Childhood Eczema And Food Allergies - By: Jay Benjamin

The chronic dry skin and associated itching caused by eczema has a variety of different causes. In the early years of a child's life, there is about a one in five chance of suffering from the condition. Some cases will be very severe and affect large areas of the body, others will be very mild.

Genetics play a large part in a child's chances of being affected by eczema, as do other factors, such as being in contact with certain fabrics, soaps, lotions, etc. However, food allergies have long been known to be a contributing factor in quite a large proportion of cases, and it seems that the number of food allergy cases are increasing with time.

Studies have shown that of all children affected by eczema, around 40% of these cases will be related to an allergic reaction to certain foods. Because of the high number of commonly eaten foods which can be associated with eczema, it can
be hard to pinpoint the particular foodstuffs involved. However, the potential improvement in the condition resulting from eliminating the offending food can be dramatic, and well worth the effort involved.

Most food allergies in children are caused by either one, or sometimes a combination of: eggs, nuts (particularly peanuts), milk, wheat and products containing or made from soybeans. The most common means of testing for a food allergy are skin tests. The skin is pricked and a small amount of an extract made from the potential allergen is placed on the skin and any reaction is noted. Occasionally, a blood test may be carried out instead of, or as well as a skin test. This is designed to detect any antibodies which may be present in the blood showing an immune response to a particular food. These food allergy tests are very sensitive, and if they prove negative the chances of a food allergy being a cause of eczema are very low.

Discovering if your child's eczema is the result of an allergic reaction to a certain food can take time and patience. But if an allergy is shown to be a contributing factor, it is not hard to remove the food causing it from their diet, or replace it with an alternative.

About the Author

The author has been writing articles on health and other topics for a number of years. Her latest website is about using a cheap HDMI cable to connect together your home entertainment devices, if you need a long HDMI cable, it can be worth looking at a more expensive lead.

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