Sarah’s skin felt like ants were crawling all over it. Welts developed behind her knees and on her elbows. Sometimes the itchiness was so debilitating that Sarah had to come home from preschool. The welts occasionally filled with puss and burst when Sarah raked her nails over them. Sarah’s mother, Cynthia, did her best to soothe the pain, but the rash continued to spread.
What is eczema?
Eczema is a general term for five different “itchy rashes”: atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, dyshidrotic eczema, nummular eczema and seborrheic dermatitis. Often treated with steroids, cortisone or whatever new topical treatment is on the market, most doctors fail to address the eczema’s cause: food allergies. While food allergies are not the definitive cause of eczema, the Food Allergy Center states that “Eczema…is a food allergy until proven otherwise.”
Mixed Messages from Modern Medicine
Talk Eczema, an educational website about eczema, believes “there is no cure for eczema.” The best course of action is to follow a “good skin routine” that they characterize as the usage of “emollients” and “prescribed medication.” Only then can “the effects of eczema…be managed and controlled.” Yet, in the same article, they mention that food allergies can cause eczema. Why would Talk Eczema promote medication and emollients at all if through mere diet modification we could completely eliminate the problem?
A note from Dr. Gislason
Dr. Gislason, a well-regarded doctor and food allergy specialist believes that many medical doctors “do not want people to solve health problems on their own. They want people to depend on MDs and buy drugs.” Think about this the next time you purchase yet another expensive tube of topical medication. Total relief could be right around the corner when you ask the right questions.
Cynthia’s Resolution
Sarah was so embarrassed about her itchy rash that one day she refused to go to school. Cynthia decided to take action. She took Sarah to a food allergy specialist and completed an allergy blood test. When the results returned, Cynthia was amazed to find that Sarah was allergic to dairy and eggs. Once those foods had been removed from Sarah’s diet for 2 months, the eczema vanished. Now Sarah is a totally different little girl. She is more outgoing in preschool and recently asked to take swimming lessons- something she would have been too embarrassed to do before the eczema disappeared.
