

[Janna]

Yes. My 2nd child (1st ds) had infant eczema. He developed serious spring allergies that no one else has.

 

Just a word of caution: We had our ds tested for allergies per his pediatrician, when he was 2. They came back inconclusive. Later, when it was OBVIOUS he was suffering, we took him to an ENT. She has been the best Dr. we've ever had (I wish she were a family Dr., rather than a specialist) but she told us that testing for allergies in children under age 5 were a waste of money and painful for the child. The tests are almost always inaccurate before age 5. She treated him for his allergies based on sinus x-rays and what she could see in his nose and throat with her tools. Disclaimer: I don't know if the accuracy is different for food allergies, however. He was never tested for those; only environmental.

 

edited to add: if you're asking specifically about asthma, my ds does not have asthma. However, my dd never had eczema, but she has borderline asthma. She did have TERRIBLE cradle cap that my other 2 never had though...wonder if that is a form of eczema?

Edited February 8, 2011 by Janna

[Princess Peach]

My oldest had eczema as a baby and also showed some sensitivities to certain foods. I remember strawberries in particular. But he has no sensitivities or allergies at all now.

[prairiewindmomma]

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Edited November 10, 2021 by prairiewindmomma

[Lolly]

Yep. Baby with eczema. Now 18 has asthma and serious allergies which are increasing rather than decreasing as she ages.

[Mommee & Baba]

All of my littles had infant eczema. Although as they've gotten a bit older it only appears with certain things introduced in their diet or lifestyle. Winter weather flares my dd7's really bad. Milk flares my ds's and my dd5's, so they instead have lactose free milk and lactose free cheese and it goes away and stays away!

 

Red food dye also flares all my children up.

[sbgrace]

My eczema baby is almost 7 and with serious allergies (food) and environmental allergies. He has asthma as well. I think his infant eczema was related to dairy though...I think he was actually allergic back then.

[----]

Dd7 had horrible ecaema as a baby. Her skin used to be so bad it would crack open. At around 2, it just started to clear up. Now at 7 she has no known allergies.

[SonshineLearner]

I'm surprised he's been fed peanuts at 4 months?? or do you mean from what you ate through nursing?? Peanut and soy allergies are kinda "cousins" so I'd keep him away from those. My daughter had excema, severely, starting around 2 months.... She's allergic to peanuts, most tree nuts, shellfish.... and less severely to cats and grass.

 

:(

[AnneGabe]

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Edited October 24, 2023 by AnneGabe

[BikeBookBread]

Nope. PDG had pretty bad eczema. She has no allergies now, and is 7.

[FO4UR]

My eczema baby has asthma and allergies as well....still at age 8.

[LittleIzumi]

I'm surprised he's been fed peanuts at 4 months?? or do you mean from what you ate through nursing?? Peanut and soy allergies are kinda "cousins" so I'd keep him away from those. My daughter had excema, severely, starting around 2 months.... She's allergic to peanuts, most tree nuts, shellfish.... and less severely to cats and grass.

 

:(

 

:lol: Oh, through nursing, not from giving him a nut :lol:. I had peanut butter almost every day, and he had awful eczema every day. I cut out dairy & soy with no response, switched detergents, etc, no response. I cut out the peanut butter & he cleared up in a day & stayed clear for the entire week until we went to church on Sunday (and then he flared up like he always does there).

 

Thanks for the responses so far, and :lurk5: for some more!

[MicheleinMN]

Yes, infant eczema, severe nut allergy, less severe mold & mildew allergies, asthma that didn't really show up until he was 10. He's also allergic to coconut, which seems to be in a lot of things I would have never imagined.

[NanceXToo]

Mine had eczema that persisted up until this year (she's 10) but no other allergies, food or environmental, that we know of.

 

And we FINALLY just this year figured out how to get the eczema totally under control and keep it that way...thank goodness because it had gotten really bad! These days though her skin has been doing fantastic, and I'm SO happy about it.

 

Here's a link to my site describing the steps we took. Most of them could be used even with an infant!

 

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/160161.html

[jplain]

A friend's daughter and one of my nephews both developed milk allergies that first presented as infant eczema.

 

My younger daughter had very mild eczema as a baby (among other symptoms), and her allergist diagnosed her as soy and milk protein intolerant. At age 5, she continues to have mild eczema, and she remains intolerant of soy and dairy. (That's unusual. Most kids outgrow milk/soy protein intolerance.) She may also be intolerant of eggs and wheat, but those are less clear. And I think she has an unidentified intolerance as well, maybe peas or corn or strawberries, but I haven't been able to tease that out yet. Her intolerances aren't true allergies, but we do strictly avoid her trigger foods, except when doing a deliberate challenge. She also seems to have big problems with dust, so I suspect she's sensitive to dust mites.

[Dobela]

My son had eczema as a baby and has a huge intolerance to dairy, seasonal pollens, and weird things like commercial carpet cleaners. He has at times had asthmatic symptoms but if we watch his diet and give him claritin or zyrtec every day those don't appear except in the spring when pollen falls here like snow.

[sbgrace]

Since you've seen a clear response to food in his eczema I think you're already dealing with allergies. If you avoid he could outgrow. He sounds like he's allergy prone. Supposedly it takes a while for environmental allergies to manifest (have to be sensitized). I wonder what's going on with church.

[LittleIzumi]

Mine had eczema that persisted up until this year (she's 10) but no other allergies, food or environmental, that we know of.

 

And we FINALLY just this year figured out how to get the eczema totally under control and keep it that way...thank goodness because it had gotten really bad! These days though her skin has been doing fantastic, and I'm SO happy about it.

 

Here's a link to my site describing the steps we took. Most of them could be used even with an infant!

 

http://nancextoo.livejournal.com/160161.html

 

Oh yeah, I remember recommending CJ's BUTTer :lol:. All I have is scented though & I think the scent bothers his skin. Heck, even the Cetaphil gives him a temporary rash :glare:. I was going to get some unscented to try. And a humidifier, of course!

[wapiti]

Ditto - mild infant eczema, severe peanut allergy, asthma that showed up in toddlerhood, at first sporadically with colds, but then the asthma got progressively worse (he's now 7 y.o. and is on daily flovent along with albuterol prior to any exercise, even recess).

 

My others with eczema are younger and haven't been tested for food allergies yet, and we're a nut-free house. We'll see...

 

FWIW, I would defnitely avoid peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish while you are still nursing. If that doesn't do the trick, consider avoiding the top 8 allergens. I did this while nursing my youngest, who had blood in her stool, and it's a pain in the neck but temporary. An effective postpartum diet :glare:.

[LittleIzumi]

Since you've seen a clear response to food in his eczema I think you're already dealing with allergies. If you avoid he could outgrow. He sounds like he's allergy prone. Supposedly it takes a while for environmental allergies to manifest (have to be sensitized). I wonder what's going on with church.

 

We joke it's the little old ladies' perfume :tongue_smilie: but I have no idea. Every single time though.... I wonder if it's one of the cleaners they use or something because we have gone to two separate buildings here and he flared up in both, and they use the same strong cleaners weekly in all the buildings for our denomination here.

[rafiki]

.

[sbgrace]

I have a friend whose son was reactive from a very young age and yet had no real allergies on testing. They finally figured out it was balsam of peru--it's a potent skin allergen apparently. It's in lots of lotions and might be in those cleaners too. I'd never heard of it until she told me but apparently it's very common. You might look into that and see if it's the link in the creams that bother him and maybe what he's reacting to at church as well.

 

Edited to add: it's not listed as balsam of peru always (usually even if I recall right). I can't remember the names it's listed but there is a lot of online information.

[prairiewindmomma]

Little Izumi, we are dealing with the same cleaners too. ;) I think part of it may be the cleaners (we checked the ingredient list of the stuff they dilute down from) and part of it may be the challenge that a lot of the buildings have carpet on concrete pads. Carpet on concrete pads = mold.

 

Our allergist has banned us from ever owning a humidifier. There is no way to get them 100% sanitized, even if you clean regularly the machine regularly with bleach or vinegar. The smaller molecules can more easily penetrate the lungs and lodge bacteria and other gunky stuff there.

[LittleIzumi]

Little Izumi, we are dealing with the same cleaners too. ;) I think part of it may be the cleaners (we checked the ingredient list of the stuff they dilute down from) and part of it may be the challenge that a lot of the buildings have carpet on concrete pads. Carpet on concrete pads = mold.

 

Our allergist has banned us from ever owning a humidifier. There is no way to get them 100% sanitized, even if you clean regularly the machine regularly with bleach or vinegar. The smaller molecules can more easily penetrate the lungs and lodge bacteria and other gunky stuff there.

 

Ooooooh. Thanks!!! Mold would make a lot of sense, if it isn't the cleaners themselves. Whatever it is, all the buildings smell the same :lol:. I can't get our little humidifer clean either, so good point there.

[Dobela]

Ooooooh. Thanks!!! Mold would make a lot of sense, if it isn't the cleaners themselves. Whatever it is, all the buildings smell the same :lol:. I can't get our little humidifer clean either, so good point there.

I would seriously ask them what they clean the carpets with. When my ds was about 3 he broke out in a horrible rash that really scared us. Turns out he was having a reaction to the carpet cleaner used. We began noticing that every time we were in this particular building that he would break out in that horrible rash. We took a huge blanket from home the next time (after we had his skin clear and at his dermatologist recommendation) and asked for that to be placed on the floor if he was playing in the floor. He didn't break out that time, because he sat exclusively on the blanket, and we took it as a confirmation that it was the industrial cleaners used in the buildings he was allergic to.

[Snickerdoodle]

If your child had infant eczema, did he/she end up with actual allergies?

 

Yes to food allergies. No to asthma.

[LittleIzumi]

I would seriously ask them what they clean the carpets with. When my ds was about 3 he broke out in a horrible rash that really scared us. Turns out he was having a reaction to the carpet cleaner used. We began noticing that every time we were in this particular building that he would break out in that horrible rash. We took a huge blanket from home the next time (after we had his skin clear and at his dermatologist recommendation) and asked for that to be placed on the floor if he was playing in the floor. He didn't break out that time, because he sat exclusively on the blanket, and we took it as a confirmation that it was the industrial cleaners used in the buildings he was allergic to.

 

We're expected to help clean so I will check it out myself when it's the ladies' turn in two weeks.

[happypamama]

DD had some infant eczema, behind her knees, and she is still prone to it in the winter, behind her knees and in the crooks of her elbows. We didn't notice any reactions to food, except that she was pretty spitty (though not at all cranky or fussy), but in retrospect, she might have been reacting to dairy in my milk. We did not give her any dairy at all until her first birthday, when she broke out in hives wherever ice cream and yogurt touched her skin. We did take her to a pediatric allergist, who diagnosed (after skin and blood tests) her with a dairy allergy, so we kept her dairy-free for another year, except that I didn't eliminate it from my diet. By 2, though, she didn't break out in hives any longer, and now she can tolerate dairy just fine (though whether or not in contributes to the eczema, or to her tendency toward ADD, I don't know). We don't know of any other allergies that she might have, except that she is allergic to bee stings (she got stung by a wasp a couple of years ago, not her first sting, and while the arm that was stung wasn't too swollen, her face broke out in hives, so I took her to the doctor).

 

My DS2 also had a tiny bit of infant eczema and was spitty as well (DS1 was not), but not as badly as DD. I didn't eliminate dairy from my diet for him either, since it didn't seem to be too bad. He didn't get dairy until a year, either, but he does not seem to be allergic to it at all.

[joannqn]

My son had eczema from head to toe as a newborn. After a few months, I discovered it was the laundry detergent. After rewashing literally every piece of fabric in the house in pure water and switching washing tactics (different detergent and double rinse for every load) most of the eczema cleared up. It took about a year to get a patch on his foot cleared up. He continued to have a line of white flakes right at the edge of his eyelids for ages.

 

He was just determined to have tree allergies (allergic to all of the trees they tested but one) and to soy. He also has oral allergy syndrome and cannot have fresh fruit during pollen season. He also has an epipen prescription because his one time drinking a soy drink led to "a ball stuck in his throat" sensation.

 

Our new house has a big birch tree in the back yard and they are everywhere in the neighborhood. I'm wondering how this spring is going to be for him.

[Sandra in FL]

My ds was covered with eczema - took him to so many different dermatologists. He used Elidel, Protopic, etc. When he was tested for allergies at 9 months, he was positive for a bunch of stuff. I removed all the allergens from his and my (I was breastfeeding) diet and his skin completely cleared up. He does not bathe often - just spot washing.

[2_girls_mommy]

Yes, she did.

 

She has been on daily Xyrtec since she was 2 now, and the eczema is under control. It flares up if we get off of the medicine (along with her other allergy symptoms: dark circles under her eyes, headaches, stuffy nose, etc.)

[Mimm]

My eight year old had horrible eczema as a baby. I had to put socks on her hands so she wouldn't scratch it and bleed everywhere. We had to deal with it for a few months, found a dermatologist that wrote the right prescriptions and it cleared up and didn't come back. (So I guess not as horrible as some people's.) :) She has no allergies now. Her skin is actually less sensitive than my nine year old who is very very pale.

[Brigitte]

For my girls the dry air of winter in New England was a problem. Baths once or twice a week with baby oil took pretty good care of it. They never got it again after we left New England.

[FairProspects]

Yes. Allergic to many things, but mainly dairy.

[kamom]

DD9 infant eczema that she never outgrew. It still flares up if we're not careful with soaps and she has to use lotion. However,she doesn't have any other allergies that I know of.

[MominIN]

No. Two of mine have had infant eczema and neither of them have allergies.

[TravelingChris]

All three of mine had eczema as infants- here are the results-

 

DS- 21- allergic to sulfa drugs, hay fever, some exczema even as a teen

 

DD-17- worse eczema as a baby, no drug allergies, some hay fever, nickel allergy, no eczema in the last few years

 

DD14= allergy to medication, serious allergy to insect stings, asthma, continued bad problems with eczema, hay fever

 

BOth parents had eczema as children both have allergies, asthma (though dh's is called something else) as adults, and still have sometimes issues with eczema.

[kristinannie]

Ds (4 months) has definite infant exzema. It looks like it flares up with food (peanuts were HORRIBLE), and in certain places (it always goes crazy at church or one particular grocery store, for instance), and then it just flares up on its own often too, or he'll flare over something and stay flared up for days. I know a LOT of people who have babies with infant eczema, and it seems pretty common. I don't think serious allergies are nearly as common. If your baby had eczema, did it turn into permanent allergies or was it outgrown? We have no eczema history in our family at all, but we do have allergies (environmental, animal, and food) & asthma so the genetic predisposition is there.

 

(They don't want to test for allergies until he's at least 1, so I'm stuck just worrying about it for 8 months.)

 

 

Was it peanuts that you ate and he had through breastmilk?

[myfunnybunch]

If it flares up with food, particularly peanuts, be very careful.

 

My ds with eczema ended up with a peanut allergy. Once we eliminated peanuts from the house, his eczema disappeared. He still has minor flares during allergy season or when exposed to peanuts in the environment.

 

Cat

[angela in ohio]

My one who had eczema is the one with the worst seasonal allergies.

[2cents]

One of mine had infant eczema and now has cold water hives (cold urticaria). We have to be careful not to let her get into cold pools or catch a chill or she will break out in itchy welts all over her body. Putting her in warm water or bundling her up makes them disappear. It is a milder case but can be shocking for other people if she breaks out in front of them. We had to stop letting her take swim lessons in the winter months because she would catch a chill upon exiting the water and break out. I don't know if it has anything to do with the infant eczema though. She doesn't have any food allergies or other allergies.

[AFwife Claire]

My eczema baby is almost 7 and with serious allergies (food) and environmental allergies. He has asthma as well. I think his infant eczema was related to dairy though...I think he was actually allergic back then.

 

My eczema baby (ds#3) is now 9. He had such bad eczema when he was an infant that his head got infected. The dermatologist poo-pooed my suggestion that it was related to allergies, so I never tried cutting anything out of my diet or anything while nursing. He broke out in hives after chewing on my fork after I ate some coffee cake (with milk and walnuts) when he was 6 months old, so I knew he did have allergies. He tested allergic to milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and egg as a baby, and he also had environmental allergies. He also was diagnosed with asthma when he was a few years old. His asthma has gotten a ton better as he has aged, and he recently (this summer!) outgrew his milk allergy, which is something I never thought would happen, once it didn't happen by age 5. His eczema has not been a problem for the past few years either. I think it was when he turned 7, I would say, that he turned a corner.

 

Anyhow, that was long-winded, but I would definitely say that his eczema was related to his allergies! I so wish I would have eliminated milk from my diet while nursing. With my 5th baby, she started having eczema and spitting up terribly as a little baby (less than 3 months old). I immediately stopped drinking milk and having dairy. Her eczema cleared up and she stopped spitting up. She did have some mild reactions to milk as a baby (some hives around the mouth after drinking some of her brothers' left-over cereal milk or eating yogurt left on the table, for example), but at the age of 2 she passed a milk challenge test, so she had outgrown the allergy by then.

[Soror]

I think if it is a food issue it is often an intolerance, not a true allergy, that wouldn't show up on testing anyway. That has been case for the people I know anyway, my kids never reacted like that though.

[Barb_]

No, not here. The two with eczema still have flareups in cold weather, but no allergies. The two with allergies were never troubled by eczema.

[LibraryLover]

Yes.

 

I have only one child with allergies-- and that cute, adorable home-birthed, organically cloth-diapered, 100% breastfed (exclusively bf without one bite of solids for 8 months) baby had eczema. It freaked me out and still pisses me off. The children who followed are/were allergy & eczema-free.

[Quad Shot Academy]

Yes.

 

I have only one child with allergies-- and that cute, adorable home-birthed, organically cloth-diapered, 100% breastfed (exclusively bf without one bite of solids for 8 months) baby had eczema. It freaked me out and still pisses me off. The children who followed are/were allergy & eczema-free.

 

The new studies are actually showing that our holding off on solids and high allergenic foods are creating more allergies! :001_huh: Who knows if the studies will turn out to be valid, but I read an article about it in our Children's Hospital magazine.

 

**For peanut allergies, don't even walk into a Chick Fil A which fry their food in peanut oil. :glare:**

Edited February 9, 2011 by Quad Shot Academy

[LittleIzumi]

Yes.

 

I have only one child with allergies-- and that cute, adorable home-birthed, organically cloth-diapered, 100% breastfed (exclusively bf without one bite of solids for 8 months) baby had eczema. It freaked me out and still pisses me off. The children who followed are/were allergy & eczema-free.

 

:lol: Ds is also home-birthed, cloth-diapered, bf'ed, & was pretty much born with eczema. Dd5 has a dairy allergy & it landed her in the hossy at 2 weeks, so delaying solids has no part in that, either. Le sigh.