Elemental diet in the management of severe eczema in childhood

Abstract

Summary Eight children with severe, generalized, childhood eczema, uncontrolled by standard dermatological treatment, underwent a period of dietary antigen‐avoidance, using an elemental based diet. For the group, there was statistically significant improvement in eczema during treatment with the elemental diet, and relapse of eczema followed within 6 weeks of returning to a normal diet. The results suggest dietary factors are important in childhood eczema.

Sensitization to Malassezia in children with atopic dermatitis combined with food allergy

“…Until recently, local treatment has been the main practice for alleviating the symptoms of AD. However, a number of studies have reported the beneficial effect of removing foods suspected of provoking symptoms in children with AD . In our experience, a meticulous diagnosis of food allergies and controlled elimination diets provide an important addition to local treatment.…”

Small intestinal permeability in patients with eosinophilic oesophagitis during active phase and remission

“…The physiologic contribution of the gut to the allergic diathesis is unclear, but our observations of increased small bowel permeability in active eosinophilic oesophagitis can modulate primary extraintestinal allergic diseases such as asthma17 18 and atopic dermatitis, and partly explains the improvement with dietary manipulation 28. Whether medications, such as larazotide (which promotes tight junction assembly in epithelial cells33 34) or glutamine35 (to reduce intestinal permeability) can decrease small bowel antigen permeation in eosinophilic oesophagitis remains to be studied.…”

Diet and atopic eczema in children

“…can occasionally be implicated in the late-onset diet-dependent atopic eczema (14). It is rare that only an elemental diet (15) or the TPN (as we have suggested) can be tolerated. In our experience, infants with severe atopic dermatitis while exclusively breast-fed and non-responding to the egg, milk-and gluten-free maternal diet, fall into this category.…”