Liquid Lessons for Baby Eczema

As a mom and caregiver of a child with atopic dermatitis, one of my biggest struggles and goals is healthy dieting for my daughter. Of course, your diet has a very direct correlation to your health, both internally and externally. So, I make efforts to provide her with a nutritious, well-balanced diet.

Diet isn't just food

As I have moved from new mommy to infant vet and began to push past new toddler mom status, I am learning more and more about the best and worst foods for her atopic dermatitis. But, as I have put more emphasis on her diet, I have come to realize that I have not put enough on her drink intake since she became a toddler. Drink intake has effects tantamount to food intake, so I am slowly but surely learning more lessons along the way.

Testing out milks

As an infant, my daughter only drank infant milk and water so her drink intake was not as big of a concern as it is now that her drinks have become more and more versatile.

Breast milk and eczema

In her first couple of months, she drank breast milk and powdered baby milk. A few weeks after birth she had her first experience with atopic dermatitis and many friends mentioned that breast milk would help "cure" her breakout. I found quite the contrary and added breast milk as a possible trigger (my milk supply stopped shortly after so I did not have much time to decipher this for sure).

Discovering eczema triggers

When she was a few months old, she tried milk with rice. I soon discovered this was detrimental to her atopic dermatitis and her health so we stopped it very shortly thereafter. After that bout with atopic dermatitis, we would not have another food or drink-related incident until her toddler years.

Testing out juice

In her toddler years, I have been trying to be very careful about her drink intake. She primarily drinks water and a couple of cups of milk per day. However, she does periodically have juice. I try to make sure she gets 100% juice, as much as possible, if any, because I know it's better for her than regular juice.

Orange juice and eczema

However, while 100% orange juice may be great for her immune system and vitamin C, it proved to be worse than most drinks for her atopic dermatitis. The flare-up that followed her orange juice was so instantaneous it was unquestionable. Although disappointed that she was unable to partake in such a delightful breakfast drink, I was glad that we had discovered this trigger to add to the list and eliminate it.

Lemonade and eczema

Homemade lemonade also proved to be a problematic drink for her atopic dermatitis. She had a flare-up rather shortly after drinking it. The flare-up lasted a couple of days before beginning to become less inflamed.

Other triggers

Drinks with a lot of sugar also cause my daughter struggle and strife with her atopic dermatitis as well. Even milk will cause her irritation so we try to give her as much water as possible to help her skin and body health.