Eczema and Dairy

Updated on February 04, 2011
B.P. asks from Schooleys Mountain, NJ
15 answers

Hello Ladies,

Every once in a while my son gets red cheeks. The doctor said its dry skin, I am assuming he means eczema. He told me to use a good lotion and hydocortizone. It seems to be worse in the winter or when he is sick as I think the runny nose gets wiped on his cheeks and irritates them. He had eczema a little on the back of his knees and cradle cap as an infant. My husband has very dry sensitive skin too. For the past few days I have eliminated dairy (even though he has a cold and is wiping his running nose on his face faster than I can wipe it sometimes) and his cheeks look better. I am giving him soy yogurt and coconut milk in his oatmeal. Did other moms find that the eczema was related to dairy? What do you give your child to subsitite? I used to put organic cream in his oatmeal, is there anything that is as fatty as that that is not dairy?

I wanted to add that my son gets a multi-vitamin as well as purified fish oil every day. I actually use no soap, just water to wash his face. He has no dry, red skin anywhere else on his body. He also gets probiotics which help with occational irregularity. Also after reading some of the responses I had to add that I only use 7th Generation products which are non toxic so it not coming from the outside. The only thing that seemed to make it really bad is his snot getting wiped on his face. And of course the possible dairy thing.

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So What Happened?

So it has been about a week and a half and not only has his face cleared up but the red cheeks have not returned. I have not seen this in a very long time. I have also seen improvments in his temperment. Less cranky and follows directions better. I am going to stick with the soy yogurt and the coconut milk. I also bought canned organic coconut to add extra fat in his food. My brother also has a dairy sensitivity.

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R.Q.

answers from New York on

Eczema can be caused by anything (just like any other allergic reaction). My daughter's is primarily caused by soy, and secondarily dairy. She also has more severe reactions to soy, so we are completely soy-free and only offer occasional dairy.

Good fats are easy to get: avocado, fatty meats, coconut cream, olive oil dressings for any veggies, fish, nuts/nut butters/spreads etc.
For calcium: dark leafy greens, fish, bone broths, dried herbs, sesame, sesame milk, etc

The biggest thing is to not look for one thing to substitute for dairy, use as much variety as you can.

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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

Weird that you posted this. My baby has had eczema since 6 months, and it comes and goes. Of course its worse when the weather is dry. I put her on regular milk about a month and a half ago, and she has not done well on it (the most recent is she throws it up). I didn't even think about this until I read your post but she has had a really bad breakout all over her body (her back, arms, legs and foot) lately. When I took her to the ped she told me theres no way my baby could have a sinsitivity to milk at this age. My boyfriend I were NOT happy with the visit, nor her responses so we are going to take her in to a different ped. I am definately going to ask if the two are related. The weather hasn't been that dry and I try to put her in roomy soft cotton clothing to help the eczema (as well as rubbing her down multiple times a day with eczema cream), so now I am thinking the two might be related. Thanks for posting this question! Oh we switched her to soy about a week ago and she is doing great on it, including her eczema.

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H.A.

answers from Detroit on

My son was born in the fall, so when he started to show the sme symptoms we didn't think any differently when the ped told us it was windburn from cold weather. However, when he still experienced slight redness and a rash in the spring, we took him to a new ped who instantly dignosed him with a food allergy/sensitivity and sent us for a blood draw. She checked for the major allergens (nuts, soy, egg, milk, berries, etc) and found him to be milk-allergic. He was almost 9mo old at the time and has been drinking rice milk since. We do supplement with soy products in place of regular yogurts and cheeses. I would ask your Dr for clarification of what was meant by "dry skin" and inquire about testing if you've noticed improvement since eliminating dairy. Good luck!

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M.W.

answers from New York on

Hi
My son is 13 months and whenever he has dairy gets bad diaper rash (really bad!) and few eczema spots. It is releated. I give my son a toddler formula called " babys only" about 16 oz at least in 24 hour period for calcium and protient and vitamins. He loves it. Plus he gets 1 teaspoon of Nordic fish oil (for babies & kids) a day. Fish oil and or Flax seed oil is proven to help w/ eczema. I also give him a liquid vitamin from whole foods. And sometimes a liquid calcium (one teaspoon hich is 200 mg) at night cause needs at lest 500 mg a day at this age.
Hope this helps!

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E.H.

answers from Killeen on

Do you and your family supplement your eating with Supplements? My son suffered from Eczema when he was 18 months old and is now 8 and doesn't have any issues. We started him on supplements, he bathes in paraben-free body wash and paraben-free lotions. Here is an short paragraph from the Dr. who helped him and I use it to now help others dealing with it.

Many of my patients suffer from dry, scaly skin. I see this in babies, children, and adults. This is called many names but the most common names are eczema, dermatitis, atopic dermatitis, nummular eczema, and allergic or contact dermatitis. The hallmark characteristic of this disease is a very dry, scaly, and often inflamed skin. It can appear all over the body and even in the scalp. The frustration to parents of children and adults with this problem is the fact that it does not respond all that well to traditional creams, lotions, and prescription medication. Many of these patients suffer from significant itchy skin and frequent skin infections. I have personally found that the majority of these patients respond very well to nutritional supplementation. I would encourage anyone with this problem to compliment their medication with the following aggressive nutritional supplementation support. If you would like

Eczema
or Atopic Dermatitis
or Dermatitis
Over 80% of the population today is deficient in essential fats. When my patients begin taking these essential fats in the form of filtered fish oil or flax seed, their skin improves significantly. Also there is strong evidence in the medical literature that grape seed extract improves dermatitis as well as skin diseases like psoriasis. It is critical to offer the body the nutrients it needs internally to improve these skin diseases.

Cellular Nutrition for Children

Children ages 1 to 8 years of age:

My minimal recommendation for creating cellular nutrition in children of this age group is to simply take 1/4 of the Antioxidant Tablet dose and 1/4 of the Mineral Tablet that contains as close to the recommended nutrients you can see by clicking on each particular nutrient or tablet.

Children ages 8 to 14 years of age:

My minimal recommendation for creating cellular nutrition in children of this age group is to simply take 1/2 of the Antioxidant Tablet dose and 1/2 of the Mineral Tablet that contains as close to the recommended nutrients you can see by clicking on each particular nutrient or tablet.

Children ages 15 and up who weigh more than 110 pounds:

My minimal recommendation for creating cellular nutrition in children of this age group is to simply take the Antioxidant Tablet dose and the Mineral Tablet that contains as close to the recommended nutrients you can see by clicking on each particular nutrient or tablet.

Optimizers: Add this level of optimizers in children when it is recommended for a particular disease.

Grape Seed Extract:

I recommend giving children 1 to 2 mg of per pound per day (this is 3 to 5 mg per kilogram) of Grape Seed Extract in at least two divided doses. I have no hesitation in using Grape Seed Extract in children who over 2 years of age. These tablets may be crushed and placed in a drink or food with no loss of potency.

CoQ10

I recommend giving children 1 to 2 mg of CoQ10
per pound per day (this is 3 to 5 mg per kilogram) in divided doses.

Essential Fats

I recommend giving 1 tsp of Essential Fats to children between the ages of 1 and 8 years old. Children 9 years and older I recommend giving 2 tsps of Essential Fats. You can always substitute pharmaceutical-grade, filtered fish oil capsules (1 per tsp recommendation).

Calcium/Magnesium Tablets

I recommend giving children ages 2 to 6 1/4 of the Calcium/Magnesium tablet. Children ages 6 to 10 should take 1/2 of the Calcium/Magnesium tablet. Children ages 11 and older should take the full dose of the Calcium/Magnesium tablet.

Vitamin C (additional)

Children between the ages of 2 and 6 should take 1/4 of the recommended dose of Vitamin C (additional). Children between the ages of 7 and 12 should take 1/2 of the recommended dose of Vitamin C (additional). Children older than 13 can take the full dose of recommended Vitamin C (additional).

Hope this helps.

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K.H.

answers from New York on

My son got eczema on his cheeks as soon as he started drinking whole milk around a year old. He was also often congested, so the doctor suggested that we give him fortified Rice Milk. The eczema went away after about a week and the congestion also eased up.

Now that he is 18 months, he continues to drink Rice Milk, but he eats regular yogurt and cheese. If someone gives him regular milk, the eczema shows up almost immediately! The doctor says it is not an allergy, just a sensitivity and when he is older and not drinking so much milk, regular milk will be fine. For now, we're sticking with the Rice Milk!

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S.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

Interesting - my daughter suffers from eczema and is lactose intolerant. Perhaps there is some connection. I used Lactaid Milk (I believe that is the name) when she was little in place of milk. She really liked it. She is 13 now and when she was little, there wasn't as many options as there are today. I have heard to be careful with soy for boys, but you would have to check out the reasons why for that.

Now, she drinks almost no milk and has little other dairy in her diet (she is old enough now to choose and knows how much makes her feel icky). There are a number of other non-dairy foods out there that have calcium we promote to her and she does get a calcium supplement. She is very healthy, so it works for her :)

Good luck!

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A.C.

answers from Dallas on

My daughter also has dairy triggered eczema and allergy. We use hemp milk instead of cow's milk. She really likes it if we blend it with a strawberry or two. Milk and nuts have triggered her eczema and even hives and swelling. We have to have an epipen for just in case moments.

Hemp milk has a high level of omega 3 and omega 6. I will try the coconut milk!

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K.H.

answers from Utica on

I suggest you do a allergy search for red cheeks, look at those pictures and see if you recognize the "rash" That rash was key to our son's recovery. It was food allergies for our son, but the first answer I got was it might be detergent. Rinse the clothes an extra time and use All Free.
Just an idea.
God bless you

C.B.

answers from Kansas City on

my son's is related to fructose.

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K.G.

answers from New York on

I shop from a company that has great products for eczema called Melaleuca. If you are interested in know about their products, I'd love to share the company with you. They have a great lotion that REALLY helps and in alot of cases eliminates dry skin and eczema. It's not greasy, but holds in the moisture and keeps skin soft.

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A.D.

answers from New York on

Dear Beata, My grandson, who is now 11 would have these dry, red cheeks in the winter. I did not relate this at the time to dairy. I did put a layer of Vaseline on his cheeks to protect from the cold and the redness went away. Grandma Mary

Updated

Dear Beata, My grandson, who is now 11 would have these dry, red cheeks in the winter. I did not relate this at the time to dairy. I did put a layer of Vaseline on his cheeks to protect from the cold and the redness went away. Grandma Mary

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A.D.

answers from New York on

My brother had eczema as a kid and as an adult he has determined he is lactose-intolerant (at least with milk and cream, I think he's ok with cheese). My mom definitely thinks in hindsight the eczema was related to dairy. You can have very sensitive, very dry skin that is not eczema, but there still could be an allergy-link to the rash. I don't have any substitutes for the organic cream. I think overall soymilk is a good milk substitute, just do a little research on line to find a quality product, many soy products are processed using hexane (a hydrocarbon) and this gets into the food. I don't remember if this is true for soy milks or just for things like tofu and soy "meat" products. Good luck

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K.M.

answers from Milwaukee on

It absolutly is a side effect of a slight allergy to cow's milk, specifically the protein in the fat. So skim is better or just switching to soy, rice or almond milk. Google Dr. Greene and he has an article on it. Good job being on top of it because as he gets older it could get out of control.

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K.K.

answers from Albany on

My children had eczema due to allergies to:
peaches, oranges, chocolate, tomatoes, strawberries, lemon

At teenagers they are still sensitive to these things and can feel it immediately in their mouth.

They now have dairy, egg, and wheat allergies as well.

Almond milk tastes great, rest is eliminated.

Good luck!

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