Diet can relieve eczema attack

Arm of an eczema sufferer. Even though eczema is a skin condition, it originates from the gut, and that is why a change in diet can help enormously. PHOTO | WINNIE MABEL

What you need to know:

  • Even though the skin takes about 21 days to regenerate, if you do not see an improvement after two weeks, you need to look at your diet.
  • The main allergens are gluten (the protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats), and casein (the protein found in all dairy produce), beef, eggs, soya, maize, peanuts, and tree nuts (almonds, cashews, all other nuts).
  • What if that does not happen? If possible, I would encourage you to breastfeed your son more and reduce the formula feeds. I would also encourage you to stop all formula when he turns one.

Q:  My nine-month-old has eczema.

I wonder if diet can help?

I am breastfeeding my son, but he also takes formula

A:  Even though eczema is a skin condition, it originates from the gut, and that is why a change in diet can help enormously.

The first thing to do is to look at the list of foods below.

It gives you a month-by-month plan on what you should feed your baby. Since he is just nine months, he should not be eating anything that is not on the sixth or eighth month list.

The list below indicates the foods to introduce at various stages.

Six months:  butternut squash, sweet potato, carrots, parsnips, courgettes, avocado, brown rice broccoli, swede, green beans, peas, spinach, papaya, apples, pears, peaches, plums, mango, melon, millet.

Eight months: Chicken, turkey, white fish, red lentils, mushrooms, buckwheat,

10 months: Oily fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines), lean red meat, black eye beans, brown lentils, pinto beans, chickpeas, mung beans, prunes, dried apricots, coconut

12 months: Rye, corn, barley, oats, bananas, potatoes, peppers, cucumber, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, berries, kiwis, grapes, lychees, figs, dates, yoghurt.

15 months: Citrus fruits, shellfish, eggs (make sure they are cooked), peanut butter, nuts, and seeds (should be ground to avoid risk of choking), wheat, cheese, butter, tomatoes.

GRADUAL IMPROVEMENT

Even though the skin takes about 21 days to regenerate, if you do not see an improvement after two weeks, you need to look at your diet.

The main allergens are gluten (the protein found in wheat, barley, rye, and oats), and casein (the protein found in all dairy produce), beef, eggs, soya, maize, peanuts, and tree nuts (almonds, cashews, all other nuts).

I realise that this sounds quite restrictive, but it is amazing how much a difference such a change can make. Furthermore, there are still plenty of things you can eat, from chicken and rice to lentils and beans, not to mention vegetables.

At the same time, start including more small-boned fish such as omena and dagaa in your diet — the essential fats from these can help in inflammatory skin conditions (he can have these too after he turns 10 months).

In 90 per cent of the cases I see, the infant starts to improve at this stage.

As you might expect, it does take time, but with every set of three weeks, the skin slowly becomes less angry, then less dry, then less red, and finally goes back to normal.

What if that does not happen? If possible, I would encourage you to breastfeed your son more and reduce the formula feeds. I would also encourage you to stop all formula when he turns one.

Instead of formula, you could give him a mixture of yoghurt and water, whisked thoroughly. This formulation is often better tolerated than formula.

Also avoid using soaps or other cleansing products while bathing your child to avoid drying out his skin further.