Is eczema always allergy related?

[Whereneverever]

Asking about my nine year old. Backs if both hands and wrists are covered. Doc suggested steroid cream without any talk about food or contact allergies. I think I've heard it's allergy related.

 

We are already gluten free, if it matters.

[magnificent_baby]

Our allergist explained it is so hard to find the allergen. He did not recommend allergy testing for us. We gave us a regimen of all over the counter products and as well as specific bathing instructions. The goal was to get it calmed down regardless of the cause. It finally went away but took about a month. Has not had it since but I'm sure he will at some point. We also replaced some of our carpet with hard wood and he has not had an outbreak but could be a coincidence.

[Mom0012]

I think it often is, but perhaps not always.  My son had very severe eczema as an infant that went away with the removal of the foods he was allergic to, but now he has environmental allergies as well.  His arms are very rough, but recently, we have found that if we remove dairy, they are about 75% better.  I truly believe that the remaining eczema is due to another food allergen that doesn't show up in testing or his environmental allergies.  It definitely is not an exact science.  The allergist himself admits this.  My dd had severe allergies in the fall, but tested as allergic to nothing in the fall.  Once she had 2 years of allergy shots, I kept complaining that she was still have a lot of trouble in the fall and she finally, at the age of 10, tested as allergic to ragweed, plus a whole bunch of other stuff.

 

At a minimum, I'd have allergy testing done to see if anything shows up.

[countrygal]

I stopped giving my dd fluid milk and it went away but hers was mild on her cheeks and back of knees. I've also heard that it can be a deficiency in essential fatty acids (omega-3 and 6's.) Try eating nuts or fish daily or if she can't tolerate those maybe take a pill supplement. I would do allergy testing or you can do trials of certain foods first if you want. I'd start with dairy.

[Paige]

I don't see why they wouldn't at least test for allergies! My DD's skin is very bad. We went to a dermatologist last year who did not even mention testing for allergies. I asked for it and we found out DD was allergic to a food that she ate daily. She's also allergic to the big trees in our yard...We cut out the food and she improved significantly. She's still got issues, but eliminating that food makes more of a difference than any of the steroid creams she's had.

 

She has started to get bad again and I want her retested for more allergies. She could be reacting to the trees as they drop their leaves and she plays around them in the yard, but her food allergy is frequently correlated with an allergy to some other common foods that I don't believe were included in her original testing.

 

I wonder if there's some rivalry between dermatologists and allergists because it makes no sense to me that they wouldn't test for allergies in severe cases right away. DD was maxed out on steroids and they wanted to stick her in a light machine 3 times a week (at 5yrs old) without even looking for an allergen. On the other hand, my dad had eczema and his allergy testing never showed anything.

 

Personally, I find that eliminating dyes and fragrances does nothing and the OTC stuff and bathing regimen are a joke. It may be ok for people who are new to eczema and who's skin isn't that bad, but when DD has been dealing with eczema since birth and is covered in large bleeding sores, I don't want some idiot to suggest aquaphor and no bubble baths.

[sbgrace]

I don't think it always is. Even when it is, It can be nearly impossible to figure out. Beyond that, you can't eliminate environmental triggers. In my son's case he does have food and environmental allergies. But it seems he's also just generally atopic, and tends toward eczema. The only thing that I've found as a direct trigger is chlorine, especially pool water.

 

Given the hands, I can mention some particular things.

 

 

My husband gets hand eczema if he's not careful. His culprit is incomplete drying. If he is careful to dry completely, he does ok. He uses Neutrogena Norwegian Hand Cream when things flare (especially as it gets colder), and it really helps. The same stuff really helps me. My son breaks out in a rash if we use it on him though! It's worth a try.

 

My son has Dyshidrosis on his hands. This is tiny blisters which can progress to a peeling/cracking phase, and back to blisters. It can come and go. His has stayed for over a year now. We can't find a trigger nor seem to completely control that, but apparently dyshidrosis is very resistant to treatment. The rest of his eczema and much of the dyshidrosis--especially the peeling/cracking phase, is controlled by Waxalene. I am so glad we found it. No steroids or chemical ingredients, and it works better than any of the icky things we had used in the past. He might be an unusual case, but it's helping the daughter of a friend of mine better than other things too, so worth mentioning.

 

I react to what feels like very soap on the planet, but I can't figure out exactly what ingredient is the trigger. If I use my one safe soap (California Baby Super Sensitive), I do fine. If I wash my hands somewhere with regular soaps, I will develop blisters before I leave. I would find a very mild/not allergen containing soap to see if it helps. My guess, given the location, is that this is a contact reaction. Both my son and I use the California Baby Super Sensitive. My friend's son uses Vanicream soaps. Of the two, vanicream is likely the safer bet for most. It's also cheaper I believe. I like the ingredients in the California Baby better.

 

Finally, a friend's son mentioned above (eczema all over) was reacting to balsam of peru. This is in tons of products and cross reacts with a number of foods as well. It's apparently not all that uncommon and causes eczema rather than other allergy symptoms.  A dermatologist did a patch test to determine this allergen.

 

 

 

[Paige]

My son has Dyshidrosis on his hands. This is tiny blisters which can progress to a peeling/cracking phase, and back to blisters. It can come and go. His has stayed for over a year now. We can't find a trigger nor seem to completely control that, but apparently dyshidrosis is very resistant to treatment.

I just looked this up and it looks like some areas of DDs skin. She gets this on one finger and it is nearly impossible to get rid of, she also has patches of it that come and go on her ankles. They are frequent but clear and come back unlike her fingers which never clear. Wiki says it is only on hands and feet, however. Do you know if this can occur other places? DD now has blisters that look just like that on the backs of her legs in large patches. She's always been prone to flare ups there but the blisters are new. They've been there for about 2 months and have not been affected by the steroids. She sees the doctor again Monday and I want to ask about it.

[sbgrace]

I just looked this up and it looks like some areas of DDs skin. She gets this on one finger and it is nearly impossible to get rid of, she also has patches of it that come and go on her ankles. They are frequent but clear and come back unlike her fingers which never clear. Wiki says it is only on hands and feet, however. Do you know if this can occur other places? DD now has blisters that look just like that on the backs of her legs in large patches. She's always been prone to flare ups there but the blisters are new. They've been there for about 2 months and have not been affected by the steroids. She sees the doctor again Monday and I want to ask about it.

 

 They do say it's hands/feet in every thing official I've read. However, my hand eczema really looks like the same thing and is clearly tied to soaps. I do get it on my wrists as well. And I've actually read people talking about having that specific form on other body locations. So I do think it's possible. On the other hand, plain old eczema can also blister. All of my son's eczema, even when he gets it in other places, is blister oriented. Steroids actually seem to aggravate my son's eczema. I don't think that's normal, though!

[MomatHWTK]

Hands and wrists, I would look at soaps and handwashing in general as the cause.  Antibacterial soaps rip my hands up. 

[Ottakee]

Dairy was the biggest issue here when my nephew lived with us.

[HollyDay]

No, not always.  There are different types of eczema and they are caused by different factors.  Allergies can play a roll even if it is not allergic eczema though.  We have done allergy testing twice on dd and removed all known allergens.  She is currently undergoing light therapy for her eczema.  It has made a huge difference but it is a committment both in time and money.  Antibiotics can also help with eczema. 

 

Since it is only on his hands and wrists, you might consider what he is coming into contact with.  I had a terrible time with eczema on my right hand shortly after the birth of my first daughter.  We couldn't figure out why, but it was awful on my fingers.  One day, I used a baby wipe on my face at a picnic.  My face broke out and I had eczema where I used the wipe.  I needed a steroid cream to get it under control.  Stopped using that brand of wipes and the eczema on my hand cleared up. 

[Rosie_0801]

It can be caused by inadequate fat content in the diet.

[magnificent_baby]

I don't see why they wouldn't at least test for allergies! My DD's skin is very bad. We went to a dermatologist last year who did not even mention testing for allergies. I asked for it and we found out DD was allergic to a food that she ate daily. She's also allergic to the big trees in our yard...We cut out the food and she improved significantly. She's still got issues, but eliminating that food makes more of a difference than any of the steroid creams she's had.

 

She has started to get bad again and I want her retested for more allergies. She could be reacting to the trees as they drop their leaves and she plays around them in the yard, but her food allergy is frequently correlated with an allergy to some other common foods that I don't believe were included in her original testing.

 

I wonder if there's some rivalry between dermatologists and allergists because it makes no sense to me that they wouldn't test for allergies in severe cases right away. DD was maxed out on steroids and they wanted to stick her in a light machine 3 times a week (at 5yrs old) without even looking for an allergen. On the other hand, my dad had eczema and his allergy testing never showed anything.

 

Personally, I find that eliminating dyes and fragrances does nothing and the OTC stuff and bathing regimen are a joke. It may be ok for people who are new to eczema and who's skin isn't that bad, but when DD has been dealing with eczema since birth and is covered in large bleeding sores, I don't want some idiot to suggest aquaphor and no bubble baths.

 

The three OTC products (including oral meds) the allergist recommended are what got Ds's to go away. He had moderate eczema on several parts of his body, bordering severe. He could not stop itching. Anyway, it took awhile but it worked. Personally, I'd rather try OTC's than prescription meds. Of course that may not work for everyone, but it did for us. Also, I switched to milder soap ( only Nature's Baby organic or Dove) instead of Suave kids shampoo, and he has not had a breakout since (other than a few spots) so I wonder if the Suave was causing the problem. He explained to us eczema is very complex and hard to pinpoint unlike other allergy problems. 

[MomatHWTK]

Adding: For my oldest causes were- food allergies, environmental allergies, scented soaps, detergents, lotions, dry skin...  We had to eliminate both food and environmental allergies, avoid scented products, switch to All Free & Clear detergent and use only a few products that didn't cause break outs.  As an infant, his face would break out if he was held by someone wearing pefume, make-up or clothing washed in a scented detergent or fabric softner. 

 

So, allergies can and in our case were a trigger.  But even eliminating the allergens did not eliminate the eczema as it has stand alone triggers.  It was a very rough few years as his worst reactions were on his little face. 

[Sisyphus]

For my Ds it is absolutely connected to dairy, but other people I know with it have had no luck isolating anything food related or environmental.

[Slartibartfast]

Stress can cause Eczema. I am dairy free but still get it sometimes.

[Maus]

Stress can cause Eczema. I am dairy free but still get it sometimes.

Yep. I get stress related outbreaks from time to time. A sudden change in climate sometimes triggers it, too. ( So, I get outbreaks on vacation.) I have also identified several contact triggers, inc. liquid hand soap and newsprint.

 

I get it on my hands, though I sometimes got it on my eyelids before I quit wearing eye shadow. I get the little water blisters on my finger tips, and the scales and dry cracked skin over the rest of my hands. my eyelids were always the scales.

 

I don't seem to have any dietary triggers.

[Slartibartfast]

Yep. I get stress related outbreaks from time to time. A sudden change in climate sometimes triggers it, too. ( So, I get outbreaks on vacation.) I have also identified several contact triggers, inc. liquid hand soap and newsprint.

 

I get it on my hands, though I sometimes got it on my eyelids before I quit wearing eye shadow. I get the little water blisters on my finger tips, and the scales and dry cracked skin over the rest of my hands. my eyelids were always the scales.

 

I don't seem to have any dietary triggers.

 

I get it on my hands too!

 

Argh! So annoying! I have been wondering about some of my yarn of late...wondering if that is triggering it.

 

I also have the scaly eyelids sometimes as well, I don't use eyeshadow either. Not even the mineral kind was good. :/ 

 

 

[Whereneverever]

Well, this wasn't a simple answer at all! This child had a blood test for allergies as a toddler and came up with like nine. Later skin testing showed none. We went gluten free for the baby and I'm not sure if it helped her or not. Should I push for allergy testing again?

[Slartibartfast]

Yeah allergies change, particularly from toddlerhood/babyhood.

[walkermamaof4]

I'd suggest removing dairy first before testing. I think it takes 6 weeks for all dairy to be out of the system, but I also think that it is the most common cause of eczema. Would save you the testing if that is it.

[TravelingChris]

Here is the thing- you can have exczema from allergies or others that are not from allergies.  But exczema in general is oen of three conditions that occur frequently together in people and families- they are linked by having similar problems with the immune system.  Those three are allergies, asthma and exczema.  In my family, some had one, some had two and some of us unfortunate people have all three.   They are all called atopic diseases,