Did Your Baby Received Antibiotic and Developed Severe Eczema & Food Allergies?

Updated on October 19, 2018
N.L. asks from Spanaway, WA
7 answers

My now 13 month old son has severe eczema since 1 month old. He had a course of antibiotic at 1 month and was on antacid for 4 months. i have read several research studies that found correlation between antibiotic and antacid during infancy increase risk of food allergiez. His eczema is generalized from head to toe. He was diagnosed with atopic dermatitis. He is allergic to eggs, wheat, milk, corn, peanuts, all free nuts, soy, chicken, goat milk, coconut, beef, salmon, avocado, banana, strawberry, barley, rye, pinto beans, tomato, kiwi, dogs, cats, dust, taro, eggplants, mollusks shellfish, squash, apples and who knows what else that he is allergic to that was not tested. My question is that did anyone else has experience this with their baby? Did eczema improve as the child grows? Did the child grows out of these food allergies? I'm exclusively breastfeed and is hard to avoid all these allergens, but he can't tolerate any formula even the most hypoallergenic one. I'm planning to breastfeed until he is two and try hemp milk, but he seems to have rash when I apply hemp milk directly on his skin. As for treatment, he only uses Vaseline for moisturizer and steroid ointment1- 2 times a week and benadryl at night to help with the itches. He never had a good night sleep. I just want him to enjoy life a lot more than his first year, and looking forward for him to have clear skin and itch free.

What can I do next?

  • Add yourAnswer own comment
  • Ask your own question Add Question
  • Join the Mamapedia community Mamapedia
  • as inappropriate
  • this with your friends

So What Happened?

Thank you all for your thought and help. I am desperate, just wanted my son to be free of misery. I took him to 3 allergists, he has seen a dermatplogist. All they want to do is to give stronger steroids and antibiotics. His symptoms will go away with steroid for a day and two then comes back more intense. I limited his steroid use fearing that it can damage his skin with continuous use and his pediatrician thought I was crazy.

He only tolerate Vaseline as a moisturizer bc there is no additives. His skin is sensitive and break out with every other lotion and moisturizer. I lather his skin with Vaseline with diaper change. I gave him bleach bath twice a week as recommended by dermatologist. He breaks out with oatmeal and vinegar bath. I never uses soap and is allergic to detergent. I sanitize his clothes with hot water for 2 hrs (an option available in my washer).

Both side of our family don't have food allergies, although my husband does have eczema when he was a toddler. My oldest son is allergic to peanuts, he was on antiacid for 2 months.

We don't have any pets, upstair is carpet and downstairs is wooded Floor. We use air humidifier and purifier.

His food allergies was getting worse instead of better base on the test done at 1 yo compare to 6months.

Is hard to see him scratching all the time, and not be able to enjoy the foods, he loves to eat. His doctors was not very helpful, all says he probably will grow out of it, in meantime just give him these steroids to tame down the inflammation. My next step is to find a naturalpathic doctor, but so far has been unsuccessful in finding one.

More Answers

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

M.G.

answers from Portland on

ETA:
I have heard of the bleach bath - it was not recommended to us, but a friend of mine works on pediatrics team and her old school pediatrician recommends it for eczema - it supposedly clears up the cuts. I don't know.. I would think it would be drying personally. If it's not working for you, maybe take a break from it. We used vaseline too - (we went through everything). The problem with that is it doesn't allow skin to breathe from what I understand. The emollient is what everyone we saw (including allergist) recommended for an all over moisturizer.

One word of caution with the hydrocortisone (if that's what you are using) - my son has white marks where we used it on his arms (worst eczema for him). It thins skin and reacts different to sun. Coat with sunscreen when exposed. We did and still he has marks. Don't mean to alarm you but just something to be aware of and maybe ask about. We used the least amount we could. Might just be my son's skin.

***********************************

All our children had eczema as babies - my husband's side of the family has skin conditions as well as allergies. You don't mention if there is a family history. I do not have any on my side so this was all new to me. I get how hard it is to learn about and deal with when your child is affected.

One of my children had very bad eczema when young and allergies - not to food though. We went through a lot of creams, ointments, etc. trying to deal with the skin issues (redness, soreness, etc.) but it wasn't until we got the allergies under control that it cleared up. Pets, dust for us - so lifestyle change and meds.

Not sure about Vaseline? Never heard of that. We used 'hydrous emollient'. Virtually nothing in it except water - awesome stuff. In a tub from pharmacy - don't need a prescription. It's just white thick pasty stuff that coats them but is quite light- you coat them after baths to hold water in.

If you have pets - think about re-homing. It made the world of difference to our child. That and carpet or rugs. We removed the carpet - air purifiers, etc. Hepa filters. There are a lot of changes you can make to your surroundings.

Washing - we used Dove. That's what they recommended- and rinse, rinse, and then rinse some more. Use very little (tiny amount). We used Tide Free (no dye, no perfumes) detergent, and did an extra rinse at the end in washing machine. We also used maybe a quarter of the recommended amount of detergent.

My kids were on antibiotics when babies/toddlers - but so were a lot of our relatives, and they didn't have eczema on my side of the family.

My kids outgrew the eczema over time for the most part (somewhere in elementary school) - even my allergic one except for places like elbows, etc. but it's manageable.

Good luck and I hope you find answers :)

3 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

R..

answers from San Antonio on

Work closely with your doctors allergist and dermatologist.

My son had bad eczema but the treatment I was given was a certain lotion applied 6-8 times a day (it was hard to get it on him that often). His skin was so sensitive I had to make my own baby wipes and could only use one special brand of diaper ointment.

They wouldn't allergy test my son until he was 5. But I knew it was mostly sensitive skin and not foods. As he would break out after certain items touched his skin. Turned out he is highly allergic to dust mites. We can't even have carpet in our house.

He grew out of the skin sensitivity, and almost all asthma issues by age 10-ish...but dust mites will probably be a life long enemy. (His eyes swell shut and he gets wheezy).

And to answer your question no this didn't start after taking an antibiotic. He just came with sensitive allergic skin and some asthma issues. Good luck! Hang in there mama!!

2 moms found this helpful

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

No.
Our son had various infections and antibiotics helped him get better - he never developed eczema or food allergies or any other allergies.

A friend of mine I grew up with her oldest daughter was allergic to practically everything.
To breast feed her my friend had to severely limit her own diet so her milk didn't trigger a response in her baby.
It was a very challenging childhood but eventually the girl did out grow most of her allergies - by high school.
My friends 2nd daughter didn't have the same scope of issues her first had.

Sometimes you never know why things turn out they way they do.
I wouldn't be drawing any conclusions about antibiotics causing this or that.
Just work closely with your allergist until hopefully your son out grows some of his issues.

2 moms found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

N.C.

answers from San Diego on

Check your water supply, get it tested. Do you use well water? You might have high sulfer or minerals that cause these type of skin reactions.

As for allergies, try prebiotics not to be confused with probiotics. Prebiotics feed the gut bacteria.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

T.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

i refuse to use bleach to clean my house.... and you bathe your baby in it? i would definitely be questioning that dr on that one... there is NO WAY i would bathe my child in bleach. (the bottle says directly on it that its a skin irritant.. )
one of my children had amoxicillin when they were baby. never needed antacids. both were breast fed (the first was supplemented till i had enough milk)
one kid has bad seasonal allergies and the other none. i think there is something else going on and you need to get another opinion from a different pedi... as it sounds like maybe you do not trust the one you have.

1 mom found this helpful
Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

E.M.

answers from Philadelphia on

Sorry mama, that’s a lot to deal with. I wouldn’t worry about the antibiotic causing it- the correlation is there because kids with allergies get sick more and are therefore more likely to need antibiotics- allergies and illness all involve the immune system and immune response. It is also common for babies with undiagnosed food allergies to be placed on antacids and other reflux meds bc the allergy symptoms mirror reflux. I have four kiddos and some have food allergies and one had terrible eczema and she did outgrow hers. Infrequent baths, low dose antihistamine and lots of the aveeno baby eczema ointment and aquafor worked best for her. When she went swimming it cleared up some (bc of the chlorine) but that’s a vicious cycle bc it also dries out the skin and makes it more susceptible to irritation. My food allergy kiddos also outgrew most allergies and those that remained are milder now. I would highly recommend switching pediatricians and/or allergists though if you don’t 100% trust yours and feel comfortable asking them every question you have. Good luck!

Smallavatar-fefd015f3e6a23a79637b7ec8e9ddaa6

J.G.

answers from Chicago on

My son had surgery at 1 month and was on an antibiotic daily from 1 month to 14 months. He had a dairy allergy (hives to uncooked cow milk protein) that he traded for a peanut allergy around 14 months. He is now almost 9 and his peanut allergy seems to be gone (recent prick test had no reaction. now we blood test and then oral test).

My oldest never had any antibiotics. In the last few years, she has developed a tree nut allergy. She is 10.

My youngest has never tried any nuts but she has skin issues. Never had any antibiotics. No food allergies in either families, just minor environment issues to pollen.

I can say that my son with the peanut allergy had pinworms two summers ago and my husband swears they fixed his immune system. We are historically supposed to experience lots of worms and things, and without things to attack, our immune systems seem to be attaching silly things.

I'm so sorry. This has to be so touch on you and your son. A friend went to a Chinese medicine doctor and she swears he cured her. She had horrible -full body- eczema.

For Updates and Special Promotions
Follow Us

Related Questions