Your baby has cracked oozing cheeks and rashes all over her body. She can’t sleep and is in misery. Your pediatrician calls it eczema or atopic dermatitis. Trust me. Get to an allergist.
My wife and I have been there. When our son was two months old, he had those symptoms too. We asked our pediatrician about allergy testing. He said the tests were not accurate for children under three.
He suggested the soak-and-seal method:
- Bathe in warm water every day for 15-20 minutes.
- Use a gentle cleanser without scrubbing.
- Pat the skin dry with a soft towel.
- Generously apply a quality moisturizer.
This gave some relief, but we returned two weeks later with the same symptoms. The nurse asked us if our baby had any allergies.
” Probably,” I replied.
Our pediatrician gave us the mantra:
- It’s normal.
- You’re doing nothing wrong.
- It’s very common.
- He’ll grow out of it.
We got the feeling he said that to all the parents, so we went to a dermatologist. She prescribed a series of ointments: antibacterials, immunosuppressants, and topical steroids. At best, they would work for a few days before the symptoms would return.
At worst, the black box warnings were frightening:
- Do not apply on broken skin.
- Do not use on children under two.
- May suppress the immune system.
- Possible cancer risk.
We were instructed to put that stuff on our baby’s oozing cheeks.
We asked everyone we knew. We searched all over the web. We went to a naturopath, which was confusing and mysterious.
Four months passed like this. Our son was in obvious pain and would never sleep more than an hour. My wife was a wreck.
At work, smiling people would ask me, “So how’s the baby?”
I wanted to respond, “Miserable.”
At our son’s six month check-up, the nurse asked if he had any allergies. The pediatrician gave us the mantra.
On our way home, my wife and I decided we’d had enough. No one was asking the right questions. We needed another opinion.
Two days later we saw a different pediatrician. Almost immediately, she referred us to an allergist.
After skin tests, he determined our baby had allergies to:
- Wheat
- Eggs
- Dairy
- Almonds
- Cats
- Dogs
My wife changed her diet because she was nursing. We kept the pets outside as much as possible. We vacuumed daily. Soon our son’s skin and disposition improved dramatically.
Doctors are people. Like everyone, they have biases, pet peeves, favorite tools, and ideas they distrust. As new parents, we thought doctors knew everything. Now we realize that we know our child better than anyone.
Our meals have changed a lot, but that’s another article. For our son, living without certain foods is not a big deal. My hard-working wife, however, has made the ultimate sacrifice: abstaining from pizza.
