Do Elimination Diets Really Help Kids With Eczema?
Parents often try elimination diets to reduce food allergy risk in kids with eczema, but studies show limited results.
Parents of children with atopic dermatitis (eczema) sometimes consider elimination diets to lower food allergy risks.
However, a new study reveals that elimination diets offer only slight improvement for AD symptoms, with mild lesion reduction observed in one-third of participants, that is being presented at this year's American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) Annual Scientific Meeting in Boston ().
‘ Did You Know?
Nearly 50% of children with AD develop another allergic condition, like asthma or hay fever. #eczema #atopicdermatitis #allergy ’
"Elimination diets aren't recommended as a treatment for AD, according to guidelines from major allergy organizations," says pediatric resident Nadia Makkoukdji, MD, lead author of the study.
"For our study, parents of infants and children with AD completed a survey in a number of sites in a single health care system including the emergency department, allergy, dermatology, and general pediatrics clinic to gauge their perceptions of the effects of elimination diets on the development of food allergies."
Limited Benefits of Elimination Diets for Eczema
298 parents completed the survey. 42% reported that certain foods exacerbate their child's eczema. The foods most frequently identified as triggers were milk (32%), tree nuts/seeds/peanuts (16%,) and eggs (11%).Among those who identified food triggers:
- 19% changed their baby's formula
- 20% eliminated certain foods from their diet while breastfeeding and
- 23% completely removed the suspected foods from their child's diet.
- Regarding the elimination diet's effectiveness, 38% observed no improvement in AD, 35% reported 25% improvement, and 9% noted complete resolution.
- Additionally, 79% of responders reintroduced the eliminated foods without recurrence of eczema symptoms.
The authors concluded that parents' understanding of AD and its dietary links significantly influenced their children's diets.
Reference:
- A Survey of Parental Eczema Perceptions and its Relationship to Dietary Intake in South Florida - (https:www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(24)00864-0/fulltext)
Source: Eurekalert