Eczema afflicts possibly one person in five per head of population and up to one child in ten.
Eczema, and related afflictions such as psoriasis and dermatitis, can affect people of all ages from newborn, breastfed babies to elderly adults. In infants and toddlers more than 80% of eczema, some extremely acute, is caused by allergic food reactions to the proteins in dairy products, eggs, peanuts and wheat.
Gluten is a major trigger for eczema throughout the entire community.
Some children and adults also react adversely to certain seafoods, sesame, soy (about which I will say more in a future blog), chocolate, cabbage, curry, chilli, salicylates (naturally occurring in some foods and in aspirin), tree nuts, some fruits (citrus and others, particularly if not ripe) and vegetables, food colourings and additives including sulphites, tatrazine and M.S.G.. Animal hair etc and some plants also contribute to eczema problems. Eggs, peanuts, sesame and shellfish have also been implicated in anaphylaxis.
Removing the offending foods from the breastfeeding mother’s and a young child’s diets often quickly reverses the condition.
Eczema is usually more prevalent in children where one or both of the parents have suffered from asthma, eczema and other chronic conditions: i.e. there is genetic or hereditary predisposition.
One of the severest forms of eczema or skin disease is dermatitis herpetiformis which is an immune reaction to gluten deposits in or just under the skin: an extremely debilitating and chronic illness which can often linger for up to a decade from the change to a strictly gluten free diet.
Unfortunately, there is often reluctance on the part of some patients and their medical advisers to accept that food and gluten allergies and eczema may be directly related.
A change to a gluten free diet is often inconvenient and initially quite daunting: a voyage into the unknown, with many children also finding it alienating and many people concerned about the additional expense.
In young children, blood and skin prick tests are relatively painless, quickly and accurately able to identify immune responses and the responsible food allergens.
Usually, once the problem has been identified and the benefits begin to flow, both the children and their parents are relieved to escape the misery, discomfort and other unpleasant side effects, including tummy discomfort, crankiness, tiredness, poor growth, inability to concentrate etc., often associated with severe eczema.
The improved lifestyle and feelings of wellbeing soon more than compensate for the relatively small additional effort and expense of preparing gluten free meals.
It is not unusual to see a child placed on a gluten free diet improve quickly and significantly health and eczema wise but relapse if re-exposed to gluten.
Often the symptoms manifest themselves more quickly and virulently than prior to the adoption of a gluten free diet.
Once the decision to go gluten free has been made the person involved has to come to grips with the fact that this may well become a lifelong routine and commitment.
Thankfully, kids with celiac disease are quick learners.
I had a mum call me about the nut and egg contents of our products. She had two little boys, one aged four and the other two years old. Both had strong allergic reactions to eggs and were on a gluten free diet due to eczema and other problems.
She was relieved by my response
- that no egg, nut or other controversial ingredients were used in our F.G. Roberts products or present on site -
and went on to explain that her four year old almost instantly picked up the presence of any egg ingredients by the tingling feelings in his mouth if exposed to egg.
He would spit the offending food out discreetly without suffering any ill effects.
Unfortunately, his younger brother had not yet learnt to respond to the trigger warnings and there had been a number of incidents including a hospitalisation.
From primary school age onwards most of the egg and dairy problems seem to recede with dust mites and gluten becoming the primary culprits in eczema.
Most of the other factors, discussed above, still remain in the equation but tend to be secondary. Most people may be considered “gluten sensitive” if their symptoms respond positively to the removal of gluten from their diet and their symptoms flare again when re-exposed to gluten.
Regards,
Paul Smith
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