My child has eczema: what food should I give him?

Your child reports patches of eczema every time he eats an egg, milk or peanut. He suffers from a food allergy. What to do? What can you replace these risky products with?

Milan, 10 months, is in full food diversification. Today, he found cod interestingly. Except for that three hours after his meal, his mother notices that he has red patches on his body covered with small pimples. This form of eczema can be a symptom of a food allergy, a disease which, according to Inserm, affects nearly 5% of children. A figure that has nearly multiplied in twenty years.

The reason? It is to be sought on the side of the decline in breastfeeding and its duration, too late diversification and heredity. If the mom or dad is allergic, the child has a 40% risk of becoming allergic, 80% if both parents are.

Fish is not the only food to cause these plaques: a 2005 European directive lists the fourteen food allergens subject to mandatory labelling ( gluten, shellfish, egg, fish, peanut, soy, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites, lupine, mollusc).

The solution: total avoidance of allergenic foods

If your child develops eczema as soon as he eats any of these foods, consult his paediatrician. If necessary, he will refer you to an allergist who, thanks to skin tests, will be able to confirm the food allergy.

It's positive? So your child should no longer be in contact with the allergenic food. This is what specialists call “total eviction”.

Only, your little one is growing. It needs the nutrients present in some of these foods to grow well.

Eczema requires an anti-inflammatory diet. The goal is to diversify your diet as much as possible. Avoid or limit: 

Saturated fats of animal origin (beef, pork, poultry, butter, pork fat),

Whole dairy products (no skimmed dairy products for young children, but rather a mix of whole and low-fat products),

Quick sugars: sweets, sugary drinks, honey… 

Products made from white flour: they do not contain enough fibre and contribute to increasing the risk of metabolic diseases, which all have an inflammatory component, 

Compensate for dietary deficiencies

In the case of an allergy to cow's milk, so that it does not lack the calcium essential for the construction of its skeleton, use a substitute based on hydrolyzate, which does not contain the proteins responsible for the reaction of the body.

From 8 or 9 months, calcium supplementation may be prescribed."Assuming your little one is adversely affected by fish, he might be deficient in omega-3 unsaturated fats vital for appropriate mental health. You will make up for this need by providing him with a day by day teaspoon of rapeseed or pecan oil," advises Professor Patrick Tounian, pediatric nutritionist.

In case of reaction to eggs, replace this source of protein with meat, fish or ham.

Increase your tolerance with desensitization

Fortunately, most of these allergies disappear spontaneously: that to cow's milk yields around 18 months, that to egg around 3 years and that to wheat, about a year after the total eviction of this cereal.

If the allergies do not disappear at these ages or if eczema gets worse, desensitization can be used.

The principle ? "Very low doses of food allergens are administered sublingually to the child and gradually increased to accustom his body and raise his reactogenic tolerance threshold," explains Prof. Tounian. 

Anticipating allergy during pregnancy

Other good news: if there are cases of allergy in your family, it is possible to anticipate this disease in your children. And it starts with pregnancy.

Once the baby is born, allergists recommend 4 months of exclusive breastfeeding: the immunity it provides would have a protective effect against allergy symptoms such as eczema.

For this, give your child only one of these foods at a time, and, at the slightest skin reaction, consult his paediatrician.

Beware of false allergies! Certain foods (strawberries, tomatoes, pineapple, chocolate) and certain cheeses (Roquefort and Brie) can cause patches of eczema evoking the symptoms of a food allergy.

But it is a false allergy: they contain histamine, which can trigger in some sensitive children skin manifestations close to the allergic reaction.

Symptoms disappear within hours, without a trace. There is no need to deprive your child of these foods, simply reduce their consumption to prevent these skin manifestations from reappearing.

https://hangoverknock.com/nddubh8f?key=a3da912c751baaab48a91f551ed1f36c