Infantile eczema: natural treatments help a little girl get better.(Women's health: natural solutions for common problems)

Infantile eczema (IE), a type of atopic (hereditarily influenced) eczema, is a skin condition that produces a red, scaling, thick patch commonly appearing on the flexor aspects of the arms, legs, neck, hands and face. The skin rash can be quite itchy, and it bleeds easily when scratched. It commonly occurs between the ages of 1-3 years, though it's estimated to affect about 10 percent of children under the age of 5.

Complex Problem

Case in point, a young mother recently brought her 16-month-old girl, Brie, to my office with the complaint of severe itching and a skin rash covering 70 percent of her daughter's body. The rash began mildly enough--just a few patches on Brie's arms and neck--at around 13 mouths of age. The condition remained about the same, the mother said, for the next several months. Then, 2 weeks ago, things became much worse. The child scratched so much her skin bled, and she had trouble sleeping. The mother suspected that heat, excessively hot water and some fabrics made the skin flare up.

I asked about Brie's diet. Brie had been introduced to solid foods at the age of 12 months, although she continued to breastfeed. The main food groups the child ate were grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, cheese, peanut butter and--rarely--eggs or poultry. She drank only water, fruit juices that were half-diluted with water, and soymilk.

Diagnoses

I soon diagnosed Brie's condition as infantile atopic eczema. There is a strong hereditary link between eczema, hay fever and asthma. Indeed, the mother's medical history showed positive for IE and asthma, while Brie's father's history, indicated seasonal allergies. There are also several biological factors that seem to be linked to this condition, including food allergies, essential fatty acid deficiency, intestinal permeability, climate, emotional stress, and vitamin and mineral deficiency.

Treatment Goals