From CEO, Founder & Inventor at CozeeCoo®
Based on my Success Story
Please note:
This guide is for babies with severe & persistent skin irritation(s) (i.e. itching, rashes, redness, weeping, dryness, spots, hives, etc.). For swelling call your doctor immediately. In the case of an emergency dial 911. I am not a doctor. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your pediatrician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
This information is based off of the medical records of my son, Anthony, his medication prescription dates, photo dates and lastly, my recollection. It is to the best of my knowledge. These accounts were simply our journey and process to finding our personal answers.
Before
After
Before: At a point when doctors were literally saying "I don't know what this is."
After: We were able to pinpoint Anthony's allergies and eczema triggers, choosing to change our family's lifestyle to avoid them.
I'm providing this blog post for several reasons:
Mainly, I want to scream to the mountain tops about a garment I invented that can prevent babies from touching and/or scratching their face while still allowing for movement in the arms. The legs are left completely free to move around. It's not the end all answer when up against baby skin irritations but it's one big win when your baby is answering the urge to itch -especially at night.
Secondly, pinpointing the underlying cause(s) is the hard part and with a brand new baby, finding those answers with very little sleep is tough. While experiencing Anthony's skin irritations I would have loved to stumble upon a blog post like this one -to compare notes and pictures against a timeline. So now this is the post I was always searching for but never found.
Lastly, I hope my family's story can help guide others on their baby's skin irritation(s) journey. -Even if just to know you're not alone in this.
Here's a bit of background before I jump into our timeline:
This is the cycle to Anthony's skin that I got to know well: First it turned burn red. Then it wept a liquid that looked like water yet would dry stiff and yellow on his clothes. Lastly Anthony's skin would crack and spread apart to reveal raw, red skin underneath (whether slathered in petroleum jelly or not). Then the cycle would start all over again.
Anthony's skin itched. During the night he wriggled out of swaddling blankets to create bleeding scratches. He even had hair loss. Over the course of one day Anthony's skin could appear as though it was healing but then it would flare/react again and get worse. This made it hard to know if efforts to heal him were working or not.
This timeline will take you through our journey of pinpointing Anthony's severe eczema triggers and allergies. These are the notes and photos I took while trying to understand what was happening to our baby. I have since been able to fill in more accurate dates and medication details. I tried my best to cut out the emotions and just provide the decisions/actions we took given each development.
Please read this blog all the way through as a lot of the general information we received from the start was not what my family ultimately needed.
Please also be aware that some might find the following photos graphic or disturbing.
Anthony's Severe
Eczema & Food Allergy
History Timeline:
- November 29, 2018 Our precious Anthony was born
- Anthony received 1 dose series of 2 for Hep B vaccination in the hospital.
- I had low milk production initially, which caused Anthony to have low blood sugar. Because of that I breastfed and supplemented with ~2oz of formula each day.
- Jan 17, 2019 I had a doctor’s appointment for breastfeeding position and latch support. All went well.
- Anthony began developing cradle cap.
- Near the end of January I started to put coconut oil on Anthony’s cradle cap to massage it out. Doctors will currently tell you there are not strong facts for or against removing cradle cap.
- Jan 30, 2019 I had mastitis (an infection in the breast milk duct) and took a series of antibiotics (dicloxacillin 500mg 1 capsule 4 times a day for 10 days)
- Anthony’s skin irritations began in early February. It started off as a red spot that appeared like a burn on his chin. It seemed quite itchy. Soon his whole body including his face was rather dry.
- Through trial and error I tested many natural ingredients (coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, shea butter, & jojoba oil) and products (Vaseline, Aquafore, & Medela lanoline) to soothe and moisturize Anthony’s skin -especially right after a lukewarm bath. The natural ingredients seemed to work best. Anthony would itch his face by rubbing it on any surface he could touch like his crib sheets or our shirts when we held him.
- February 17, 2019 I took the advice of a dula and gave Anthony a lukewarm bath with organic, gluten-free oat flour, organic goats milk powder and raw honey in the hopes of soothing his skin irritations. This did not go well as Anthony broke out in small red spots all over right before my eyes.
- February 19, 2019 I caught the flu. In addition to breastfeeding, this led to dehydration and a visit to the Emergency Room. I received two IVs and took Zofran for anti-nausea. Anthony was solely given formula while I was away.
- Feb 21, 2019 Anthony had his first vaccination appointment for Heb B, RV, DTaP, Hib, PCV and IPV. I showed our pediatrician Anthony’s skin irritations. "Eczema" was noted on his chart. I mentioned coconut oil seemed to work best for the dry skin. The doctor said I should only use products like Aquaphor and Vaseline petroleum jelly since the brand's production process is regulated. Also, if Anthony was reacting to a food allergy, then the coconut oil could be a trigger. The doctor said his reaction should clear up on its own. I mentioned that lukewarm baths seemed to help. He said with eczema the fewer baths the better. The photo below is of Anthony falling asleep in the doctor's office after being fed.
- I stopped using coconut oil and solely used Vaseline petroleum jelly. Anthony scratched his face non stop. I trimmed his nails very short and put socks on his hands (mitts just fell off) to keep him from creating scratches that bled. However, he would just use the socks to rub his skin raw. Anthony just wriggled out of swaddling blankets. I ended up holding Anthony in one arm while I held his hands away from his face with my other hand for hours at a time. This was not sustainable. I learned to place Anthony in a baby rocker chair and attempted to lift my hands off of his for moments at a time. I made it a game where if Anthony tried to scratch his face I'd pull his hands back to his lap as quick as I could. Eventually if my eyes were on Anthony, then often times he wouldn't scratch. Sometimes his urges were just too strong and he scratched as hard as he could before I would reach him. If I were to look away for too long, he would seize the opportunity to scratch.
- Feb 23, 2019 I made a garment to keep Anthony from scratching his face. His arms were tucked into a tube of stretch fabric that was held down by a loop in between his legs. I wasn't sure it would work but once I lifted my hands off of him, he just smiled back at me because I could not stop smiling. Anthony wore the garment around the clock except for when we did arm exercises or took a bath.
- February 28, 2019 Anthony's skin was weeping at this point on his cheeks and neck. I put a bandage on Anthony's cheek in an attempt to protect him from rubbing it on surfaces.
- March 1, 2019 Anthony had eczema head to toe. The garment was a solution to help stop the scratching but I still needed to figure out Anthony's underlying cause(s) for his skin irritations. I booked our pediatrician's next available appointment and waited. I began taking detailed photos of Anthony's skin for the doctor's and our reference.
- March 5, 2019 we visited Anthony’s Pediatrician, who said to “air the skin out and see how things go”. I also spoke with the nurse practitioner, who recommended using Aquaphor for Anthony’s skin and prescribed Fluocinolone to apply to Anthony’s face. I first tried airing Anthony’s skin out for 24 hours. This did not go well as his skin just dried out and even got worse.
- March 6, 2019 I used Fluocinolone on a section of Anthony’s face once to test it. The skin turned a deeper red color. I discontinued use. I called a 24 hour nurse line to try and get advice for the underlying cause(s). She said the number one cause of eczema in babies is dairy. Since I was breastfeeding Anthony I stopped consuming dairy. I also stopped supplementing Anthony with formula to solely breastfeed and just hope that I would produce enough milk. That evening I used Aquaphor to moisturize Anthony’s skin including his face. It can also be noted that throughout my pregnancy and breastfeeding Anthony I did not consume alcohol, smoking of any kind or caffeine (tea, coffee, cocao).
My diet restrictions:
No: alcohol, smoking, caffeine or dairy
- March 7, 2019 During the night, Anthony slipped his arm out of the garment I made him and badly scratched his face. I wondered if there was a way to improve the garment design.
- March 9, 2019 I worried I wasn't making enough milk and gave Anthony formula to test his reaction.
- March 12, 2019 Anthony’s face turned “burn” red all over. I permanently cut formula from Anthony's diet and I stopped consuming all sugars except for fresh fruits in an attempt to minimize inflammation. These photos show the "weeping" stage (the second stage of the 1burn 2weep 3crack skin cycle).
My diet restrictions:
No: alcohol, smoking caffeine, dairy or sugar (except fruit and vegetables)
- March 13, 2019 Anthony saw his Pediatrician, who said “I don’t know what this is.” I asked for a referral to an allergist. The office found a clinic that would see babies. The pediatrician also gave us an urgent referral to a dermatologist at the children's hospital. Because Anthony's condition was not deemed life threatening, we couldn't get an appointment for 2 months. In addition to the clinics we were referred to I also made a list of nearby dermatology clinics. I began calling them regularly in an attempt to be seen sooner. For each clinic I forwarded our referral, asked to be on cancellation lists and sent photos of Anthony's skin. These images show the "burn" stage.
- March 14, 2019 These are photos taken at different times throughout the day (mostly in the cracked stage). The different times show how much Anthony's skin would change in one day. It was difficult to know what I could do to help his skin; whether to let it air out or apply over the counter products. I would dab Anthony's skin with a clean, wet (with room temperature water) cloth to keep his skin clean. I also changed his clothes and sheets often because the weeping liquid would dry hard onto fabric.
5:59 AM
8:54 AM
10:31 AM
11:44 AM
4:57 PM
- March 15, 2019 I read about topical steroid withdrawal (TSW) syndrome on the internet, reading that it only takes one application of a steroid to take affect and that many doctors do not acknowledge the syndrome. I had used Aquaphore with corticosteroid on his skin. My husband and I got scared and decided to discontinue the use of any over the counter topical ingredients or products on Anthony's skin for 24 hours to see if it might help. Anthony's skin became very dry -almost like cradle cap but on top of wet, raw, red skin. I did not feel that this was helping and went back to using Vaseline. I made sure to send these photos to my list of dermatology clinics.
11:58 AM
5:14 PM
- A friend's dermatologist friend told me their training is to prescribe steroids and recommend Vaseline. He also said babies do not need soap for bath time unless they have something on them that needs help coming off. In this case he recommended "a bar of soap with the less ingredients the better -no fragrances." I took his bath time advise and could tell it made a big difference.
- March 17, 2019 the skin condition began spreading to Anthony’s neck.
- March 18, 2019 A cosmetic dermatology clinic had a cancelation and though they didn't specialize in babies, they agreed to see Anthony the next day.
- March 19, 2019 The Cosmetic Dermatologist took a swab sample from Anthony's cheek to test for fungus, which takes two weeks to get the results back. He prescribed Desonide Cream (steroids) and Clotrimozol for fungus. I was instructed to use both medications together at the same time. I asked the dermatologist if he thought the cause could be due to food allergies. He said that "only 20% of babies have eczema and of those another 20% have it because of food allergies". The dermatologist then said the number is so small that he did not recommend I try treating my son's skin that route. I asked when I should stop using the steroids and he said there is no end date, that I should use it as needed.
- I was grateful to test the topical prescriptions. However, I chose to further look into the possibility of environmental and food allergies. I also tried my best not to use the steroids for longer than two weeks (as recommended through my online research and confirmed with the pharmacist). I was skeptical about using both medications together because if Anthony reacted poorly then I wouldn't know which one was the culprit. Also, I wanted to wait for the test results to possibly avoid physically testing medicines on Anthony. In this case I first tested the cream to see how Anthony's skin would react.
7:27 AM (before Desonide Cream)
- Anthony’s skin cleared up incredibly well.
9:43 PM (After Desonide Cream)
- March 20, 2019 The medication also caused a couple blisters. The doctor said blisters could be cause for alarm so he prescribed Desonide ointment instead of the cream. I second guessed myself and tested Clotrimozol (fungus treatment) on one of Anthony's blisters. The skin turned red and I discontinued use.
9:20 AM
4:41 PM
- March 21, 2019 The Desonide ointment arrived and I began using it instead of the cream.
10:43 AM
- March 22, 2019
9:00 AM
12:52 PM
- Anthony broke out again in the same cycle I got to know: red like a burn, then weeping yellow liquid and then cracks in the skin.
4:19 PM
- March 24, 2019 Anthony wriggled his arm out of the garment I made him during the night. He made bleeding scratches on his face. I dabbed the cuts with a clean, wet cloth using room temperature water.
- March 25, 2019 Despite the blisters the Desonide cream seemed to be working much better for Anthony. We discontinued use of the Desonide ointment and used Desonide Cream twice daily. Anthony's skin improved. The photo below is of Anthony and his very supportive big brother, Andrew (who thankfully never had concerns of eczema triggers or allergies).
- March 26, 2019 In addition to no caffeine, alcohol, smoking, dairy or sugar, I also cut out all nuts and soy from my diet since at the time I read they are considered the top allergens.
My diet restrictions:
No: alcohol, smoking, caffeine, dairy, sugar (except fruit and vegetables) nuts or soy
- March 27, 2019 Anthony's skin kept getting better though the itchiness stayed with him. He grew bigger and stronger (he loved eating) and was able to wriggle out of the garment I made him easier. It was at this point that I started altering the design to improve it. I needed a way to stop the bleeding scratches.
- March 29, 2019 With two large safety pins I made a garment that was diaper changing friendly. But somehow I needed the shoulders to stay up better.
- March 31, 2019
- April 1, 2019 Anthony had a follow up appointment with the cosmetic dermatologist. I mentioned Anthony still broke out occasionally. He was quick to point out that I chose not to fully use Clotrimozol, the fungus treatment. I was sold a CLN wash in the clinic to use in Anthony's bath. It's said to be an alternative product for "bleach baths", a very tiny amount of bleach in a bathtub of lukewarm water. Later that day the fungus test came back negative.
- April 2, 2019 I used the CLN wash (measured out carefully) in Anthony's bath. His face turned all red with white around the edges. His skin looked different after that like cauliflower but red. I discontinued use.
- April 3, 2019 I cut out all sugars from my diet including fruit, carrots, sweet potatoes, beans, pastas and breads for the Candida diet (for possible yeast overgrowth).
My diet restrictions:
No: alcohol, smoking, caffeine, dairy, sugar (including cane sugar, maple syrup, honey, fruit, carrots, sweet potatoes, beans, pastas and breads), nuts or soy
- April 4, 2019
- April 5, 2019
- April 7, 2019 Anthony broke out after a trip to his grandparent's house (a new environment).
- April 10, 2019 Follow up pediatrician appointment. The nurse mentioned that her son was once allergic to oats. It's recommended that anyone with eczema take an oat bath to soothe the skin. The nurse's son would break out in little red dots all over his body. This happened to Anthony yet I didn't think to cut oats from my diet until then. I cut oats from my diet and tomatoes for acidic reasons. The nurse recommended I come off of the Candida diet. I trusted her and began eating all fruits and vegetables again. I was also recommended to try using the CLN wash again (the alternative to a "bleach bath",which is 1/2 tsp of bleach per 1 gallon of lukewarm water).
My diet restrictions:
No: alcohol, smoking, caffeine, dairy, sugar (except fruits and vegetables) nuts, soy, oats and tomatoes
- April 12, 2019 I used the CLN wash (as directed on the bottle) in a lukewarm bath for Anthony. His skin turned red with swirled edges. I threw the CLN wash away.
- April 13, 2019 I cut eggs from my diet. I came across information on the internet that warned against using Clotrimazole Cream on the face or any damaged skin, which contradicted the prescription we were written.
My diet restrictions:
No: alcohol, smoking, caffeine, dairy, sugar (except fruits and vegetables) nuts, soy, oats, tomatoes or eggs
- April 15, 2019 for concern of Red Skin Syndrome (withdrawal of steroids) I stopped using steroids cold turkey. Anthony’s skin did not respond well at all. It turned “burn” red all over his head/face down his neck. His body broke out in what looked like hives in front with red spots all over the back. His groin turned red (but not in the creases). The creases behind his knees and elbows turned red.
- April 17, 2019 I started using steroids again.
-
April 18, 2019 We had an Allergist appointment. The doctor prescribed Nystatin for Anthony’s groin and Mupirocin for any cuts in the skin. He recommended using Desonide ointment instead of the cream because it has less ingredients. Anthony’s skin was too irritated to do a skin-prick allergy test so we rescheduled.
- Nystatin did not work after 3 days of use so we discontinued use and turned to Desonide ointment for the groin, which worked. Mupirocin worked within a day and a half. Then we discontinued use. Desonide ointment was used once a day until April 23rd at first head to toe and then as a spot treatment (mainly in creases including the neck and also face/head).
- April 23, 2019 Anthony took an allergy skin-prick test with our Allergist.
Allergy Test Results: Allergic to peanuts, almonds and eggs.
Not "allergic" to wheat (gluten), oats, coconut, soy. This doesn’t mean that the non allergens cannot still trigger the eczema.
Definite eczema triggers are sugar, stress and formula (perhaps the milk and/or soy in the formula is a trigger?).
Suspected eczema triggers were: oats, cocoa (caffeine), gluten, dairy and soy.
- Since Anthony solely breastfed, he had never ingested these ingredients himself so the degree of his reaction was unknown. For this reason we were prescribed Epinephrine Auto-Injectors (EPipens) to keep with us at all times. If needed, this could hopefully buy us time to get to an emergency room.
- The Game Plan from here was: ween Anthony off of the Desonide ointment (from once a day to every other day to every third day and so forth). Use Vaseline as a moisturizer. I was to mainly keep nuts (including coconut) and eggs out of my diet but eat them sparingly to ideally create a tolerance for Anthony. I was to test the results through the process and if Anthony reacted very poorly to an ingredient, I was to stay clear of that food.
My diet restrictions:
No: alcohol, smoking, caffeine, dairy, sugar (except fruits and vegetables) nuts (including coconut but do eat them sparingly) soy, oats, gluten, tomatoes or eggs (though eat sparingly)
- April 30, 2019 Our dermatologist appointment with the Seattle Children’s Hospital finally arrived. The Pediatric Dermatologist went over all of my notes in detail and talked with us for two hours. She compared notes with our Allergist, took photos of Anthony's skin for her records and worked with me to find answers. The Results: Anthony had a bacterial infection (staph infection) on his face and is allergic to the fragrance in his diapers. He was prescribed antibiotics to heal the bacterial infection. For his face, neck and sensitive areas I was to use equal parts of Mupirocin Ointment USP at 2% and Alclometasone Dipropionate Ointment USP 0.05% as needed until our follow up appointment. For Anthony's body, he was prescribed Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment USP 0.1% as needed until our follow up appointment. Bleach baths (1/2 tsp of bleach per lukewarm gallon of water) were recommended 3 times a week. I was also recommended to take probiotics. I unfortunately cannot recall and do not have the notes to confirm if Anthony's antibiotics were an oral treatment in addition to the antibiotics in the Mupirocin.
My diet restrictions:
No: alcohol, smoking, caffeine, dairy, sugar (except fruits and vegetables) nuts (including coconut but do eat them sparingly) soy, oats, gluten, tomatoes or eggs (though eat sparingly)
My diet additions:
Yes: probiotics
- The bacterial infection cleared up. His medicines were working and no more break outs happened with the new diet. Anthony would still scratch but not as bad. His swaddle garment helped immensely with this. It's hard to think about how much worse his skin could have been if he was able to touch and scratch it all the time.
- February 28, 2020 At a later Allergist Appointment we found out Anthony was also allergic to all seeds. Tomatoes were fine to eat. I stopped sparingly eating foods and simply avoided them. I never got into the probiotics.
No: alcohol, smoking, caffeine, dairy, sugar (except fruits and vegetables) nuts (including coconut) soy, oats, gluten, eggs or seeds
- All of Anthony’s allergies had been tested through the allergy skin-prick test. He only ingested them through my breastmilk and never directly himself. Because of this we can schedule "Challenges" with his Allergist to test the severity of each allergy (nuts, seeds and eggs).
- Eventually the foods I avoided and the diet I ate became Anthony's pureed diet.
- Anthony directly ingested mustard flour through a vegan mayonnaise by accident. His upper lip swelled within two minutes of eating it and we rushed him to the Emergency Room. Luckily this was not Epipen grade. He was monitored as the swelling went down.
- April 15, 2020 I had Mastitus a second time and was prescribed Dicloxacillin 500mg 1 capsule 4 times a day for 10 days like before. I chose to suddenly stop breastfeeding just in case this contributed to Anthony's skin irritations back in January of 2019.
- Anthony's pureed diet became his solid diet. We were able to pinpoint corn through trial and error. As far as Anthony's eczema triggers go, we have reintroduced foods directly to test each. Soy took 6 days to react, and then he broke out from head to toe in red bumps. Other triggers were around 2-4 days reaction times. As Anthony ages he could grow out of his eczema triggers so it could be a good plan to introduce small amounts of each trigger over time. For now we are used to all of Anthony's sensitivities. We mostly eat from home, are very careful about Anthony's allergies and simply avoid his eczema triggers. We still discover some sensitivities from time to time -like sauerkraut (picture above). Anthony loved it though the skin around his mouth reacted poorly to the acidity with bumps and itching.
No: tree nuts, peanuts, seeds (including sunflower, sesame and mustard), eggs, corn, dairy, soy, gluten, oats & limited sugar (coconut seems to be fine)
Anthony's environment restrictions:
Fragrance free detergent and fragrance free diapers (not cloth as cloth does not keep moisture and waste away from the skin well). No soap in the bath. Dove bar soap (no added fragrance) if we need to. Vinegar for cleaning the house (once vinegar dries it no longer smells). No candles or air scents. Water or jojoba oil for moisturizing (mostly water). I know Vaseline is recommended a lot but we don't use it. I personally like shea butter but since it comes from a nut I don't use it on Anthony.
My diet restrictions after my pregnancy with Anthony and no longer breastfeeding:
I don't smoke and drink on special occasions. I find that I just feel better without consuming gluten. After my pregnancy with Anthony I found I now have a sensitivity to dairy. My face will break out with acne and eczema. I find I end up eating according to Anthony's diet anyway because he always wants to eat what I have. ;)
Now for my (hopefully helpful) opinion part:
Overall I felt that having the topical steroids for Anthony's skin was a good thing. They helped to heal his skin, which was essentially one, big open wound. Choosing to do this was not straight forward, however. I see the skin as a filtration system and saw Anthony's skin as reacting/trying to rid itself of contents it did not approve of. I just needed to figure out what those contents/ingredients were. Not letting the skin go through it's natural cycle of riding the ingredients...? This is where you may chose not to use steroids. I wanted to ease Anthony's pain while I tried to solve his diet and environment puzzle. If Anthony really broke out then I used the steroids twice a day for at least 3 days. Otherwise, if I applied it here and there then it would linger and get worse. As we were able to find a diet and environment that worked for Anthony then he broke out less often and we only needed to use the steroids as a spot treatment. This allowed us to wean off of the steroids while we got used to our new diet and environment lifestyles. I know there is a lot of information on the internet about steroid withdrawal syndrome. I did not work with doctors who felt enough research existed for steroid withdrawals to be labeled a condition. This idea still scares me though and I hope nothing comes up later... but if it does I will absolutely write a blog post about it and update this one. I'm left believing that everyone's body reacts differently. Anthony has beautiful, clear skin so long as we avoid his allergies and triggers. We had an appointment with a nutritionist to make sure Anthony is still getting all the nutrients he needs with his restricted diet. His favorite foods are buckwheat, rice and quinoa cooked in bone broth, avocados on quinoa crackers, black beans and occasional bananas. I make healthy muffins and pancakes often plus fruit and veggie smoothies (including canned coconut cream/milk). I try to hide turmeric, ginger plus bits of spinach and celery into the baked goods too. Our household only drinks water. Treats are allergy free chocolate chips, cooked plantains, plantain chips and baked goods with maple syrup.
Next Steps!!:
I will schedule "challenges" once Anthony can talk a bit more to tell me what's going on/how he's feeling. As Anthony grows I'll keep testing his eczema triggers to see if he can tolerate small amounts of them.
March 2023 Update!! :
Anthony is now 4 years old and is doing very well! So long as we avoid his allergies and eczema triggers (non IgE allergies), his skin is beautiful! Anthony is a very happy, healthy and energetic child. He loves to eat and is very good about knowing what he can and cannot have. To him it's just how things are. We read books about allergies and together, are advocates for our community.
Allergy Tests (through our Pediatric Allergist): Anthony passed his egg challenge test at the allergy clinic! We baked a homemade muffin recipe given by the clinic, which felt more like making a science experiment (calculating how much egg each muffin would have). Anthony is almost 4 years old now and will get cradle cap after eating egg in a baked goods -but he does not get a rash, throw up or go into anaphylactic shock. In this way, we are getting his immune system used to egg. Our allergist told us to occasionally add 1 egg in baked goods for him over the course of a year. By baking the egg at a high temperature for 1 hour, the egg is broken down more and is better tolerated. After a year we can test him again to see if we can increase the egg dose and put it in pancakes for example, which are cooked at a lower temperature for less time. Anthony's Allergist is optimistic that at a later time he will be able to test for almonds and peanuts. We take annual skin prick tests. At three years old we added Shellfish to our avoidance list but at 4 years old we removed it. Mustard and sesame seeds were also removed. It's pretty common for children to grow out of allergies. Anthony is still allergic to all tree nuts, peanuts and sunflower seeds.
Eczema Trigger Tests (through Free to Feed with Dr. Trillitye Paullin): We tested dairy, which we found did not go well. Anthony broke out head-to-toe in red, very itchy bumps, which lasted about 3-4 weeks. Soy still has a delayed reaction of about 6 days but is not as bad of a reaction as dairy. Corn reacts about 2 days later and is less intense than soy. We have yet to test gluten and oats. For now, we just avoid his eczema triggers.
Anthony goes to school now. We provide his lunch. The school provides him with allergy-safe snacks. The school cleans the room with a fragrance free cleaner for him. They also have fragrance free hand soap. While Anthony can have egg in baked goods occasionally, we tell the school it is an allergy and they are to avoid it at school. This way we can control the amounts he gets at home. Anthony has an Epipen everywhere he goes as well as an asthma inhaler. We have a set for the school and for ourselves. The school has a small handbag with the following in it: A current photo of Anthony, an emergency Allergy Action Plan (I made this template. Please feel free to use it), Zyrtec (Antihistamine), two Epipens, an inhaler (Albuterol) and age appropriate spacer. One of these days I'll write a separate post about asthma. It's not often Anthony needs the inhaler but I'm glad we have it when he does. It's not clear what triggers his asthma. Sometimes a cold can be triggering.
Please check out my blog posts if you would like information on 10 Strategic Steps to Pinpoint the Underlying Cause(s) of Baby Skin Irritations, which includes how to reintroduce eczema triggers. I even wrote up our Allergy-Free Baking Recipes that my family continues to enjoy.
Please remember, I'm not a doctor, just a mom who was able to find some of our family's answers with help from our doctors. If you have questions, helpful comments or just want to say hi, please leave me a message below.
Curious about my full story? Please check it out.
Jennifer Stelmakh
CEO | Founder | Inventor at CozeeCoo®
Helping babies thrive.
Comments
Natalie said:
My heart ached for you reading this blog. What we’re going through with our baby is only 1/10th of what you went through and i already felt so terrible. I am so glad that Anthony is thriving and that you were able to persevere to find the root cause of his problem (despite so many terrible advices. I was so upset reading some of those advices from the medical professionals). You know your baby best and im so happy for your family.
May 10, 2024
AKINBOBOLA A. A. said:
Thank you for sharing. Sincerely I appreciate the very detailed report. Your story has brought a lot of relieve. Kind regards to Anthony and the rest of the family😘
May 10, 2024
Teshawn said:
Thanks for posting your journey, very helpful. Seems like reading your story was exactly what im going through. I will try to eliminate some of the food items I’m eating that you listed to see if this will give my baby relief.
May 10, 2024
Daniela Jia said:
Your story is one of the first I’ve come across that is as close to ours! My son is now 8 years old and thriving, but the first 3 years were just pure survival mode. In 2015, there was no stories or people I could find that we could relate to. Reading your story broke my heart and brought me back to those days. Just wanted to let you know that you’re an amazing mama and true fighter! As well as your sweet son! I’m so glad you found answers and healing.
May 10, 2024
bridgette Nuqui said:
thank you for this blog. You are so good with this journey. we have a similar situation with my 2nd. I have been with few doctors and no good results yet. i did not know that aquaphor have medication. i havent used vaseline yet but I will try. I feel like I need to keep on coming back on this blog for reference.
May 10, 2024
renee batongtong said:
Hi. We are going threw the same thing with my daughter like so similar, that I could’ve wrote this myself…. We are in Washington state and actually seeing a dermatologist in Seattle in 2 months it’s forever but they are so booked :(.
Thank you again for this.
May 10, 2024
Christine kern said:
Thank you thank you for posting this. People have no idea unless your baby is going through it. My first one did not have any issues with her skin so when my second one had all these skin issues it really broke my heart. People make it seem like it’s not a big deal bc it’s not critical but when your baby is itching so much and she is scratching so hard she’s almost like scratching her face off it’s just devastating to watch your child suffering so much. What I did was to switch from breastmilk to hypoallergenic formula from enfamil. It’s not cheap but thank God it made a huge difference. She still has some breakout and I’m hoping to find out. I have a peds dermatologist appointment in a couple months (so hard to get appointments!!!!!). We also use tubby toad all over ointment with Vaseline and anquaphor and seems like that’s helping too. Thank you again for sharing everything.
May 10, 2024
ARA said:
My son started having eczema when he was 4 months old he is now 6 months. I am exclusively breastfeeding. We’ve been to 2 Doctors and i’ve asked both doctors if it has anything to do with what i eat. They both said its has nothing to do with whatever i eat. I am so stressed out because my baby would break out all over his body and start to itch and would scratch like crazy at some point. Both Drs. Prescribed steroid. As much as i really would not want to turn to it, its the only way i could help him heal a bit. Although it always comes back.
I am 2 weeks on gluten, dairy, peanuts, and oats diet. Maybe soy I should avoild as well? Could it be also stress? So many questions.
Anyways, thank you for sharing your journey with us and that we are not alone in this.
May 10, 2024
Katrina Griggs said:
My goodness!!! My daughter is 7 years old and this cycle is EXACTLY what she/we went thru. I’m searching the web now like a mad mom as it’s spring and the itchy flares are back with a vengeance I don’t remember! A spot treatment of desonide, bleach baths, vaniply ointment and wet wraps at night have helped so far. God bless all mamas and their kiddos here for the same reasons❤️
May 10, 2024
Miranda said:
So glad you shared your story . So you went back to steroids . For how long ? Is it still till this day ?
May 10, 2024
Roxanne k said:
Thankyou for going into such detail and sharing your sons photos. We are in the same boat and trying to navigate through the system.
May 10, 2024
Natasha L said:
Wow I feel like I’m looking at pictures of my own son who was born in 2017. So interesting that our boys were/are allergic to same things. The allergist very reluctantly agreed to food allergy testing. My #1 suspicion – sunflower- was correct, along with 11 other foods which did not include nuts and fish. I cried buckets of tears. He’s 5 now, when we stick to non-rash causing foods his skin is beautiful. He knows he can’t have nuts. To anyone reading this- there is hope, the nightmare will be over.
My youngest son who is 11 months old just started breaking out a little behind his knees and I started googling if it’s a possible food sensitivity/allergy. That’s how I came across this post. Thank you for sharing. M
May 10, 2024
Djayla B. said:
So happy I discovered you through a Google search trying to figure out how to help my 4 month old with her skin condition.
Your blog post about your babies eczema journey made me FINALLY feel like I was not alone.
I’ve read all your blog post and I just want to thank you for sharing your journey because it really helps moms like me navigate through this tough time.
Thank you for all you do! Your an incredible woman/super mommy
March 08, 2023
Brigette Flores said:
Thank you for sharing I’m going through something similar with my son. I really appreciate your information and also it’s nice to know I’m not alone.
March 08, 2023
Ryan W. said:
I have been reading your post about eczema and we’re in a similar situation. Thank you so much for your detailed documentation. It’s nice to know others have been here. And thanks for sharing your story online. I’m sure it’s helping more people than you know!!
October 18, 2022