Severe Atopic Dermatitis

Skin, nail and hair health
1

My 10 year old son has been suffering with severe eczema and has been diagnosed with atopic dermatisis. It started last year and since then he is suffering. We have tried many dermatologists and almost every type of lubricants, antihistamines, corticosteriod creams and so on.

During last year from March - May his condition was worst and same happened this year. We are not sure of this phenomena.... May be high pollen count!! Any one can give better opinion pls. So far we are unable to clearly identify what are the major triggers for his eczeme....

Also, we have been seeing dermatologists so far and one of my friend whose son is also experiencing similar problem has advised us to see an Allergy Specialist. Kindly advise if a dermatologist or an allergy specialist is more suitable for my son's treatment. WE did his IgE test which was positive.

 

2

Dear Zain,

I also had eczema as a child and saw numerous GPs and also dermatolgists about it. They failed to help me. All they did was prescribe creams and various moisturisers etc. They did not advise me that the condition could be an allergy.

At the age of 24 I went to see an accupuncturist who advised me that my condition could be an allergy. (He was a former GP who had decided to become an accupuncturist because in his words he was "tired of peddling drugs for the pharmaceutical industry". He advised me to go on to an exclusion diet which meant I ate just lamb, rice and pears for 2 months (those foods are highly unlikely to cause an allergic reaction). It actually took more like 3 months but eventually my eczema completely cleared up. After that I saw a dietician who gradually introduced new foods into my diet and eventually I discovered that I had an allergy to dairy products and also certain nuts like almonds. I now read the labels on everything to check that they don't have dairy or almonds in them. I drink oat milk and life is good.

Unfortunately it takes a long time for the toxins to leave your system, that is why you must be very patient in this process. However, if it is a straightforward allergy to certain foods, then you have completely solved the problem.

Unfortunately it appears that GPs and dermatolgists are in the pockets of the pharmaceutical industry and therefore do not primarily advise patients that the condition could be an allergy - they just want to prescribe more medical products. The correct approach is to primarily attempt to discover whether or not the condition is a food allergy.

I hope that this helps

Steve

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Thank you Steve. It is helpful.

So far what we have observed is that some external factors like sudden temparature change cause an immediate reaction. As far as food is concerned, no food has reacted immediately but we suspect that there are few like cow milk don't help him improve...

Also, although he has it all over his body but main issue is at face which most of the times remain effected. Did you have such issue?

One thing is important that none of the dermatologist advised to cut any/some food items but when we went to allergy specialist, he has advised to stop any form of milk for the time being, plus few other advises. Owing to this different approach, I am curious whether to follow the treatment plan of allergy specialist or conyinue with dermatologist. 

Thanks

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Hi Zain,

The thing to recognise is that generally speaking, this type of allergy does not cause an immediate reaction. It takes the accumulation of the toxin (such as dairy products) over months before the body begins reacting. Therefore it is extremely difficult to identify what is causing the problem.

However, there are certain foods which have a high likeliness to cause allergic reactions. Dairy products are the most likely, then it is certain nuts such as almonds and other tree nuts, then fish and wheat etc. (There are websites that can advise on the most likely foods to cause allergic reactions). The main thing that I have discovered is that you have to be very careful in avoiding dairy products - many products contain milk - like some crisps for example - therefore you have to be very strict otherwise it won't work.

On the point of changes in temperature. Generally speaking when I used to get hot or start to sweat, that would aggravate my eczema, but it was not the cause of it. The allergy was the problem and being hot just aggravated it and made my skin more itchy and uncomfortable.

Best regards

Steve

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My son is 7, but has had eczema all of his life. We have been to dermos, allergists and now a GI specialist as we found out last year that he not only has allergies (foods and pollens) but also Coeliac Disease.

Unlike your son, his eczema is everywhere but his face, usually. He has some in the area where his earlobe meets his head and other skin folds/creases like the backs of his knees but mostly on his legs and arms and less on his torso and neck. I think pollen is a trigger, too - and yes, it's best to keep him cool when possible. You said his IgE was high - was that done through an allergist?

I use a dermatologist for the worst flare ups, an allergist because he's just riddled with allergies to begin with (some he's outgrowing) and even on strict elimination diets we haven't found any relief from the dermatitis - after months he still wasn't fully "clear".  I think Steve's reply is interesting, I've thought about taking my little guy for accupuncture many times. It's greatly helped me (with vertigo symptoms), I just don't see him tolerating it yet.  

So, knowing that it's FAR from a perfect science, I think you should have your son tested for allergies and make decisions from there.  If you do your own elimination diet, be sure to keep a food journal or work with your dr or nutritionist...someone who can help get the right info from results and that could be an "alternative" practitioner, too.

Steroid creams scare me a bit. I try to use them sparingly but I can't help noticing that my 7 yr old has had lightly hairy legs for years while my 10 year old does not (he had eczema as a baby and outgrew it around age 5 - more like your son's where it was on his face, too - even blistering but the worst was over around age 3 in his case). I wonder how much steroid is absorbed into his "system"?  I didn't want to try bleach baths, but finally did (I used the "eczema boot camp" method which you can google) and it did give my son some relief. Now we do a weekly bleach bath and shower every-other-day and his skin is not clear but still far better with fewer extreme patches. Last night I didn't even use medicated cream anywhere, just the pot of vanicream with a pump in the middle...I'm having trouble finding their ointment lately. I know you didn't ask for that type of advice, and I can't tell you how many "amazing!" things never helped my son...but I thought I'd add that info anyway - take it for what it's worth. smile

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Thank you Aveline. Much appreciated.

The IgE test was done through a fomral lab. We have tried allergy tests but the results were not that clear. Will go for it again. Bleech bath advice is good. We have heard about it but never tried so far

Just another query. Have you gone for his urine and LFt tests.... One of our doctor advised that but we have not gpne for it as yet..

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I agree with your friend to seek advice from allergy specialist. Good luck

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hi my name is maria,i am 17 yrs old i have suffered from eczema (atopic dermatitus) from the age of 7.my skin was absulutely disgusting,i would itch it at night untill it bled,my skin was covered in weeping sores.when i turned 16 my dermotologist reffered me to photo therapy.this therapy helped alot,i had got this treatment done 3 times a week.my skin improved alot.but it did not clear my eczema completely.i was not allowed to have this treatment done on me any more,due to the high risk of skin cancer.

this year i watch what i eat,i do not eat wheat,chocolate,nuts, any food that contain eggs,crisps. I have noticed that it makes me feel itchy.

i informed my dermatologist for a patch test but their wa along waiting list,if i was to be on the list,my patch testing would happen in a years time.

i wa on a strict diet,i ordered a book called the eczema diet book. this book was a life saver you could order it from amazon. the book has informaion on the diffrent layers of skin and different foods whitch could  effect your skin.at the end of the book it has a meal table andrecepies for meals suitable for eczema sufferers.. My skin improved alot.When i told my dermatologist that my eczema worsens when i eat certain foods.she told me that what you ea dosnt effect your eczema.

Insha allah your sons eczema will improve

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Hey! I'm 23 and I've had atopic dermatitis for a bout 10 years. I had an allergy test done and had to cut out a bunch of foods and it helped a lot to clear up my eczema. But what really made a difference was the Bioderma AR face cream. It's made for people with Rosacea but after a couple days of using it 90% of my eczema was gone!

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Hi Zain,

i have already posted about my success story in the alternative and complementary medicine forum, so you may want to check the post called "20 year case of Eczema cured with St. John's Wort", if interested by what follows:

Scientific research results dating from Fall 2013 at the University of Michigan have uncovered the role of the bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus in allergic skin disease, which includes most varieties of atopic dermatitis. Certain strains of this bacteria carry a toxin called Delta, which causes the mast cells to degranulate, thereby liberating a lot of histamine in the skin. That would explain why people suffering from eczema have an uncontrollable urge to scratch themselves, since histamine liberated in the skin will cause severe itching, just like when one gets an insect bite.

According to research, 90% of people suffering from eczema have their wounded skin colonized by this bacteria. It is also known to be extremely resistant to most antibiotics, which is why antibiotic therapy is rarely an option. Since we can't easily post links on this forum, you may type "University of Michigan and Delta Toxin" in your favorite search engine and you should be able to access the full scientific article.

I cured myself from my severe case of eczema by taking St. John's Wort Extract, which is a very well known antidepressor, for cases of mild to moderate depression. However, its most studied molecule called Hyperforin, also happens to be a powerful natural antibiotic against Staphyloccoccus Aureus, particularly against its Methicillin resistant strain nicknamed MRSA. St. John's Wort has also been in use in folk medicine for over 2,000 years, to treat small wounds, burns and abrasions of the skin. I have read that it was the plant of choice to help the body heal from battle wounds during the middle ages. Again, all this information can be verified on serious scientific sites by typing the desired keywords in your favorite search engine.

There also have been a few small scale clinical trials that demonstrated the efficiency of a St. John's Wort cream against Eczema. However, I took a systemic oral treatment and would therefore not be able to personally recommend such cream. It is also also hard to obtain commercially.

If you believe that St. John's Wort may help your child, please also read about all the warnings concerning its potential side-effects and interactions with other medications. These side-effects are rare for most, but it is always best to be informed just in case. I personally did not suffer from any unpleasant side-effects, but each person is different, which is why being aware should always be high priority.

Best of luck!

 

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Hi Zain, wondered if topical steroid addiction would apply to your son. It could be a strong possibility if his eczema worsened following application of topical steroids.

Greg - great you have had such success with this treatment. There's no reference to sjw and its natural antibiotic properties to help eczema  in the Michigan articles - do you know if there's any research on this specific link

anywhere ? Many thanks

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Hi Manuka,

The University of Michigan article only addresses the potential cause or aggravating factor for eczema, which is the bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus. To find some information on how St John's Wort (or its main molecule Hyperforin) is effective against Staphylococcus Aureus, just type these names in your search engine, or even better, on the Pubmed website.

Regards.

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Will do, thanks Greg 

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Dear steve

So many thanks for the post. I'm an eczema sufferer from the age of 3 . It subsided in my teens and now it s worse again and I'm 28 now. As u said numerous doctors and all prescribed same medicines. I get it only in my hands. EspeciallY palms. Rarely get it in my feet. No one told me about his food thing. And I'm consulting an acuacupuncturist for more than a year. The popositivthing is I still get worse eczema flare ups in hands but it goes off without medicines slowly. The acupuncturist says it 'll take long time to remove toxins as u said as I ve been overloaded with steroids creams and medicines from 3 yrs of age. I'm being patient but unable to know the cause. I completely avoided chemical contact, detegebts soaps, dust touching, food touching I reduced. Still it keeps coming in hands severely and he says it's due to toxins coming out . I don't know what to do. Imagine a severe dermatitis in palms. How can I do my daily work? So now I'm planning to follow ur tips. Avoiding dairy products for 2 months. Pls help me in suggesting what products can be avoided in dairy

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Hi again Manuka,

While searching for recent info on St. John's Wort and its applications for skin disease, I fell on a wonderful paper written by German dermatology scientists. It's long and rather heavy with scientific terms, but absolutely worth the read for anyone who suffers from skin disease. Again, I wish I could post a direct link but you should find its PDF quite easily by typing "Topical application of St. John's Wort Silae" in your search engine.

Enjoy!

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Oh thanks Greg, I'll take a look!

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An interesting article Greg, thanks for the info. Wonder if any sjw compound would be of commercial interest to a manufacturer, given its natural source.

That's half the problem isn't it - funding research is rather selective based on commercial interest, largely. However, top

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..however, there are many for whom topical steroids are contra- indicated and so safer alternatives which can be used even into the longer term will be very welcome.

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Interestingly, some scientists have already claimed patent rights on SJW and its molecule Hyperforin for their assumed abilty to cure numerous diseases including eczema, psoriasis, skin cancer and depression among others. I think the only thing preventing SJW from becoming "mainstream" medication would be large scale clinical trials. If time and money are available, it might eventually become a household name just like Aspirin. It certainly wouldn't surprise me after having been cured thanks to it while all other present therapies had failed for 20 years!

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I know this post is a bit old, but just in case you still have this issue. My teen age boy, 16 yo, suddenly had massive flare up. The first thing that occurred to me was he had been having tons of dairy products the last 2 months. Milk, yogurt, a whole quart in one go. And then he started having major eczema flare ups on his legs, arms, neck. I mentioned to him about the dairy. I put him on juice diet with tons of cucumber. Cucumber is rich in alkaline. It took a while, but we saw major difference. You might need a major detox. Vegetable and fruit smoothie or juice. I hope you are already better!