The uncomfortable skin condition eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, affects about 9.6 million children in the United States. Its symptoms are uncomfortable, and, as any parent knows, it’s hard to watch your child suffer.
Unfortunately, there’s a solid link between eczema and the development of food allergies, especially for children whose eczema develops in infancy. Additionally, when a child has particularly bad eczema, they’re at higher risk for developing a food allergy. In fact, up to 39% of individuals with eczema also suffer from food allergies.
At the Allergy & Asthma Clinic of Central Texas, our expert provider team approaches your child’s care with deep knowledge and sensitivity. They’re ready to educate you and your child about steps to take to ease symptoms, the best treatments, and more.
We hear a lot about the skin barrier, the protective outer layer of the skin that helps keep it moist and healthy. Eczema is caused by an inherited gene variation that restricts how your skin holds onto moisture. This sets you — or your child — up for the classic uncomfortable symptoms of eczema:
As if this isn’t enough to deal with for a child, we now have to be concerned about their greater likelihood of developing food allergies, which can become life-threatening quickly — think peanut allergies, when a child has a dramatic, sudden reaction that causes dangerous symptoms like anaphylaxis (when their throat closes up and breathing becomes difficult to impossible).
There can be chaos and confusion when a child suddenly develops a food allergy, and it might not be your first instinct to link it to their eczema.
This is why we’ve put together a list of helpful hallmarks that point to your child’s eczema having a connection with a food allergy.
This is a specific series of events that’s related to eczema and often includes food allergies, but not always. First, they develop eczema as a baby, then they develop a food allergy, often followed by the emergence of hay fever or allergic rhinitis, and, finally, asthma.
You may have your child’s eczema treatment down pat, but have you noticed new skin symptoms, like rashes or hives, that coincide with eating certain foods? Even respiratory or gastrointestinal symptoms can occur. This may indicate a link between eczema and allergies.
The highest risk, “red alert” allergy foods for kids include:
If you notice a reaction in your child when they eat one of these foods — and they live with eczema — the two might be related.
Their eczema may be being treated, and you might talk to your child frequently about trying not to irritate their skin, but it’s hard for kids to heed this advice.
Research shows that when a child scratches, it stimulates allergic reactions to foods.
Additionally, babies get food all over themselves when eating, so if they have eczema, the food that gets on their skin can enter their bodies through the broken eczema-affected skin. This causes the immune system to produce certain types of antibodies, called IgE antibodies, against the food. These antibodies trigger a reaction that causes the immune system to react against the food.
We noted the high-risk allergy foods earlier, and the more your child might be exposed to one or more of them, the more it can negatively affect your ability to manage their eczema symptoms.
The Allergy & Asthma Clinic of Central Texas team can help you determine whether your child has developed an allergy or allergies that are directly connected to their eczema.
They can perform sophisticated allergy testing with:
The answers gained from testing help them develop an allergy treatment plan that may include dietary changes, immunotherapy (allergy shots), and/or epinephrine injections. Simultaneously, they also treat your child’s eczema with innovative treatments like light therapy, biologic injections, topical corticosteroid creams, and prescription oral corticosteroid medications.
They may also recommend wet dressing therapy or antibiotic medications if your child experiences a bacterial infection.
We can accurately diagnose your child’s eczema, discover if it’s related to a food allergy, and formulate an effective treatment plan for them that offers relief and a return to being a kid again.
To learn more and get your child tested, diagnosed, or treated, contact our Killeen, Round Rock, or Georgetown, Texas, office, or you can set up an appointment online.
