Peanut Allergy - PART 2 - Westtown,NY

T.:

At 4 months old - it could her little body is adjusting to the world around her.

Do you have pets? Cats? Dogs? Fish? Many things factor into this.

Eczema is allergy-based - that much we now know. Allergic to what? Now that's a whole 'nother story.

Get a full allergy test done - she may have lactose or soy intolerance - which is usually (NOT ALL THE TIME) the case behind Eczema. You may be surprised at what is the root cause. I know it's tough having a little one and not knowing what is wrong - or know what is wrong but not sure how to help her!!

I would think the eczema would be more from a milk allergy not the peanut so I would ask the dr which formula would be best. I babysit a little girl who is now 3 but her eczema was from a milk allergy. Good Luck.

My younger son is 14 months old. From the time he was about 2 1/2 months old, he had really bad eczema. I exclusively breastfed him. I cut dairy, eggs, soy, and nuts out of my diet for one month. His eczema improved dramatically, but he still had flare-ups every once in a while.

When he was six months old, I took him to a pediatric allergist, who told me that all allergy tests (skin patch or blood) are quite inaccurate. They can be a helpful tool, but they cannot guarantee a definitive allergy diagnosis. I didn't bother testing my son for allergies, since I had a fairly good idea of what he was allergic to. Plus, infants and toddlers' allergies are changing all the time, so I didn't want to constantly subject him to all of that testing.

Anyway, now that I am no longer breastfeeding my son, I have pinpointed his dietary allergies (milk, eggs, soy, nuts, legumes). Right now, he, my daughter, and I are going absolutely crazy because of the tree pollen outside. We have hives, sneezing, and wheezing going on here. I wonder if that is what is bothering your daughter as well.

Are you sure your daughter isn't allergic to milk? My daughter, who is now six, had no reaction to milk the first two or three times I exposed her to it, but then one day when she was 10 months old, she dipped her hand into the whipped cream on my Starbucks drink. She had full blown anaphylaxis without even ingesting it, and by the time I got her to the ER, the triage nurse thought she was a burn victim because her face was so blotchy and swollen.

My son is coping right now by me giving him 1/4 teaspoon doses of Benadryl about every 6 hours. It keeps the eczema at bay and he isn't sneezing or wheezing too bad. Good luck to you. I'll bet your daughter is so uncomfortable that she isn't sleeping well. Not fun.

I have twin sons. One of them developed eczema around 2-3 months old. The doctor suggested it was from a protein sensitivity as it occurred about the same time that he started drooling more. The eczema was primarily on his face and neck. We were using Similac regular formula and switched first to Similac Sensitive. It didn't improve the situation much. So then we switched to Similac Alimentum. It smells terrible, but it helped a little so we kept him on that. The Alimentum pre-breaks down the proteins more so it's supposed to help in that way. There are other brands that have similar "sensitive" type formulas as well.

The eczema did get better over time, but for a few months we pretty much had his face lathered up with Aquaphor and tried to keep him from scratching.

Fast forward to today and he still has sensitive skin...particularly diaper rash issues, but we do not have any breakouts like we did before. When he was about 1.5 years old he got flare ups on his inside elbows, but we attributed that to being warmer weather and his shirt sleeves tended to rest in that area. I don't recall when exactly the eczema got better. It was constant for a while, then it reduced in coverage area so it was mostly on the neck and small spots on his face. Then it was more intermittent so it would be better, than flare-up. Then the face area got better and he had some trouble spots on his elbows and ankles. Now (at 3), he rarely has flare-ups and if he does have an issue, it's usually related to something that he is sensitive to touching his skin.

We use Tide Free detergent and double rinse, no fabric softener. We used All Free for a while but it seemed to be worse for his skin.

I hated seeing him suffer, but other than trying to make him comfortable, we just had to wait it out.

Unless you are feeding him peanuts, I doubt it's a peanut allergy. It could be a protein sensitivity. It's worth discussing options with your doctor and whether allergy testing would be appropriate. Also, you could ask about bathing options. I've heard people doing special baths (oatmeal?) or wraps to help with it, but we never did with that. We mostly did Aquaphor since his problem was in an area that could easily get into his mouth. We didn't want any medical creams getting ingested.

I would be extremely surprised if her eczema was caused by her peanut allergy. Unless you are feeding her peanut products or using a peanut-based lotion on her skin, she would not have much chance for exposure, and I'm pretty certain that infant formulas as not made with peanuts. Perhaps you can ask your daughter's doctor for clarification - she may have a peanut allergy, but also another type of allergy (milk or soy) that is causing the eczema.
BTW - another poster said that peanut allergies only cause anaphylaxis. That is not true - an allergic reaction to peanuts may cause anaphylaxis, but it also may cause hives or other reactions. I have found the www.foodallergy.org website to be extremely helpful in learning about food-based allergies.

Peanut allergies do not cause eczema. Peanuts are an allergen in the class that causes anaphylactic reactions - which means an airway issue. If your daughter is allergic to peanuts and she's being exposed to them, her first symptoms could be hives or other skin issues, but it would progress quickly to swelling of the throat and inability to breathe.

You need to look elsewhere for the cause of her eczema; it could be milk protein intolerance or something else, but as a mom of a four year old who's had a diagnosed peanut allergy for almost three years, I can pretty much promise you that there are no peanuts in baby formula, and that your daughter's eczema is not being caused by peanuts.

I am with Emmy that does not sound like a peanut allergy. Most people that are allergic to peanut will go into antafalactic shock (Sorry can't spell it). Milk allergys can cause break outs and also can cause ear infections and other issues.