Your child suffers from food allergies and they have shown some early warning signs of eczema. These two health problems are actually intricately related. Understanding how they are related, and what you can do to treat the problem, can help keep your child safe.

Eczema is a skin reaction that causes thick, scaly, and itchy skin. It often looks a lot like an allergic reaction, though eczema is not strictly an allergy. However, if your child is exposed to their food allergens, it may cause their eczema to flare up, causing a variety of problems, including:

• Hives and rashes
• Itchy skin
• Runny nose
• Swollen and sore skin

This connection has been noted many times, though scientists aren't sure of the exact cause.

But Not All Allergies Are Triggers

While food allergies fall under a wide range of different food groups, not every one will cause an eczema reaction or worsen the condition. There's no known reason that causes this differentiation, but it's something that has been noticed before. Typically, eczema symptoms are worsened by allergic reactions to:

• Dairy and eggs
• Nuts and seeds
• Soy products
• Wheat

It's important to remember that food allergies aren't necessarily causing the eczema, but will simply exasperate the symptoms and make them worse. Eczema has a variety of causes and triggers, including living in cold environments and even suffering from asthma. Food allergies are just one cause, but one that can be controlled by carefully monitoring your child's diet.

What You Can Do To Help

The best way to keep your child's potential eczema symptoms from getting worse is to eliminate allergen foods from their diet. That said, it's probably not a good idea to completely eliminate these foods, unless your child suffers from a severe and life-threatening reaction. Sadly, withholding allergic food from a child can make their allergic reactions more severe.

Talk to your allergen expert (like Alidina Laila MD) to see if your child is capable of eating small doses of their allergen food without triggering a severe reaction or worsening any potential eczema symptoms. Also make sure to have epinephrine injectors available to help treat any dangerous allergic reactions, should they occur.

Keeping your child safe from eczema and their food allergies requires a lot of diligence and teaching them what they can and can't eat. Children are very smart and they will work hard to make sure they don't accidentally expose themselves to foods that could hurt them.