Eczema
The new allergist told me a lot of things I'd never heard before about eczema.
He explained that in most people with eczema, the immune system is constantly on high-alert and that anything that causes the immune system to kick in can make the eczema flare up. So a flare-up could be from exposure to an allergen, or it could be something as simple as getting overheated or catching a cold.
He called it "the itch that rashes," saying that in many cases the itch comes first and that possibly the child's scratching causes the rash in a secondary manner.
He said some things I want to read up on more. For instance, he talked about a bacteria on the surface of the skin that really bothers a lot of people with allergies and makes their skin itch.
#########
He said that, while 13 years ago the advice most doctors were giving about eczema was to avoid bathing too much to keep from drying the skin, that recommendation has changed. Now they have found that bathing 1-2 times per day with a mild soap and following that up with something to seal in the moisture helps more than anything else, because it washes off the bacteria that's causing the itching.
He told me about a patient who had terrible eczema, and the mother said "I think he's allergic to [neighboring state]. Every time we go to visit relatives in Florida and Texas, the eczema goes away. Then when we get back here it comes back."
The allergist leaned back in his chair, his eyes twinkling: "What does he do in Florida and Texas? Go swimming. He's in the pool at least a couple of times a day. The chlorine is getting in there and killing the bacteria, and then they're washing him all off carefully after they get him out of the pool, too. No wonder the eczema is better!"
"So I told her to do the same thing here they do in Florida and Texas--give him baths a couple of times a day. The next time she comes in she's all, 'Doctor, it's amazing! The eczema is completely gone!'"
I'm not sure how all that connects to food allergies, or if it applies mainly to non-food-related eczema. But it was certainly interesting. He advised me to bathe Baby E more frequently to help skin flare-ups, saying that Dove or Cetaphil were the most commonly-recommended products but that we'd want to check that they don't contain Baby E's allergens before using them.
I know several of my readers have children with eczema, so maybe this will be helpful to some of you.
He explained that in most people with eczema, the immune system is constantly on high-alert and that anything that causes the immune system to kick in can make the eczema flare up. So a flare-up could be from exposure to an allergen, or it could be something as simple as getting overheated or catching a cold.
He called it "the itch that rashes," saying that in many cases the itch comes first and that possibly the child's scratching causes the rash in a secondary manner.
He said some things I want to read up on more. For instance, he talked about a bacteria on the surface of the skin that really bothers a lot of people with allergies and makes their skin itch.
#########
He said that, while 13 years ago the advice most doctors were giving about eczema was to avoid bathing too much to keep from drying the skin, that recommendation has changed. Now they have found that bathing 1-2 times per day with a mild soap and following that up with something to seal in the moisture helps more than anything else, because it washes off the bacteria that's causing the itching.
He told me about a patient who had terrible eczema, and the mother said "I think he's allergic to [neighboring state]. Every time we go to visit relatives in Florida and Texas, the eczema goes away. Then when we get back here it comes back."
The allergist leaned back in his chair, his eyes twinkling: "What does he do in Florida and Texas? Go swimming. He's in the pool at least a couple of times a day. The chlorine is getting in there and killing the bacteria, and then they're washing him all off carefully after they get him out of the pool, too. No wonder the eczema is better!"
"So I told her to do the same thing here they do in Florida and Texas--give him baths a couple of times a day. The next time she comes in she's all, 'Doctor, it's amazing! The eczema is completely gone!'"
I'm not sure how all that connects to food allergies, or if it applies mainly to non-food-related eczema. But it was certainly interesting. He advised me to bathe Baby E more frequently to help skin flare-ups, saying that Dove or Cetaphil were the most commonly-recommended products but that we'd want to check that they don't contain Baby E's allergens before using them.
I know several of my readers have children with eczema, so maybe this will be helpful to some of you.
Copyright 2009. All rights reserved.
Posted by purple_kangaroo at 12:45 PM[Permanent link]
2 Comments:
That is interesting. The boys both had terrible exzema on their arms and faces when they were babies and that was the advice we were given to not bath unless they needed it, but they also had a prescription lotion to put on it. It didn't get better till they were a bit older and walking and getting into thinsgs thus needing baths more often, thats when it started getting better until they finally seemed to grow out of it. I think that makes sense since it started getting better when they got dirty more and had more frequent baths and of course face washing. Now its pretty much gone on them except occasional flare ups in the winter. Madison on the other hand still hasn't grown out of it yet and the boys had by now so I haven't been wanting to get more ideas to help it.
my4kids, it would be really interesting to see if that helps with Madison.
Post a Comment
<< Purple Puzzle Place Home