By Bryn Huntpalmer (bio below) Those two words you’ve been dreaming of may also come with a sense of dread: home renovation. Can you really update your home if you have allergies and eczema? The good news is you can, and it may actually improve your allergies in the long run to update your home now. […]
It’s an Itchy Little World
Tag Archives: Allergies
Financial Stresses on families with eczema and allergies
There are financial stresses on us all, and right now is probably the worst time to think about them; while we’re all planning Christmas – presents and celebrations, pantomimes, and open houses. It all adds up and can become excruciatingly expensive.
But for families with any sort of condition or illness to cope with, the normal, day-to-day expenses can be significantly greater than for the rest of us.
I thank my stars that our experience of both eczema and allergies are relatively minor compared to what some families suffer and yet the costs associated with the girls’ conditions do pile up. We can’t scrimp on treatments or choose not to do them until the next month, because it puts their health at risk.
There have been times when we have had to decide to focus on getting well and healing at the cost of something we would really love to have or do. We are very lucky that for us, it has never meant resorting to borrowing or food banks, but I know that for many that is the case.
Before I had my children, it just wasn’t something I considered or factored in. I guess few people ‘expect’ to have a child with a condition like eczema.
I would estimate that we spend at least £500 a year on treatments, clothes, creams, and therapies. It would be more if we tried everything that we thought might help, such as salt therapy, allergy testing and trips to Avene.
And of course, I own an eczema shop, so have access to some testers and lots of good information.
I know many families that simply don’t have the money for extras and are completely reliant on GP’s to prescribe all treatments.
Here are just a few of the extras that we budget for:
- Creams – the ones that work for us are not available on prescription
- Bamboo and Pure cotton clothing, and bedding
- Allergy-free mattresses and pillows or dust mite covers
- Specialist vacuum cleaners, that get the dust mites
- Natural detergents for washing clothes
- Extra electricity – air drying clothes in summer is no good if suffer from airborne allergies
- Having a water softener installed
- Chemical and allergen-free shampoos, conditioners, soaps, cleaning products,
- Work days lost from nursery/school ringing you because child is unwell/itchy
What have we missed? How do you do it? Do you put aside something each month or just deal with it as it comes up?
I would love to hear how other families manage it.
Managing Eczema and Allergies at Christmas.
Most of us are absolutely used to the everyday differences that eczema or allergies can bring to family life. But it’s very tricky at Christmas time to manage it all, for lots of reasons. We might be away from our own home, and creature comforts. There may be new environmental hazards that we can’t control. We don’t have every treatment or potion right at hand.
We have also had to manage parties and events where children (and adults) are affected by other allergies than those that we are familiar with. So, I thought it would be useful to put together a Christmas checklist of all the things we should check before hosting a family Christmas. Useful for visitors and hosts alike I hope.
Get Togethers
- If there are severe food allergies, it’s worth warning everyone in advance – for instance a short note to everyone explaining the allergy and its severity along with any absolute MUSTS, such as please don’t eat peanuts before our event
- If you are hosting someone with food allergies, find out what is and what’s not okay – people are usually very happy to bring their own food if there’s something that wont suit them, but hang back from doing so as it can be embarrassing.
- It may be that although someone can’t eat something, it’s okay for them to be in a room with it. But this needs checking as it will depend on the severity of the allergy.
- Is there a pet allergy? Will family/friends mind shutting the pet in a separate part of the house for the duration of the visit?
Gifts
I appreciate that this is a hard one, as no-one wants to appear grabby, but I know that our family not only want to give gifts to the girls, they want them to be good ones that they will enjoy, so they do appreciate a little guidance.
- Avoid anything but natural fibres if you are buying clothes or textiles for people affected by eczema or skin allergies.
- Don’t buy perfumes, soaps, cosmetics, bubble baths, face paints or lip-balms for people with eczema.
- Clays and crafts can also be allergens – these are probably worth just checking with the parent.
- Foods, especially high sugar or very processed food are often not good for children with eczema and very difficult for a parent to take away.
- Avoid selection boxes, chocolate boxes or chocolate ornaments for people with food allergies – any sniff of a nut in there for someone with a nut allergy, and their Christmas is all over.
Decorations
We all love to make our house ‘Christmassy’ but this can be a minefield for someone with severe allergies. Be careful with:
- Natural table decorations which may include nuts seeds and other allergens. I know some us are even allergic to pine…
- Check before using plug in perfumes or diffusers
- Check before using any sprayable decoration, such as window ‘snow’.
Just in case
- Make sure your medical kit is well stocked and includes an antihistamine
- Double check that you’ve packed 2 epipens.
Finally…Something for all the Adults with Eczema and Allergies
Our new eczema pyjamas
When I first started Everything For Eczema 3 years ago my daughter’s skin was at its worst. At every doctor’s appointment I was told that she would grow out of it by the time she was 1, 2 , 3 …until eventually even the dermatology nurse agreed it was unlikely Miss T’s skin was going to get better. She’s 6 now and although we still get the occasional flare-up her skin is way better than I could ever have hoped for. To be honest those early, sleep-deprived years were such a struggle that I feel blessed that her skin is now under control. However I do realize that we are very lucky, and that there are many children who will not grow out of their eczema and go on to suffer all the way through their adult life.
Thanks mainly to the efforts of eczema parents, there is now some amazing clothing available for babies and children with eczema and allergies. However despite many hours spent searching I’ve hardly found anything at all for adults and it’s been frustrating not being able to help them.
At last year’s Allergy and Free From Show at Olympia our stand was buzzing with parents excited to find products that would help their itchy children. But there were also so many adults who visited looking for clothing to help their skin which had been left fragile and extremely sensitive after years of cycles of flare-ups and treatments. Many were taping gloves to their wrists at night to stop themselves from scratching. One man even wore boxing gloves to bed because he was so desperate not to cause his skin any more damage. Frustrated that I had no way of helping them, I was determined that by the time of the next Allergy and Free From Show, if I couldn’t find anything then I would just have to start my own clothing line and make something myself.
Relaxing in our ultra soft bamboo pyjamas
Well the next Allergy Show is nearly upon us and I am very proud to say that we will be launching our new eczema clothing brand SOOTHE at the show. We are, (of course!) starting with some incredibly soft bamboo pyjamas designed specifically for adults and older children with eczema and allergies.
We chose bamboo as our main fabric as it’s perfect for sensitive skin – thermo-regulating, antibacterial, beautifully soft and grown without the need of any pesticides. We’ve blended it with organic cotton and 4% elastane to ensure our PJs wash well, keep their shape and are easier to get on and off over sore skin.
Flipover mittens and external labels
As night-time seems to be a trigger for many eczema and allergy sufferers our pyjamas have integral foldover mittens which can be flipped closed at night to prevent scratching, and enclosed feet to protect sore ankles and legs. As most of us with eczema and allergies make sure we cut off all our labels before we wear any new clothes, our labels will always be on the outside of our clothing. Finally, as a thick band of elastic around the waist is definitely not much fun in the middle of an eczema flare-up, we’ve given our PJs a loose, non-elasticated waist that’s roomy enough to wear on the hips too if that’s more comfortable.
At the photo shoot for our new PJs
We think our new clothing brand SOOTHE is a little bit special and we really hope it goes some way in helping all those who are still battling with eczema.
Eczema, food allergies, and summer travel
Midsummer it’s hard to find time to post. We’re taking two weeklong family vacations not so far apart and with planning and packing and then getting swamped with work when you get back there’s not much time to write.
Two aspects of traveling are relevant to this blog: how to take your eczema pharmacy along with you, and how to handle your kid’s food allergies.
Last Saturday we got back from a trip to a family camp in the Sierra Nevada. It was awesome. I didn’t think about work for a whole week and was so stress-free that I could jump in the pool whenever I felt like it and strut around in just my bathing suit. You’ve got to enjoy these times when you have them.
We ate in the camp mess hall. The staff were great about telling us what the ingredients were in all the food. Often they could give us a special dish without nuts or dairy, which are the two things my daughter’s allergic to. But of course, she’s a picky eater, and you can never tell what she’s going to go for.
When we got back, I read about a tragic incident at a summer camp near Sacramento where a 13-year-old girl died after one bite of a Rice Krispies square containing peanuts. My daughter doesn’t have an anaphylactic reaction to anything–not yet–but this was a sober reminder of how deadly nut allergies can be.
Our next trip starts on Wednesday when we fly to Nova Scotia for my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. We often go to NS in August and last year, coming back, we spent an extra day in Newark airport thanks to United Airlines, which we are NEVER FLYING AGAIN. I had run out of any moisturizer or steroid, which was my fault–but try finding fragrance-free moisturizer in the airport shops. Not going to happen. By the time we got home, my eczema was out of control and took several days to cool down to a point where I could appear in public.
Also, being out of food and having a kid with allergies in an airport was a different kind of nightmare. You can’t find an ingredient list anywhere and everything seems to have nuts or dairy or whatever. My daughter was essentially reduced to eating potato chips for the better part of 24 hours, but we did gamble on getting her noodles from a random Asian restaurant. Just glad, now that I know she’s allergic to sesame, that Asian restaurants in airports are far from authentic.
So this year? I’m going to bring too much moisturizer. And we’re going to pack a day’s worth of safe food for my daughter.
Hopefully we won’t need it–we’re flying Air Canada.
End Eczema
Infant Care To Add Supplementary Food Allergies! – Additives Industry – Band Aid Bandages
Infancy is the period of high incidence of food allergy, often acute onset and severity of different symptoms varied. Food allergy skin reactions are the most common clinical manifestations, such as eczema, rash, urticaria, etc., some patients with persistent diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, blood in the stool, there are a cough, throat itching, lips swelling, allergic rhinitis, serious anaphylactic shock may occur or stifle life-threatening.
Infant care to add supplementary food allergies! Therefore, adding parents to the baby food supplement, especially when introducing new food must be careful, to master the skills to add supplementary food to avoid or reduce the incidence of food allergy.
Baby easily cause food allergy in three
1. Infant gut barrier function of intestinal immature people have access at all times a large number of bacteria, viruses and a variety of food macromolecules, macromolecular substances as antigens in humans. Under normal circumstances, the intestinal mucosal barrier can effectively block the harmful macromolecules into the body, but other organs, systems, intestinal mucosal barrier from birth to adulthood have a mature process. Study confirmed that younger, more immature small intestinal structure, intestinal mucosal permeability the higher the macromolecules more easily absorbed by the small intestine, leading to allergies.
In addition, fewer neonatal gastric acid secretion, 2 years ago of intestinal protease activity did not reach adult levels. These factors are so easily through the intestinal mucosa of food antigens enter the body and cause allergies.
Of food allergy and genetic factors also have a couple of food allergies in late pregnancy had to beware of food allergies themselves, so as not to let the children indirectly through breast milk allergy. During lactation, the mother is more prone to allergies should avoid eating the food.
2. Note that the choice of complementary foods and add cultivars sequence study found that baby food are common allergens milk, eggs, peanuts, soybeans, fish and shrimp, shellfish, citrus fruits, wheat. Most food allergens are glycoproteins, about 40 different milk proteins may have sensitization, eggs, egg protein, egg protein, also can cause sticky allergy. Cod fish, soybean and peanuts also have a variety of antigens can induce allergy exists. In addition, some food additives such as artificial colors, preservatives, fragrances, etc. may also cause allergies. Therefore, the process of food supplement should not be too early introduction of such food.
First introduced to baby food supplement should be easy to digest, and not readily lead to food allergy, try eating rice flour can be used as the preferred food, followed by vegetables, fruit, and then try meat, fish, eggs. In short, complementary feeding in the order for the grain – Vegetables – meat, fish, eggs. Prone to causing allergic reactions to food such as egg white, peanuts, seafood, etc., should be provided until after 1 year of age.
3. To grasp the principle of gradual and orderly progress of the food supplement to add supplementary food for babies to master from one to many, from less to more, from fine to coarse, from thin to thick principle. Every time the introduction of new food should be a single food, a small start to observe the infant gastrointestinal tolerance and acceptability, to discover the new introduction of food-related symptoms, whether this can be found in baby food allergy, reduce the time eating a variety of food may bring adverse consequences.
In to the baby tried to eat a new food, the baby often poor feeding, lack of cooperation such as performance. Typically, this is the baby’s defensive instincts, can feed 2 to 3 days after stopping to try feeding. But sometimes baby food allergy reaction showed only a protective antifeedant behavior. If the baby continued to refuse a certain food, but also consider whether there is the possibility of food allergies.
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Related Infant Eczema Articles
Probiotics help for eczema but not allergies in kids
Probiotics help for eczema but not allergies in kids
Eczema, marked by red, swollen, itchy skin, can be caused by allergies, and is usually treated with corticosteroids applied to the skin or antihistamines taken in pill form. In other studies included in the analysis, giving probiotics directly to …
Read more on Health24
AllergyEasy Announces Sublingual Drops During Q4 In Time To Help With Thanksgiving Food Allergies
Phoenix, Arizona (PRWEB) November 26, 2014
Thanksgiving is a treasured holiday for many foodies, but for those who suffer from food allergies, navigating the big meal can feel like crossing a minefield. One bite of the wrong thing can send a simple dinner into a tailspin. For the severely allergic, exposure to problematic foods can lead to a full-blown anaphylactic reaction. Other symptoms of food allergies can include eczema, hives, hay fever and gastrointestinal distress (gas, bloating, diarrhea, etc.) For those with Oral Allergy Syndrome, an allergy to certain fruits and vegetables, symptoms can include itching, tingling, and swelling of the mouth and throat.
Until recently, the only solution for food allergies was to simply avoid reaction-causing foods, but studies have shown that a treatment called sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) can help people safely tolerate many foods that were previously taboo.
SLIT starts with an allergy serum containing extracts of various food proteins. The serum is taken as under-the-tongue (sublingual) drops that absorb into the bloodstream through special cells in the mouth. Over time, the concentration of the serum is increased, teaching the immune system to gradually tolerate foods that once caused reactions. (A good analogy would be gradually increasing the size of your barbells until you can lift a weight that you couldn’t heft before.)
Stuart Agren, M.D. is the director of AllergyEasy which distributes sublingual immunotherapy allergy drops to physicians around the country. He has been prescribing the drops to his own patients since the mid-1980s for pollen allergies. Several years ago, guided by the use of SLIT for food allergies at several leading university health centers (including Duke: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3052379/), he began prescribing the serum for dozens of food allergies including eggs, milk, wheat, rice, fruits, vegetables, and some tree nuts.
Dr. Agren said that SLIT can be a life-altering therapy for people with food allergies.
“I get a lot of patients in-particularly kids-whose lives are ruled by multiple food allergies,” said Dr. Agren. “They are often underweight and suffer from persistent gut discomfort. Many have had repeated visits to the E.R. for close calls with anaphylaxis. SLIT helps turn eating back into a normal, pleasurable experience.”
The sublingual drops are safe enough to be taken at home, so they are easy stick with and don’t require a lot of time in driving back and forth to the doctor’s office.
Food allergies in America are rising rapidly. In the case of kids, food allergies have increased 50 percent since 1997 according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They now affect one in 13 kids-roughly two kids per school classroom.
Food allergies are especially frustrating at this time of year when school and work parties, family meals, and food-related gifts are pervasive. For more information on allergy drops, visit myallergyeasy.com.
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AllergyEasy
2033 E Warner Road, Suite 102
Tempe, AZ 85284
CONTACTS:
Phone: 480-827-0038, ext. 1 (Melissa)
Diet Doc Announces Gluten Free Diet Plans That Now Include Powerful Oxytocin to Eliminate Gluten Allergies and Dieting Side Effects
Miami, FL (PRWEB) March 04, 2015
Over the last few years the gluten-free market has exploded with food manufacturers pushing their food products free of the protein, gluten. The list of conditions that gluten is thought to encourage continues to grow, with autism, depression, Alzheimer’s, multiple sclerosis and diabetes recently being added. In 2013, Gwyneth Paltrow revealed that she had transitioned her entire family to a gluten-free diet, “curing” her son of the skin disorder, eczema. Jennifer Lawrence, well-known actress, labeled gluten the “new cool eating disorder”. And, while the celebrities continue to make headlines when celebrating any change in their lives, it is thought that approximately 1 in 3 everyday Americans are attempting some version of the gluten free diet.
Gluten comprises two protein groups, gliadin and glutenin, which gives structure and elasticity to breads and other processed foods when brought together with flour and water. Gluten foods tend to have a romantic effect on the brain’s “pleasure” center, generating the same feelings as derived from cocaine and heroin. And, while many believe that a successful gluten-free diet requires only the avoidance of bread products, gluten is actually hidden in a variety of foods, including sauces, stock cubes, sweets and a wide range of other food products.
Many people who attempt a gluten free diet have no idea that eliminating gluten products also requires eliminating gluten-filled carbohydrates. And, because Diet Doc understands the challenges of eliminating carbohydrates, they designed their gluten free diet plans that, not only melt pounds and inches, but help their patients overcome the side effects and carbohydrate withdrawal symptoms, enabling more patients to stick to their resolve to become healthier, live longer and look better by losing excess weight and avoiding gluten flare-ups.
For those who suffer from painful and annoying gluten reactions, such as bloating, fatigue and pain after eating, losing weight can be extremely challenging. The carbohydrate withdrawal symptoms can be so powerful that many simply abandon their weight loss goals, giving in to their body and mind’s demand for carbohydrates. For this reason, more and more people, desperate to lose excess fat and avoid gluten flare-ups, are turning to Diet Doc.
After a thorough evaluation, which can be accomplished from the comfort of each patient’s own home via the phone or internet, the expert weight loss doctors, nurses, nutritionists and coaches at Diet Doc work in collaboration to design gluten free diet plans that combine weight loss enhancement medications, such as hormone diet treatments, appetite suppressants, fat burners, diet pills and Oxytocin, resulting in more people losing excess fat without side effects and without gluten reactions. Because Diet Doc doctors have received specialized weight loss training, they know what it takes to keep their patients on the fast track to improved health through natural, safe and rapid weight loss. The majority of over 20,000 of their clients report an amazing loss of 20 pounds or more per month without side effects while following gluten free diet plans that have been created to be specific to each patient’s personal needs.
Diet Doc now includes the powerful Oxytocin hormone to their already impressive collection of weight loss products. Decades of research has revealed that Oxytocin shares an intimate relationship with one’s ability to maintain a healthy weight and its deficiency can cause ravenous carbohydrate cravings. Replacing the body’s natural secretion of Oxytocin decreases the carbohydrate longing and enables patients to focus fully on reaching their ideal weight. Oxytocin, long labeled the “love hormone” for its ability to allow humans to strengthen the love and bonding instinct, is now thought to perhaps be the missing link that can help those who have struggled with excess fat transition to a gluten free diet without side effects.
Diet Doc continues to complement their already successful diet plans with prescription and non-prescription products, all manufactured in fully licensed, FDA approved, U.S. based pharmacies, and has become the nation’s most trusted and reliable source of weight loss. The staff invites those who are ready to improve their health and restore their figure, without nagging side effects and carbohydrate cravings, to call today to schedule a personal, private and cost-free consultation.
About the Company:
Diet Doc Weight Loss is the nation’s leader in medical, weight loss offering a full line of prescription medication, doctor, nurse and nutritional coaching support. For over a decade, Diet Doc has produced a sophisticated, doctor designed weight loss program that addresses each individual specific health need to promote fast, safe and long term weight loss.
Diet Doc Contact Information:
Providing care across the USA
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(888) 934-4451
Info(at)DietDoc(dot)info
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AAAAI: Study Shows Peanut in House Dust Linked to Peanut Allergies, Especially for Children Prone to Eczema
Milwaukee, WI (PRWEB) November 18, 2014
According to a new study, led by King’s College in London, infants who have impaired skin barriers and are exposed to peanut proteins – which can be found in household dust – are more likely to develop sensitivities to peanuts.
The article was published on November 18 in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (JACI), an official journal of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).
“Our findings point to a biological plausibility that environmental peanut exposure might be sensitizing children through an impaired skin barrier,” first author Helen Brough, MA (Hons), MSc, MBBS, FRCPCH, explained in the study.
The study examined the amount of peanut proteins which 359 infants, from a high-risk cohort, were exposed to by vacuuming and analyzing household dust found on the living room floor. Peanut-based food can leave peanut proteins behind in household dust, even after regular cleaning.
The children, aged 3-15 months, were considered to be at a high risk of developing peanut allergy because they were either allergic to cow’s milk or egg and/or prone to eczema. In this study, researchers found that exposure to dust with peanut proteins doubled the risk of peanut allergy. Children with a history of eczema were at greater risk.
“The effect of peanut dust exposure on peanut sensitization is augmented in children with a history of atopic dermatitis (eczema) and even further in children with a history of severe eczema,” according to senior author Gideon Lack, MD.
The study calls for further research to examine what’s being coined as dual-allergen-exposure theory, that is, testing the idea that while exposure to allergens through the skin can create sensitivities, perhaps consumption of these food proteins early in life can build a tolerance in the body. Regardless, reducing the environmental exposure to food allergens could be explored to prevent the development of food sensitization and food allergies.
“It may be that the timing and balance of skin and oral exposure to a particular food, early in life, especially for atopic children, could determine whether a child develops an allergy or tolerance to that food,” collaborating author Scott Sicherer, MD, FAAAAI, from Jaffe Food Allergy Institute & Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai explained.
More information on food allergies and eczema is available at the AAAAI website. The full study was performed in collaboration with the NIH/NIAID funded Consortium for Food Allergy Research (CoFAR) and can be accessed through the JACI.
The AAAAI represents allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists, allied health professionals and others with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic and immunologic diseases. Established in 1943, the AAAAI has more than 6,800 members in the United States, Canada and 72 other countries. The AAAAI’s Find an Allergist/Immunologist service is a trusted resource to help you find a specialist close to home.
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