During the first few months after birth babies can demonstrate allergic reactions to food proteins, particularly hen’s eggs and cow’s milk, even if they are breast-fed, studies show.

According to the educational initiative Act Against Allergy, food allergies and reactions tend to occur most commonly in the first ten years of childhood as the immune system develops and matures.

Research has found that cow’s milk is the most common cause of food allergy among infants, with at least two to three per cent of children affected.

However, general symptoms associated with a milk allergy including eczema and rash, vomiting, diarrhoea, constipation and breathing difficulty may occur in up to 15 per cent of babies.

Parents required to cut cow milk protein from their child’s diet in order to manage an allergic condition are encouraged to use a supplement of amino-acid-based formulas to reduce the risk of poor growth and development.

Act Against Allergy claims that it is rare for babies over 12 months old to start developing symptoms of milk allergy.

IT came as no surprise to mum-of-three Andrea Walker when she noticed patches of eczema begin to develop on her youngest, Eva.

Her two older daughters, Casey, 11 and Elise, three, had both suffered with the skin condition, which is thought to be largely hereditary. With both older girls Andrea had tried a variety of emollients, but what worked for one didn’t necessarily work for the other.

“At first, you’ll try anything and with Casey I did try quite a lot of things,” she remembers. “I found with many treatments it was trial and error in different combinations. Then a neighbour told me about Lesley at Little Herbal and a cream she was making. Now I’ve found something that worked I won’t change it.”

The cream she used is called, Themba, developed by Little Herbal International, based in Holmfirth, Yorkshire. Former pharmaceutical worker Lesley Robinson launched the company after a trip to Zimbabwe, where the remedies originate from traditional medicine.

Themba is made from the sausage-shaped fruit of the Kigelia tree, which grows in low lying altitudes of Southern Africa. The Kigelia fruit has been traditionally used for stubborn dry-skin conditions but can be used to soothe a variety of ailments such as acne, cold sores, athletes foot and insect bites.

Little Herbal has added aloe excelsia, calendula, wheatgerm oil, lavender and vitamin E to the cream, which seems to be suitable for the most sensitive of skins, even babies, promoting healing at the same time as tackling skin problems associated with viruses, bacteria and fungus.

Open-minded

“I think with a condition like eczema you’ve just got to be open-minded,” Andrea says. “We’re doing a bit of everything - looking at diet as well as skin care.

“Elise is on a dairy free diet because she is allergic to milk and eggs, which was aggravating her condition. We found out after she was hospitalised with asthma and the doctors did some tests, so we’ve been advised to keep her on a dairy free diet until she is about five and then try again. We tried all sorts, including adding acidophilus to her breast milk to rebalance the gut, and I rubbed a capsule of evening primrose oil into her thighs for the essential fatty acids to help reduce inflammation. Sometimes we had to use hydrocortisone cream, but it’s steroids-based so you worry about that - you don’t want to put anything very strong on the face.

“Casey’s skin isn’t upset by her food and her eczema is more seasonal now. It flares up in winter so we go back to using Themba and it calms down. With the other two I use Themba morning and night religiously. It helps keep it under control - I can tell if I’ve missed a bit because they’ll have a red patch.”

Eva was just seven weeks old when she developed a patch of red dry skin behind her ears, but in two months it had spread to her face, legs and body.

“I cried when I saw the patch,” Andrea admits. “I knew straight away it was eczema. It’s upsetting because you just want your baby to be peaches and cream. People stare and say, `Aw, what’s that on her face?’ You know they are being sympathetic but you just want it to clear up. It’s very sore as well - Eva’s skin was inflamed and hot. I dressed her in simple white cotton and put little mitts on her hands to stop her from scratching but she would be up all night crying with the pain. She was sleep-deprived as a result and I was, too.

“Sometimes, you just want someone to really listen to you and Lesley was a big support for me in that way. Together we put together a plan of action and she also put me in touch with an immunologist at the hospital who suggested that Eva take a small dose anti-histamine, twice a day.

“That stops her skin feeling itchy so she’s not scratching it - hence she’s not making it sore and not getting infected skin. It also means the Themba can do its own job of healing the skin without having to work doubly hard to stop the itching as well.”

Aggressive

As seen in the photos, when Eva’s eczema flares up it is very aggressive, red and hot. To try and reduce the inflammation Eva was one of the first to use a new cream from Little Herbal, Oshana (African for dry place), which contains the active ingredients of Themba mixed with other ingredients known to be kind to the skin, like aloe and vitamin E. It can be used in between applications of Themba to moisturise the skin.

“On the photos you can see the eczema was very aggressive on Eva’s face,” says Andrea. “We didn’t realise at the time but she had got some of it infected. When we went to the doctors they said that because I’d been using Oshana it had kept it under control.

“Because with eczema you need to get a lot of moisture into it, we used Oshana head to toe on Eva and then rub on Diprobase ointment (A mixture of liquid paraffin and white soft paraffin that produces a greasy moisturiser. It works by providing a layer of oil on the surface of the skin to prevent water evaporating). Once that’s soaked in we have a completely peachy little girl.”

Although there is no catch-all treatment for eczema there are things you can do to help minimise discomfort:

Keep your baby’s skin moisturised, especially after a bath. Emollients reduce water loss from the skin by providing a seal or barrier so the skin is less dry, itchy and more comfortable.

Bathing your baby in lukewarm water can help his/her skin retain moisture and stay hydrated

To reduce itching use cotton clothing and bedding, which keep the skin cool and allow it to breathe. At night, cotton mittens can be used over babies’ hands to help reduce damage to the skin during sleep.

Reduce house dust mites, which can aggravate the condition, by regularly vacuuming, damp dusting and airing bedding.

Dietary changes can be quite helpful although it is important to seek advice from a nutritionist in order to ensure your child is getting adequate nutrients. Keeping a diary of foods eaten and observing skin reactions can be useful when weaning babies.

Source: http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/lifestyle/health_and_beauty/health_and_beauty_feature/s/1038482_remedy_for_eczema_itch

Researchers have found a potential link between certain allergies and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

IBS is a disorder of the large bowel (colon) and is characterised by abdominal pain, bloating and irregular bowel habits, including alternating diarrhoea and constipation. It affects as many as one in five people and is most common among those in their 20s and 30s.

A team of US researchers found that adults with allergy symptoms reported a high incidence of IBS, suggesting a link between the two.

They looked at 125 adults and found that the likelihood of IBS was significantly higher in those with certain allergies. In fact, those with seasonal allergic rhinitis were 2.67 times more likely to have IBS, while those with atopic eczema were 3.85 times more likely to have the condition.

People with depression meanwhile were 2.56 times more likely to have IBS.

While previous research has suggested that allergen exposure increases the risk of IBS, the frequency of this had never been studied.

“The reported presence of allergic dermatitis was highly correlated to the presence of IBS in our population. In early childhood, allergic eczema is frequently associated with gastrointestinal dysfunction and food allergy. A clinical history of allergic eczema may be a useful marker for patients with gut hypersensitivity and IBS”, the researchers said.

The study suggested that people with IBS who have these allergic symptoms should be considered separately from other patients with IBS ‘because they may have distinct pathophysiologic features and may benefit from specific therapeutic interventions’.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Source: http://www.irishhealth.com/?level=4&id=12993

Oh, it brings such blessed relief and now scientists can tell you why – scratching an itch temporarily shuts off areas in the brain linked with unpleasant feelings and memories.

“Our study shows for the first time how scratching may relieve itch,” Dr Gil Yosipovitch, a dermatologist at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, said in a statement.

Prior studies have shown that pain, including vigorous scratching, inhibit the need to itch. Yosipovitch and colleagues looked at what goes on in the brain when a person is scratched.

He and colleagues used a technique known as functional magnetic resonance imaging to see which areas of the brain are active during scratching. They scratched 13 healthy people with a soft brush on the lower leg on and off in 30-second intervals for a total of five minutes.

Scratching reduced activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and the posterior cingulate cortex – areas linked with pain aversion and memory.

And the more intensely a person was scratched, the less activity they found in these areas of the brain.

“It’s possible that scratching may suppress the emotional components of itch and bring about relief,” Yosipovitch said.

But they also found why one scratch often begets another.

Scratching increased activity in the secondary somatosensory cortex, a pain centre, and in the prefrontal cortex, which is linked with compulsive behaviour.

“This could explain the compulsion to continue scratching,” Yosipovitch said.

The researchers noted that the study is limited because people were not scratching in response to an actual itch.

But they said understanding what goes on in the brain may lend clues about how to treat people tormented by chronic itch, including people with eczema and many kidney dialysis patients.

The study, which appears online in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, was paid for by the US National Institutes of Health.

Do you know your skin type? Sometimes is can be difficult to figure out, especially if the condition isn’t extreme. However, even slightly dry skin, or slightly oily skin, can be adversely affected by using the wrong skin care products for your skin type – dry skin becomes drier and oily skin becomes oilier. Using the wrong products can be particularly damaging for those with eczema. To be safe, it’s always a good idea to use a shielding lotion under any other skin care product, but knowing your skin type and choosing appropriate products for your condition will also help avoid eczema flares.

There are five basic skin types: oily, dry, combination, sensitive, and aging.

* Oily skin is shiny, has large pores, and generally is more prone to blemishes and blackheads than other skin types. Seborrheic dermatitis – one type of eczema – is common with oily skin. It is generally recognized by a red rash with yellowish, oily scales.

* Dry skin feels a little rough and can sometimes develop flaky, red patches. It also feels tight and has a tendency to wrinkle, even in young people. Atopic dermatitis – another form of eczema – is often associated with dry skin and is thought to be caused by a combination of dry skin and a compromised immune system. The tiny, sometimes invisible cracks in dry skin allow absorption of substances that irritate the skin – which, in turn, can cause flares.

* Combination skin, considered ‘normal’, has medium pores and a smooth texture, but the skin is slightly dry on the cheeks and slightly oily in the t-zone (forehead, nose and chin). If someone with combination skin develops flares, it is usually around or just above the nose.

* Sensitive skin has fine pores, blushes easily, and is prone to rashes and allergic reactions. It reacts like dry skin, but the reaction is usually more severe.

* Aging skin can be dry or oily, but becomes saggy and slack. How eczema manifests in aging skin is largely dependent on the ‘dry’ or ‘oily’ element.

If you’re having trouble identifying your skin type, here’s an easy test. After washing your face with gentle, natural soap and ensuring it’s completely dry – wait about 30 minutes - pat your cheeks, chin, nose, and forehead with rice paper. If your skin is oily, the paper becomes translucent. If it’s dry, the paper will stay the same.

Some cosmetics and other skin care products are now labeled as appropriate for certain skin types and, if you can find products so labeled, using them may reduce your chances of flares. However, although no one has really figured out what causes eczema, it is widely recognized to be associated with irritation from chemicals – and most skin care products contain irritating chemicals even if they are labeled for a particular skin type. That’s where a good shielding lotion comes in.

A good shielding lotion bonds with the outer layer of the skin to form a protective layer that keeps out chemicals – which is exactly what eczema sufferers need. In fact, thousands of doctors now recommend a shielding lotion as eczema treatment for precisely that reason.

No matter what your skin type, and no matter what skin care products you use, preventing contact with and absorption of harsh or irritating chemicals is still the your best eczema treatment. Using the right skin care products for your skin type will help but, to be safe, a good shielding lotion should always be used as a base. Give it a try!

Source: http://www.theopenpress.com/index.php?a=press&id=28435