Tara (was eczema diet)
She had it a bit a birth, but it was mostly just "sensitive" skin until
she was about 5 months. She reacted to egg shortly after her first
birthday, and the allergiest did a blood test to test for the "usual"
allergy culprits - but at that time we were just curious about allergies
in general, and I didn’t know enough to connect food allergies with
eczema (I’ve learned a LOT since then!). We’ve struggled and struggled
with her skin, and finally just recently the allergist had me keep a
food diary, and he basically tested her for everything she eats (which,
as a three year old, is not much).
The Immunocap RAST test is the most accurate blood test for children.
They say skin testing is not very accurate when you have e. - you have
to be really clear to do it, and I don’t think Sarah has EVER been
really clear, except after the steroids. Also, antihistamines don’t
interfere with a blood test, so you don’t have to take them off their
medicine.
One of the things Sarah is allergic to is soy. For the life of me I
can’t figure out why Gerber puts SOY in its baby cereals, since it’s one
of the omst common allergens. Then there’s that whole line of soy
formulas. Of course, milk is another common allergen, so it’s almost
like you can’t win! As a first-time mom with Sarah, I didn’t know what
to look for and didn’t know I should be aware of possible allergens.
Sarah has a skin reaction to soy, so if you’re feeding your baby any
baby cereal with soy in it, try avoiding that for a while to see if it
makes a difference.
Becky
June 11th, 2004 at 6:48 pm
for the record — soy is not good for anyone. It’s
just a big marketing hype. The sad thing is that it’s
in so many products these days.