My first inkling that something was wrong with Tyler was when he was six weeks old. He has a rash that was alarming to anyone who saw it. Our pediatrician was not really helpful at all. He did suggest different eliminations from my diet (I was nursing) but never seemed to consider the possibility we were dealing with multiple food allergies. When I requested allergy testing, he refused.
I continued to eat peanut butter (as well as milk and eggs - his other allergies until early this year). I had no idea I was making a bad situation worse.
Tyler suffered for 4 more months until we got the opinion of a dermatologist. (Note: We should have visited an allergist.) By this time, his skin was terribly infected and antibiotics did nothing. The dermatologist told us we were on the road to a staph infection. She gave us some strong steroids that were like a miracle drug. Within 24 hours of using it, he looked like a different child.
Since that time, I have kept his eczema under control. Obviously it is much better now that he is not ingesting foods he is allergic to. We know now so much better how to keep him and his skin healthy.
Yet, a rash appeared early last month that I could never completely get rid of. It was by his mouth. When it first appeared, I was so happy that he had not just eaten something because it looked like hives. Last week, I took him to his pediatrician (a different one than we had when he was a baby). I felt like maybe I should be visiting the allergist but we needed a flu shot anyway. I go to a practice with several doctors and saw one we had never seen before.
This doctor was great and started to question food allergies right away. I realized she must not have noticed his peanut allergy in his file. I then went into a very LONG discussion of his history. I was happy to see a doctor that seemed to really understand the connection of food allergy and eczema.
In the end, the rash on his face was a yeast infection (I know, that's weird). It started out as eczema. Since it is by his mouth, he kept licking it. That created the secondary issue.
The rest of his eczema is also flared up (that happens in the fall) so she switched us to a very strong cream for a week. If this does not go away relatively soon, we will visit the allergist. But this just reminded me how far we have come from three and a half years ago when I had no idea what was happening and he was being exposed repeatedly to peanut butter.
What a difference time makes!!
I would love to hear from some of you. Do you deal with eczema, too? Was it your first sign like ours? Please leave a comment or send an e-mail.
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6 comments:
We have been dealing with eczema from the very start too. Embry is now two and still gets spots... but it's nowhere near what it used to be!
We've tried all the tricks and nothing ever really worked completely. He pretty much lived in pajamas the first year of his life... kept him from itching so much. He did get r.s.v. when he was a baby and the steriods he was on made his skin look amazing! Too bad steroids aren't long term!
We've had the best luck with Dermarest for treating the eczema and lathering him down with Vanicream lotion as often as possible. Also, rubbing vaseline all over him right as he gets out of the bath tub... no drying with a towel. The vaseline seals the moisture in. His allergist recently told me that he needs to have so much lotion applied on a regular basis where his skin feels moist to the touch.
He also told me that allergy kids usually outgrow the eczema around age three or so and then start dealing with the asthma. :(
We had the eczema mainly when I was nursing him and eating the wrong things. So far he has done well. I did find that he had a little eczema on his foot that took many, many months to finally go away after using some strong cream consistenly for a few weeks.
Now his only thing that shows up is the occassional rosey cheeks that goes away within an hour. I know it is more a sensitivity than a rash since it does away quickly. I am also thankful that we are this far along and doing well. Keeping him away from Peanuts when away from home will always remain a challenge, but not impossible. We just got the approval from our Pastor to have our church be peanut/nut free. That will be a huge undertaking, but worth it to know that Will is going to have another safe place to go to.
My son also had eczema as an infant and later was diagnosed with peanut allergy. We were very blessed with his first reaction, as I did not know he had eaten some of his sister's PB sandwich, and put him down for a nap. He came to me an hour later with his eyes almost swollen shut. When I think of what could have happened, I shake all over. We use Elicort for the occasional breakout, and Curel lotion several times a day. I hope he does not get asthma, but I have my mommy radar looking out for it just in case.
My daughter with PA had a few horrible eczema spots when she was a baby. Her arms and legs had a general roughness to them but she had a spot on her cheek (nickel sized) that never cleared and would often get so irritated it oozed. When I stopped nursing it went away - surely it was from the PB I had eaten.
My son, NKA, is almost 8 months old. He does have some patches of dry skin, but nothing like my daughter. Of course I haven't had a nut pass my lips since I found out I was pregnant with him so who knows?
my son also lived in pajamas the first year and a half of his life. my son has eczema - it started out covering every inch of him. it was horrible for the first year and a half. i slept w/ him to restrain his hands to prevent him from scratching in his sleep (i did not sleep). i had to overcome my fear of clipping his nails too close to the quick. i'd hold him tight and tell him to be brave while i snipped, the alternative was too horrible (as he'd scratch himself bloody). he has multiple food allergies. my first trip to the allergist he was three months old. the allergist wasn't going to do a skin test, except i got mad. then he did a limited one to show there were egg and milk allergies. then we went back two months later and i pitched a fit my four year old would be proud of and we had a full pediatric panel done revealing he had allergies to peanuts, codfish, and shellfish, none of which i'd eaten much of during his first few months. while i tried my best to eliminate them from my diet when we were breast feeding, it was tough to cut out milk and eggs. since weaning at 18 months he's had major improvements. we're able to monitor his diet much more closely. i still cannot eat a peanut. additionally, he has terrible diaper rash issues. his skin is so sensitive his bum burns quickly and then the yeast sets in. early on in his little life we picked up MRSA (community acquired) and there were times he would have what seamed like hundreds of skin lesions across his broken skin. the skin is the first defense against infection and when it's compromised what can you do? i used to fondly call him my little franken baby. he's just turned two and is no longer red, or puffy, although the eczema persists on his hands, knees and feet, and The Itch still plagues him all over. we haven't had a mrsa lesion in months, a testament to his healed/healing skin. he is prone to fungal infections (the yeasty diaper rashes and athletes foot). we have a couple of different steroids for when the E breaks out badly, but mostly i use the c.o. bigelow "soap free" wash you can buy at bath and body works on him in the tub, we do wet wraps, lotion him frequently, and periodically bathe him in hibicleanse to reduce bacteria on teh skin. (bacteria colonies of any kind can aggravate sensitive skin.) everyone in my family has dry, itchy skin, so i have accepted that this is the way it is for him, and i'm hoping the itch will die down with time.
I just wanted to let everyone know that my daughter had very bad eczema at 1 yr old. Dermatologist put her on prescription meds that helped clear it up but when we stopped using them she flared back up. Her allergist said to do aquaphor immediately after her bath which didn't help. I was reading my Parents magazine and saw an article about a mother swearing by a cream called "DREAM CREAM" by LUSH cosmetics that cleared her son's eczema up. I looked it up and read reviews on it and was surprised at how many people's eczema it helped. I ordered it on Lush's website (all natural ingredients) and tried it. That is all we use now. It completely cleared up her eczema. If I stop using it she breaks out again. I have been very satisified with it and my lil pupmpkin is now 3 and her skin is so smooth!
~Kelsey's mom
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