Your Stories - Food and Drink

Changing my diet is the only thing that's helped -- Sarah, London, UK

I have suffered with eczema all of my life, when I was young it would go through stages where it could be really bad one month and then clear up the next. I definitely found that living practically on the beach and spending all of the summers in the sea helped and the sun did wonders for it. When I started college it got so bad and where as before my problem areas had been mainly restricted to my arms particularly the crooks of my elbows this time it spread to my hands and neck. I remember lying in bed crying, scratching my neck until it wept, my forehead was covered in red thick skin and my hands were swollen and weepy. I could not go to clubs as any small bit of sweat would start me off scratching. I also missed so much college I eventually quit. I can't remember how and when but it eventually cleared up and for the next 6 years just popped up a bit on my neck and arms when I was feeling a bit run down. Then last year I went on holiday and when I arrived back my skin was really itchy, over the next few weeks the eczema came back with a vengeance, worse than EVER before it covered 90 per cent of my body. In fact, the only place that there wasn't any was my face and then one day it appeared under my eyes as well. Apart from the obvious physical distress there is a huge amount of emotional distress caused, as I am sure other people have experienced. I pretty much became a recluse, I felt ugly and apart from that every time I moved I could feel my sore skin. The itching was unbearable I would wake my boyfriend up with the ferocity of my scratching so of course it never healed. I got betnovate from my doctor which I do have to say if you suffer from mild eczema can be very effective if you have a minor outbreak occasionally but I didn't want to use it as I knew this was really bad this time. Doctors have always linked eczema to stress but it's a never ending cycle because the more you get it the more you stress. Anyway I eventually was so desperate I went to a chinese doctor. I cannot tell you honestly if these treatments worked, they talked about stress, heat in my blood etc etc and I stuck rigidly to what they advised but I was spending 100 pounds a week almost on potions and teas so I was forced to give it up after the third week!! I never had any trouble going to the toilet before but I had noticed that in the last year or so I was becoming more constipated and put it down to the fact that I was not
eating enough fruit etc. The chinese tea had really helped so I continued to drink that. I spent hours and hours on the internet looking for help I started to be of the opinion that it was something I was doing wrong not just a disorder and that I was putting something into my body that it was rejecting because if you are healthy on the inside then surely you will be healthy on the outside?? I came across an article written by a lady named Janet Simpson. There was a piece about how she had suffered for years and then cured it in 12 days, I was very cynical but very desperate so I downloaded the e book for 17 pounds and I have to say that it was the best thing I have ever done....the book is all about eating raw food and I won't go into it because I am not the expert but I strongly suggest to anyone out there to try this. For 2 days I did an apple detox where I ate only apples and drank water and my tea, it got worse for a day or two as all the toxins were being pushed out and I took supplements of vitamin A, E, oil of evening primrose and omega 3,6,9. I drank and ate what she said, which involves basically cutting out all dairy, processed foods, red meat, alcohol,, and quite a lot of other things. I know it may sound impossible it did for me, I ate cheese by the block it was my FAVOUITE food in the whole world but I stuck to it for two weeks and I saw a huge difference. Now 7 months on my skin is clear smooth, soft and does not itch I have continued to stick to the diet loosely and if I feel a bit of eczema coming on I tighten it up again for a few days, to be honest I feel so much better on the diet she describes. I lost weight although I was not fat anyway, I was not bloated and I was energetic. I do try and stick to it full time but now and again I have something I really fancy. Tto be honest, I don't want cheese anymore - once you have all of the bad things out of your system you stop wanting them. So in my experience food really does make a difference to you in so many ways and I would advise anyone to read this e book, she is great and will even respond to any question or doubts you have by email. (July 2008) Contact Sarah

Cut out Tea, Coffee and Dairy - Lisa, UK

I have found that the eczema I have had all my life, 26 years, has been greatly reduced by cutting out of my diet: TEA, COFFEE and DAIRY produce. I still have problems when I get infected eczema, which the change in diet will not affect but now I have better control of my eczema problems. (September 2007) Contact Lisa

An organic diet cleared our daughter's eczema - Mary, USA

Our daughter suffered with eczema for 4 years. It disappeared after she went on a strict organic diet. I believe this says her body was reacting to the chemicals in her food. I have started an informational e-mail newsletter entitled “Get the Connection,” which is about everyday chemicals and health problems. I am starting the series again mid-2006, which lasts about one year. The newsletters are sent two to three times a month. If anyone would like to receive the newsletter, please contact me; there is no charge. I am doing this because I have the heart to help others see what I wish we had seen. (October 2005) Contact Mary

Eat a non-processed diet - Alli, Egham, UK

I have had eczema for 38 years and have suffered with it from moderate to severe for most of my life. I have tried a number of things, including chinese medicine (which was almost an overnight cure), however I did build up an immunity to it and it no longer works for me. The most effective thing I have ever done is to eat non-processed foods, which I did for 2 years. I built up a natural immunity in my skin, which I could gauge by not being allergic to animals anymore (I have a 9 scale allergy to animals). At 38, a lot of damage has already been done to my skin and probably to my confidence over the years, however, I think that children at a young age with eczema could benefit greatly by eating a healthy, non-processed diet and reap the rewards in their skin. As I was once told, the skin is the largest organ in the body and it takes time to detox it and heal it. Why not try it, but its not a quick fix. Have to persevere! Good Luck. (September 2005) Contact Alli

Food is the best defense - Sue, Winnipeg, Canada

I had suffered from eczema since I was born. I mostly got it on my face, and sometimes it appears anywhere on my body. I had a terrible flare-up where my rash stayed red for a few weeks to months. The intense itching caused me to lose my concentration in studying. It was so bright red that I looked like I had terrible sunburn. Recently I found some new ways to improve my skin after reading many ways to maintain flareups from other sufferers'. I now realize that food plays a great factor in my case. All the prescription creams I've used externally on my body didn't seem to help much, and so I thought that I should also try to improve internally by eating the right foods to help improve my immune system. After eating healthier foods, my face seems to be alot better and smoother, and almost red-free. I hardly scratch my arms and neck.

A while ago, I tried Prednisone which my doctor prescribed to me. I started with 8 tablets, reducing down to 7, to 6, and so on until there were none left. It dramatically stopped my itching and my face seemed to clear up so fast when taking a high dose of it, but when I came down to 7 or 6, it seemed to loose its effect and it sort of came back. I realized the drug isn't working as I believed it was. I also heard it isn’t safe to use in the long-run. My itching is somehow related to some foods I eat. I avoid eating any food that I may be allergic to, and started eating more healthy foods like vegetables (anything dark green), and eating almonds as a snack (apparently they have a great source of Vitamin E). I wouldn't suggest eating it if you were allergic to nuts though. Now my skin hasn't looked this great in a long time and I'm so happy!! Basically, try eating anything that is good for your body and skin. Try to get away from soda pops and junk foods as much as you can. Of all the prescription pills & creams, I would say that food is the best defense. (April 2005) Contact Sue

Dairy products are the biggest offenders - Jennifer, Wilmington, USA

I have had severe eczema since I was 6 weeks old. I have 4 children all without it and for that I am truly grateful. What I did was this. I had triplets and found it impossible to nurse beyond 9 weeks. So I tried a multitude of formulas only to see my children in massive gastric distress and eczema all over, especially on their faces. I found a person who had Nubian goats and milked them to help sick people and newborns. My childrens' eczema disappeared - and I mean completely in 2 days. I kept them on goats milk for 2+ years and they can tolerate cow dairy products and have no signs of eczema or food allergies that I have. My other son I nursed for over 2 years and he is also eczema free (3yrs old) however, he has had small amounts of it since birth.

My own story is the following dairy products are the biggest offenders. Washing produce and cutting certain produce is extremely irritating to my skin. AVON skin products have been the best for me. The sensative skin products do not burn even when my skin is at its worst. Prednizone perscribed to me (oral) for arthritis seems to help. (January 2005) Contact Jennifer

Watch what you eat - Simon, West Yorks, UK

Having had severe Eczema from the age of 18 I can only say that it caused me to become incredibly organised in my life. Having found everything from food, clothing, types of atmosphere that I am in can cause dramatic reactions I have had no other choice than to completely restructure my life towards dealing with Eczema. I have found that strictly keeping to a careful diet and avoiding hot smoky/dirty atmospheres is the only way to cope with this curse. Of course this has had a major impact on my social life and at times I have felt myself to be very isolated. Now at the age of 30 I've become used it to an extent and try to find ways round it. I am very much interested in hearing from people who have to endure a similar situation with coping with severe Eczema in their life. Thanks, Simon. (November 2004) Contact Simon

7 day fruit/vegetable juice - Grace, Singapore

I had very bad eczema and tried steroids, antihistamines, primrose, fish oil, Chinese medicine. Nothing worked until I tried going on a 7 day fruit/vegetable juice fast. The improvements were immediate. (September 2004)

Tartrazine E102 - Mrs Jones, Bridgend, Wales

I have recently found that tartrazine - E102 - gives my skin a 'flare-up'. I found this by accident after drinking a cheaper brand of orange juice, than I usually buy. I use Robinsons orange juice because it is tartrazine free, and since I have stopped using the cheaper brand my flare-up has gone, and my skin is as near perfect as it gets (although it is still gets itchy from time to time). My tip to flare-up sufferers is try to avoid tartrazine, or anything that contains it, which means looking at the ingredients of juices. Put tartrazine in your search engine on the web, it comes up with some surprising info. I hope that this helps some people. (April 2004)

Giving up dairy helped - Ketan, London, UK

I am 35 years old and have had the problem on and off over the last 2 years. It seemed to disappear when I went to India on hols........why I don't know! I gave up all milk and started using Soya Milk (So Good is the brand name). After three weeks it did the trick ... no more itching or scratching although it does return if I use milk. What a relief! I also put in a electrical water 'softener' and Hoover my room more regularly, but this never did the trick till I gave up milk. (August 03)

Kinesiology and hot foods - Christine, UK

My daughter had chronic eczema from about the age of 18 months - she is now 4 and after having gone through pretty much every treatment, therapy and alternative therapy, we can see the light at the end of the tunnel - this is really due to the Kinesiology treatment which she has been having for the past year - it has been pretty straightforward and the lady we have been to see (registered with Federation of Kinesiologists) has incorporated a few other treatments such as Australian Bush Remedies and some crystal therapy, but in the main it's been a case of controlling her diet and keeping her system "cool" by avoiding/reducing intake (we have not put her on any elimination diet) of foods which make her "hot" - this has meant watching her sugar intake, dairy intake, eggs and any "hot" foods which may irritate her liver, keeping her system as clean and "cool" as possible and keeping her life as calm as possible, as we so often forget that outside factors such as arguments in the home and such like can be very distressing to children and the stress further reduces their delicate immune systems. This is something which everyone can try - eczema is so very specific to each child but maybe something on Kinesiology and the effects of different foods/lifestyle etc as above would truly help many people to find some relief. (August 03)

Diet, eczema and asthma - Kyle and Deirdre, UK

My son started having eczema as an infant. His symptoms became worse and worse to the point of infected skin and bleeding sores all over his body. His asthma was worsening at the same time and once we had to rush him to hospital to get relief. All they could offer him was corticosteroid and anti-bacterial creams for the eczema. It was not too helpful. I asked countless doctors and healthcare professionals is there was any correlation between diet and eczema and asthma. They all said no. Fed up with his worsening health and no answers, I sought the help of a highly qualified and reputable nutritionist. Together we discovered which foods were causing his symptoms to increase. We eliminated these foods from his diet and within four days, the result was dramatic. His sores had almost completely healed and most redness was gone. It has been close to 8 months on the special diet and we have been able to take him off of his asthma steroid inhaler with the doctor's blessing. The foods my son could not tolerate were cows milk and other dairy products from cows, sugar, chocolate, and caffeine. You would be surprised how many of these are hidden in sauces, biscuits, breads, cereals, breakfast bars, and other items. (Read the labels!) I am not saying that all children will get better if they eliminate the exact things my son did. I am saying that I am convinced that there is a connection between eczema and food sensitivities. I would like to mention that we have added healthier foods to his diet that are continuing to strengthen him. Some examples are whole wheat pasta and breads, buffalo mozzarella, sheep's and ewe's cheese, lots of fresh vegetables and fresh fruits. Our nutritionist has also recommended certain high quality vitamin and mineral supplements that we have found beneficial for his health. Occasionally we cheat on his diet, especially for a family member's birthday. We always regret it, because the next day his skin will be red again and sometimes bleeding.

In conclusion, if you or your child is having severe problems with eczema, I would recommend finding a good nutritionist to help you pinpoint any food intolerances, stick to a healthy diet, and take the nutritional supplements they recommend. (June 03)

Son is allergic to 15 different foods - Shawna, Pinellas, USA

When my husband and I had are first born we thought everything was going to be OK with are son. When he was 6 months old we had noticed a rash on his elbows, knees and in the creases of the elbows and knees. Then a little while later we were seeing a rash that would form on his face at first the doctors said it was impetigo and others thought it was ring worm. Nobody knew what it was, so we decided to switch to another doctor that are friend told us about. At his first doctors appointment they said it was eczema. After all the research I have found on it we had found out it was hereditary and nobody in are family had heard of it . The only thing is in my family that my father has bad food allergies, then the doctor decide to refer us to and allergist. The allergies decided to do the testing and find out if he has any food allergies. After the testing we had found out that he is allergic to 10-15 different foods. There are 4 main foods they are peas, mustard, peanuts, apples. After we found out the food we have stopped them and he is doing a lot better and his face has stayed clear for most of the time. He is also on Zyrtec and a cream to help. But there are some very bad pictures that I don't even want to show him when he grows up because they are that bad. I'm hoping he will grow out of some of them as he gets older. It's hard to keep him away from the foods he can't eat he is only 2 years old and hasn't experienced Halloween and will never be able to because he can eat chocolate. I'm just hoping his brother doesn't end up with the same problem. (June 03)

Food intolerance and eczema - Kathy, UK

I am passionate about this issue having turned my life around completely through diet. First I avoided all dairy products and enjoyed a 70% improvement in my condition which was at the time, almost intolerable. After a year I also stopped eating wheat and related products and for
the first time in my life I was eczema free. Provided I stick to a fairly rigid diet my skin is now completely clear and life is worth living again. Being a teacher I witness children suffering this terrible condition and talk to parents about possible causes. Sometimes I feel as if I am banging my head against a brick wall. If I can help in any way please email. Good luck and well done on your excellent website. Kathy (June 03)

Cutting out certain foods helps - Frances, Bristol, UK

My son has suffered from bad Eczema most of his life. At 3 years old he looked more like an old man. I have restored his skin by 90% by not giving him anything connected to oil, i.e. chips & crisps and nothing encrusted in sugar! eg, he can have wine gums but not fruit pastilles, cornflakes but not Frosties! I have also kept his chocolate intake to a minimum and his skin is now soft and supple and the itching incidents are maybe once a month! Also I have stopped using oil directly on his skin - no more Oilatum in the bath and no baby oil after as I found that this actually heated his skin and made it itch. Good luck! (May 03)

Dairy free diets - Kate, London, UK

When I was 13 in the 70's, I had really bad excema on one of my hands. The doctors tried everything for months with no good results, then my mother joined the excema society and read about dairy allergies. She swapped my dairy intake to goat milk and cheese and no cow products. Within days it cleared up. Since then I have gone back to eating dairy products and now just suffer form some discoid excema on my legs. Interestingly though when I was pregnant it completely disappeared. Why might this be? My daughter was completely clear of excema until at 18 months she had rota virus (vomiting and diarrhea) and now has developed patches of excema on her hands and legs and neck. I am trying her on a dairy free diet though it is difficult at that age. I await to see whether this will have any effect. (April 03)

Eczema is an internal disease - Renee, London, UK

I suffer from Eczema and in my experience I believe it is an internal disease not an external one. It really doesn't matter what I put on my skin when it decides to freak out. I have found this dreadful, humiliating and sometimes debilitating disease must be addressed for the inside as that is where it has started. I have to say I've noticed a remarkable difference since I have cut out dairy products, not initially but after about 10 months my skin began to calm down and has remained calmer since. If your skin is going through a completely unbearable stage where you think you are about to go stark raving mad and it's interfering with you daily responsibilities then the only thing that can give you some relief is Prednisolone. It is a short term fix but a welcomed breath of fresh air. You will have to beg your Doctor for it, as they are very reluctant to give a prescription for it as it can have side effects and be damaging if used for too long or at too larger a dose. And as well, they are not the ones who feel as though they have ants crawling all over them biting at their severely sunburned feeling skin 24/7, and going in public with people wondering what hideous disease they have and whether it's contagious as they leave dead skin flakes falling in the breeze behind them. Other than that l lay off anything with artificial additives and preservatives and drink plenty of water and pray to whatever and whoever for the answer to this problem, as there must be one. (Feb 03)

Eating and eczema - Patricia, Atlanta, USA

I've dealing with eczema for 21 years, I'm 28 and for the first time in my life I can say that I have the eczema in control. Who knew that the first thing that I was doing wrong was to EAT! Yes, what we eat affect s our condition more and more. I avoid junk food, sweets, pork, beef, tomatoes, peppers (all of them) and potatoes. I stick to the alkaline forms food and as far as I can from the acid formers. Mother!! If you have a kid and you are desperate change his diet, give your baby green leaf juices and salads. I cleared my skin in 3 weeks! That is my experience I hope you can get something good from it. (Feb 03)

Everyone with eczema should have an allergy test - CJ, New Jersey, USA

After suffering with eczema for 39 years, I discovered I was allergic to corn products. I urge everyone who suffers with this condition to get tested for common food allergies. It is surprising how many people this information has helped and that dermatologists are still skeptical about this connection. (November 02)

Food Intolerance Testing Worked for me - Steffen, Bath, UK

I've been suffering from eczema all my life, sometimes more sometimes less. Over the years I've pretty much tried everything: steroid creams, sea salt baths, borage oil, hair analysis, diet changes ... After reading about food intolerance testing on your website I thought I'd give it a go. A food intolerance was found and, after staying away from the identified food for only a few days, the difference is amazing. I would certainly recommend it, particularly if the eczema gets better/worse for no apparent reason. (September 2002)

Keep a Food Diary - Liz, London, UK

When if found my daughter starting to itch at about 2 weeks, (and yes I know the blood in the bed feeling) directly after the jab they are given in the UK in the heel of the foot. I started a diary of everything she ate. I used colour as my guide whether fresh food or pre packed. This was a suggestion from a friend who as a biologist worked on food colourings - long story. Each day my daughter would eat a different colour and slowly yellow emerged as the strongest irritant. Then by drilling down further eggs was the cause along with phenylananine(cant spell) and other preservatives especially in pre packed foods. These preservatives were also present in the creams prescribed by the doctor. I moved to ointments which do not contain preservatives. Also I then discovered mix this ointment with sulphur and apply and the repair was visual. It took a long time to find a pharmacist capable of mixing ointments but we found one. An observation was that my daughter was and is still a very warm child, even today. She has no skin reactions now as we are aware of the causes, she is violently reactive to eggs but only in some form usually batter around fish fingers, her tolerance is yet unproved in other areas. She will not eat cakes, biscuits, mayo etc.. A colour diary is very easy to run and I would happy to help anyway I can, but also look at the preservatives in the creams prescribed. (July 2002)

Drink Chinese herbal tea and avoid chocolate - Emily, Reading, UK

I had quite bad eczema at the age of five. My mum took me to a Chinese herbalist, and he gave me some special herb tea. It helped, but in the winter it still gets worse. I also tried to cut down on chocolate because I found out that I had an allergy, and that helped as well.

Vitamins - Adele, Watford, UK

I have had severe eczema since birth and have been hospitalised 3 times, and although it did improve a lot when I was about 16, it has gradually got worse as I have got older (I'm 22 now). I thought there was no hope and resigned myself to it after trying every single treatment I could find; conventional doctors, reflexology, Chinese medicine, different diets, kinisiology etc. But then I started reading about different vitamins and things. I started taking evening primrose tablets, cod liver oil and betacarotene religiously and noticed some improvements. Then I read about others that can combat things like the effects of alcohol and help maintain a healthy diet(I like the odd drink!!) such as cynara artichoke and milk thistle. I have now been taking these five vitamins daily for about 5 months and in that time, I have not had one skin infection and have not had to use anything on my skin apart from moisturiser! They are fantastic!! Also, the best face moisturiser you will find (although pricey it's worth it) is Kanebo IB. My face is clear of patches and redness for the first time in 6 years!! Hope all my waffle helps someone! Don't give up looking for something to help, but be careful of those steroids..!

Wheat free diet - Emma, Bradford, Yorkshire, UK

I'm, in my 20's and have suffered with mild eczema since I was a child. I recently cut out wheat in my diet having read an article in a magazine about wheat intolerance. Things have definitely improved and my eczema is much better - not so dry and itchy. PS, great website!

Watch your diet and drink plenty of water - Tasha, West London, UK

Where to begin?! Tried everything except acupuncture and yoga...would like to know if anyone knows the effects of trying these. I have had eczema since 6 years old; when aged 12 it spread EVERYWHERE but amazingly my face was spared except my eyelids! It's hard to live thinking it will never go away, and for most it doesn't but life is bearable. I'm 19 and happy doing a degree. I've found that because I believe eczema is a blood problem, focussing on your diet is one good way of reducing the flare ups. Don't have too much tea, coke etc, drink loads of mineral water. It sounds easy but people don't drink nearly enough. Try it - 6 glasses a day - it really helps a lot. Oh yeh, loads of fruit - I was a chocoholic but the odd Wispa Mint now and again never hurt anyone...

Goats milk - Lesley, West London, UK

I have had eczema since I was a baby, and used to have to go to bed every night covered head to toe in Calamine Lotion! When I was about 6 the people that lived next to my grandparents got a goat, and I used to get fresh goats milk twice a week - it worked! We moved, and my eczema came back. In the last couple of years though most supermarkets have started selling it. I use semi-skimmed goats milk, and avoid cheese and chocolate. The only time it flares up is when I have had to use regular milk, or if I am under a lot of stress!

Eat the right foods to help your eczema - Cindy, Johannesburg, South Africa

1) Avoid dairy products (we all know that). 2) Avoid preservatives (symbol E on most products) and even coffee and tea. Try to cut your intake to one cup of coffee/tea daily and no fizzy cool drinks (green tea is good because it cleans out your system and makes you relax). Make your own fruit juice eg mix carrots, beetroot and apples together (delicious and carrots are known to improve eczema). 3) Don't mix starch with proteins eg don't eat meat with rice or potatoes, because it takes approx 4 hours for starch to digest and another 4 hours for protein to digest, meaning that your stomach can't digest everything together and that can cause allergies. Remember not all allergies are caused from the outside but mostly from the inside. People say that they are allergic to orange juice. And the reason is we drink it with a slice of toast in the morning and it takes +- 15 min for the juice to digest but +- 2 hours for the slice of bread, so the juice can't digest quick enough because of the bread and that causes an allergy (redness/ itchiness). 4) Fruit also plays an important role. Like I said it takes +- 15 min for fruit to digest, eat fruit only 3-4 hours after a starch/protein meal and stop eating fruit like an hour before a starch/protein meal. 5) Don't mix acid fruits with sweet fruits (I'll send you a list on request). I think that if we can change our eating habits our eczema will also get better. (Note: Cindy has more details on 'Find a Friend', April 2001.)

Dairy intolerance - Karina, Norfolk, UK

I am allergic to dairy products but take a calcium + vitamin supplement which seems to help.

Breast feeding and cows milk -Trish, Southsea, Hants, UK

My fourth child had perfect skin when born, but by the age of 6 weeks had huge red marks on her head, weeping skin and acne-like spots - all this was on her head and just starting to spread to her body -and she was totally breastfed! My doctor was baffled and said 'its good to see a baby allergic to breast milk as poor old cows milk always gets the blame'. He gave me a prescription for steroid cream and said she might have to go on to Soya milk.

Luckily I was helped by a wonderful man in a local health food shop, (where I had gone a couple of days later to buy some dried fruit). He asked me what I was feeding her on, (I had not asked him for help, her face looked such a mess) and he said she was probably reacting to something in my diet - most likely eggs or milk. With his advice I excluded them from my diet and took a calcium supplement with magnesium, eating plenty of fresh food, lamb, chicken and fish and drinking lots of water - you don't have to drink milk to make milk! I read every packet of biscuits etc, to avoid whey powder and other dairy ingredients. It took two weeks for her skin to clear, including the huge red patches on her head which the health visitor had thought were strawberry birth marks. He then advised me to eat an egg a day for a week and see what happened. Nothing happened; her skin was fine. Then he said to drink milk and see what happened. I made up a hot drink with milk - the next day red patches were appearing on her skin. I cut out milk from my diet and once her skin was clear. Once her skin was clear (which took about a week) he advised that I ate cheese and waited to see what happened. Again her skin flared up but also there were curdy type lumps in her bowel motion. I told him and he then said that he thought the cows milk protein was passing through my gut wall into my blood stream and into my milk. She was seeing this as an allergen and producing histamines. I couldn't thank this man enough for helping me - I breastfed my daughter for two years, all the time maintaining a dairy free diet for myself and for her once she started eating foods.

There were other benefits - I had no hay fever for the first time since it started at age 15 (I told him this and he said he thought my system could cope with the pollen because I wasn't having dairy products). She had no glue ear problems or colds, like my other children, and she smelled much better as well. When I did introduce dairy products once she was two, she didn't react and is now aged 17 and only gets mild skin rashes occasionally. My first two children did not have any skin problems, my third had mild eczema on his face while I was breastfeeding him and it was worse once I gave him cows milk, but liveable with, unlike my daughter's eczema. He developed asthma at age 14, and was given inhalers etc. Eventually he tried a cows milk free diet and the asthma symptoms subsided. It periodically flares up, for instance, he was eating an Indian meal which he didn't realise contains cows milk, once he stopped his symptoms subsided again. He is now 22 and still on a dairy free diet, which means he doesn't need to use inhalers.

I hope my story is useful to people - I had thought that things would have advanced from 1983 but it still seems that doctors reach for the prescription pad to get rid of the symptoms and do not look for the cause, which is coming from within the body in many cases. One thing puzzles me about eczema in my family - it started with the third child and was severe in the fourth - the opposite of current thought on eczema.

Avoid certain foods and stay out of the sun! - Claudine, Manchester, UK

I developed eczema when I was 5 and suffered quite seriously until I was in my mid teens. I was quite desperate by that stage as the eczema had spread over my face and most of my upper body. Two doctors prescribed oral and topical steroids which completely cleared it up and I've never suffered to that degree again. A tip ... stress, 'hot' foods such as chilli, chocolate, coffee [can't give that up] red wine etc all exacerbate the condition. Lots of water ... and eat well. I also found on my last trip home to Australia exposure to the sun did quite a bit of damage to my face which has taken weeks to heal. Sadly I've noticed that my skin fares really well in this cold climate. I'd never realised before how bad the sun and dry wind makes my skin!

Organic milk - Sarah, Fleet, Hampshire, UK

My little girl has had eczema since she was a few months old. She is now nearly 4 and it has gradually improved. I guess you could say she has nearly grown out of it. I recently gave her organic milk and the remaining patches in the creases or her arms and backs of her legs have now completely gone! Give it a try. (October 2000)

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Page updated: 7 July 2008