Should You Try an Elimination Diet to Determine the Root Cause of Eczema? – Everyday Health

If youre living with eczema or atopic dermatitis, you know targeting your triggers and keeping your skin moisturized are two essentials for happy, healthy skin. When it comes to eczema triggers, there are some known culprits think fragrance, laundry detergent, hot or cold weather, and even stress notes the National Eczema Association.

Yet what you put at the end of your fork may also play a role in your risk for flare-ups.

Typically, after eating a triggering food, your skin will get itchy or red. You may also notice swollen, hive-like patches or a flare of preexisting lesions, past research suggests. The symptoms may not be immediate they could take a few hours or up to two days to appear.

To identify those triggers in yourself or your infant, maybe youve considering trying an elimination diet. This involves avoiding specific foods that you think are responsible for your symptoms, according to the University of Wisconsin in Madison School of Medicine and Public Health. These diets are used mainly to identify triggers for health conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome, autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis, and migraines. Sometimes, people with eczema try them, too, if they suspect food is triggering their symptoms.

Indeed, according to the aforementioned research, infants with moderate to severe eczema are more likely to have food allergies, so identifying the foods that trigger their allergy symptoms may also help control eczema.

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Everyone responds to foods differently not everyone with eczema will have the same reaction to milk, for instance so an elimination diet may not be the right tool to add to your arsenal against eczema.

The University of Wisconsin in Madison outlines these general steps for following an elimination diet:

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It can be but not always, says Susan Bard, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Vive Dermatology Surgery & Aesthetics in Brooklyn, New York. According to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, foods are a trigger in 20 to 30 percent of moderate to severe eczema cases.

Dr. Bard says an elimination diet for eczema is worth trying only if it seems clear that a food is to blame for an outbreak. I tell patients that if they see an obvious association between a certain food and eczema flares to avoid that food, she says.

Alice Hoyt, MD, an allergist and clinical immunologist with Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, also doubts food is always to blame. The reason we don't recommend elimination diets to modify atopic dermatitis is because there's no evidence that it will actually change the disease process because foods are not causing atopic dermatitis, she says. She says it might seem like theres a link because eczema patients are at increased risk of developing other allergies, including food allergies, but says its much more beneficial to look at what people are putting on their skin rather than what theyre eating.

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The downside of elimination diets is they can lead to unbalanced eating because you may rule out entire food groups in an effort to find your trigger, Bard says. This excessive restriction can lead to nutritional deficiencies, according to a past study. Thats why Dr. Hoyt pairs patients who are trying an elimination diet with a registered dietitian, who can advise them on how to source necessary nutrients. For instance, if you eliminate dairy, youll need to find other ways to meet your calcium needs. The point is to optimize good nutrition, she says.

Another major downside is that elimination diets could lead to increased intolerance and more immediate sensitivity to the food in the future. A study published in the March-April 2016 issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice found that after confirming food-triggered eczema, about 19 percent of participants had an immediate negative reaction when they were next exposed to the ingredient, which had never happened before. Rather than eliminating the food completely, the researchers suggest a better approach would be to determine how much of the ingredient your body can handle and incorporate that amount into your diet.

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According to The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice study, the most common triggers for 183 study participants were milk (57.5 percent), eggs(30.6 percent), and soy (21 percent). Daniel P. Friedmann, MD, a board-certified dermatologist with Westlake Dermatology in Austin, adds wheat and peanuts to the list of common allergens for people with eczema, anda past article notes fish is another usual suspect.

RELATED: How to Target Eczema Triggers

Though youre likely used to visiting your dermatologist for eczema, if a food allergy could be in play, its best to see an allergist as well.

Dr. Friedmann says your dermatologist will likely recommend you visit a board-certified allergy specialist to determine what food allergies you have and to advise on whether an elimination diet will be right for you.

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Should You Try an Elimination Diet to Determine the Root Cause of Eczema? - Everyday Health