How does diet impact eczema? Skin Care

"Some experts believe that removing common allergens -- dairy, peanuts, eggs, or certain fruits -- from a child or breastfeeding mom's diet may help control eczema symptoms, as they can be stressors." -- Dendy Engelman, MD, Manhattan Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery, New York, NY

"If your dermatologist or pediatrician thinks certain foods might be the cause of your child's eczema flare-ups, he or she might ask you to keep a food diary or to abstain from that food for a while if you're breastfeeding. This can help narrow down the causes behind your child's symptoms. It's always important to eliminate one food at a time so you can be certain which change in diet made a difference in your child's skin." -- Joel Schlessinger, MD, board-certified dermatologist and RealSelf contributor, New York, NY

"My son is allergic to milk and five other foods. Eliminating his allergenic foods made a huge difference in his eczema, overall behavior, and health and made him a happier kid."

"Log everything you eat (if you're breastfeeding) as well as what she eats. My daughter has food allergy–related eczema that became noticeable a few weeks after birth and just kept getting worse. It didn't look like classic eczema; it looked like ringworm at its worst, so it took a while for the doctor to diagnose. She was 15 months before we pinpointed the cause as a dairy allergy."

"My daughter had severe eczema starting at 4 months, but diet never seemed to affect anything. We did have to cut out anything perfumed though -- certain lotions and soaps and oatmeal baths."

"We've found that acidic foods really aggravate both of our kids -- especially tomato-based foods."

"My child's had eczema from birth and we've tried many things, including changing his diet. Nothing helped except for adding moisture. He has a cool-mist humidifier in his room in the winter and wears breathable clothing."