Update: Following an Elimination Diet, I was able to identify the food trigger that was causing a (non-eczema) rash for my baby, and then move on to identify the environmental trigger that was causing the eczema. My son is now two years old and no longer has any eczema.
My second born started developing small patches of eczema when he was around 6 or 7 weeks old. It was around the same time I had realised that he was having digestive issues too, and had already cut out dairy knowing that it made him very upset (via my breastmilk).
Treating baby's eczema and food intolerances
I started on the treatment/prevention course recommended by my GP: emulsifying fatty cream twice a day. I was also beginning an Elimination Diet too, to identify what else might be causing his mucousy, green stringy poo (long story short, it was soy and dairy).
This continued with no improvement until we moved house (and towns) when he was six months old. When we arrived in the new house, both baby and my husband's eczema flared up big time. This indicated to us that it was highly likely to be an external trigger, but he would still have some days better than others. I had researched and been told that it was very unlikely the eczema would be caused by a food, but that it was very common that people who had eczema also had food intolerances or allergies. However, I wasn't ready to rule out food as a cause at this stage.
When baby started solids at six months, we started re-introducing allergens. First through my breast milk and then through food directly to him. Gluten was re-introduced without a hitch. However, we discovered that eggs gave him a huge red rash, though this wasn't eczema.
Baby's rash within half an hour of eating eggs - all over his body
Combatting eczema without knowing the trigger
At this stage I was trying everything: expensive probiotics, an air purifier, 100% organic cotton clothing, oat baths and all types of natural moisturisers. We were still continuing the emulsifying fatty/barrier cream and steroid cream for bad flare ups.
By the time he was around 8 months old, through eczema research I started getting into the 'low tox' (as in low toxin) lifestyle. I switched our Persil Sensitive washing liquid to an EcoStore sensitive liquid with no harsh chemicals. I started making my own cleaning products and soaps from natural ingredients, and I limited preservatives from our food as much as I could. I stopped using emulsifying fatty cream and steroid cream (I highly recommend doing some research on the ingredients they use) and started using Manuka Biotic Eczema Relief Body lotion morning and night.
The eczema trigger is revealed
When baby was 10 months old we took a family holiday to Rotorua (New Zealand). Each day, both baby and husband's eczema disappeared more and more until both were completely free of it by day 4. This was MIND BLOWING. Their eczema had been so red and inflamed and ingrained in their skin that it seemed like it would take weeks for the skin to repair once any trigger had been removed. I had known my husband for 11 years and had never ever seen him without eczema.
This confirmed that the trigger was external. My three main suspects were chlorine in the water supply, our dog (who hadn't come on holiday with us) and dust mites. The house we stayed in had been recently renovated with mostly hard floors and the carpet in the bedrooms was new.
I called the councils in Rotorua, in Gisborne where we had lived, and Wairoa where we live now, to see what levels of chlorine were in the town water supply. This revealed that while Rotorua had the lowest, Gisborne's was higher than Wairoa's so it didn't fit with the eczema worsening when we moved to Wairoa.
I then attempted to keep our dog outside, but he has always been an inside dog so it felt way too cruel plus he just kept finding his way in anyway, so I thought I'd tackle that last and switch to focusing on dust mites.
A quick Google on how to combat a dust mite allergy gave me two tactics: hot wash clothes at 60°C or more (to kill the dust mites), and vacuum more often using a vacuum with a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filter. Vacuums with HEPA filters are able to trap extremely small micron particles (down to 0.3 microns). The average household vacuum releases particles smaller than 50 microns which means that the vast majority of the smallest and most easily spread particles are being blown back into the air. So we bought a Dyson V8.
It also revealed one product. The PureBiotics® StaBiotic™ Allergy Mist, which eliminates dust mites and other allergens from the air using beneficial bacteria. I bought this, which I spray over baby's cot every 3-5 days. I also bought the concentrate they sell to make my own cleaning spray too.
Hallelujah! The eczema is cured!
Miraculously, these products and changes did the trick! Baby's eczema cleared right up! At the time of writing this he is 21 months old now and he's only had a small amount of eczema since then on two occasions: first when he climbed into the back of the TV cabinet which was very dusty, and secondly when I trialed stopping hot washes for a couple of weeks.
This fits in with why the eczema flared up so much when we moved into the new house too; there is lovely thick wool carpet in most of the house here, which would hold a lot more dust than the thin, worn down old carpet in our previous house.
I continue to use the Manuka Biotic cream, but only at night now after his bath.
I'm soo stoked and proud that I managed to identify the trigger. The creams always felt so 'Ambulance at the bottom of the cliff'. I was determined to see what was causing this heartbreaking itch for my baby. I hope that my story can help provide some answers or helpful product recommendations for others in the same boat. I know not everyone's trigger will be dust mites, but I encourage you to hunt down what the triggers are for your child(ren)! If you're going to remove food allergens from you or baby's diet (i.e begin an Elimination Diet), then the Allergen Free Recipes for Babies, Toddlers and Breastfeeding Mothers eBook will be a helpful resource :)
20 months old and not a spec of eczema on him!
The Elimination Diet helped us cure baby's eczema by identifying that he had food intolerances that weren't eczema and that his trigger was a dust mite allergy, not food.
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