Would you ever use a diet?

Yes, we would occasionally consider a dairy-free diet in a child less
than 1 year old if other conventional treatments were not working
well. In addition, if there were a clear-cut history of a certain food
making the eczema worse every time it was consumed, we would
consider a 3-month exclusion trial.
To ensure that adequate nutrition is provided, a dietitian should
supervise any dietary approach. A dietitian can also give invaluable
advice on which foods to use and where to obtain them. Do not
try to follow diets listed in magazines or shown on the television
as there is the potential to develop a regime that does not
completely exclude all the relevant food, and there is also a risk
of undernourishing the child.
At the end of the 3-month exclusion, the food thought to be at
fault should be reintroduced. If the eczema does not come back,
it may be that it was only a temporary problem or that the food
was not making the eczema worse. If the eczema returns, theexclusion diet should be restarted as the final ‘proof’ needs to
come from demonstrating that the exclusion works a second time.
Even in this case, the problem rarely persists for more than a year
or so.
We wish that diet were more important in eczema as it would
provide an easy and safe approach to therapy. Our general
experience has, however, shown that diets are extremely hard work
and are often disappointing in terms of any impact they have on
eczema.
I have eczema and am very allergic to peanuts. Are these
two conditions related?
No, they are probably not directly related. Nuts, especially peanuts,
are well known for causing a severe allergic reaction, called
anaphylaxis, characterised by swelling of the lips and face, vomiting,
difficulty breathing, a widespread nettle rash and even collapse.
The incidence of this appears to be increasing, and the allergy is
lifelong, unlike many other childhood food intolerances.
There is a growing feeling that children, especially those with
an ‘atopic tendency’, should avoid eating peanuts, and to a lesser
extent other nuts, until late childhood. This may prevent nut allergy
developing but has nothing to do with the causes of eczema. You
should make sure that you carry a card or wear a bracelet to let
anyone know that you have this problem in case you are so badly
affected that you cannot speak.