Probiotics for Baby Eczema?
Most parents don’t realize how often baby eczema is triggered by food allergies – indeed, how often it is the first sign of food allergies. In one study, about 40 percent of babies with eczema had proven food allergies.1 And the more impressive the rash appears, the more likely there is a food allergy involved. For the third of babies with the worst eczema, more than 96 percent have a proven food allergy connection.2
Babies with eczema often have different ratios of beneficial bacteria in their guts, compared with other healthy babies; perhaps these bacteria are part of the allergy-eczema link. In an April 2005 study, researchers investigated whether giving babies probiotics (beneficial bacteria) could improve their eczema. There were 230 babies in the study, ranging in age from 6 weeks to just under one year old. All of the babies in the study were suspected of having a cow’s milk allergy. All of the babies were switched to cow’s-milk-free diets (and their nursing moms to cow’s-milk-free diets). All of the babies were treated with topical medicines. Some of the babies also received daily supplements of probiotics; the rest received placebo capsules. The people evaluating the babies. symptoms didn’t know which babies belonged to which group.
The results of the study were published in the April 2005 Allergy.3 All of the babies in the study improved, by an average of 65 percent. But those babies with either a positive skin test or blood test for food allergy enjoyed a 32 percent greater improvement if they got the probiotic Lactobacillus GG (LGG) supplement than if they got the placebo capsules. More research is needed to clarify the role of LGG, and of probiotics in general, in the treatment of eczema in babies and in older children, but this study suggests that the use of probiotics is promising. I’m especially pleased to see positive results for this gentle treatment shortly after the FDA issued its strong warning against the use of some of the harsh topical creams and ointments in children under age two.
Alan Greene, MD, FAAP
1 J Allergy Clin Immunol 1999;104: S114-122 2 Arch Dermatol 1992;128: 187-192 3 Allergy 2005; 60:494-500 (Probiotics in the treatment of atopic eczema/dermatitis syndrome in infants: a double-blind placebo-controlled trial). Note, this study received funding from Valio, Limited, which is owned by 27 dairy cooperatives. They process over 80 percent of the milk in Finland. They also developed and patented the Lactobacillus GG probiotic.
| June 16th, 2005 at 6:43 am
Dr. Greene,
I am so excited about the theraputic possibility of probiotics, as my 8-month-old daughter is suffering from really bad eczema.
I am considering having her on probiotics, and did some research on Lactobacillus GG. However, I found out that the only brand of Lactobacillus GG on the market, Culturelle, contains a small quantity of milk by-product, and unfortunatily my daughter is allergic to milk protein.
Do you think there are other strains of Lactobacillus that I should try that can be helpful?
| July 6th, 2005 at 6:28 am
I, too, would like to find a Lactobacillus GG that does not have cow’s milk (or soy milk) for my 4 month old who has eczema. Can you make any recommendations?
| February 10th, 2006 at 3:18 am
Of course it makes sense to us to minimize chemical preservatives and bleaches in what we give our children to eat and drink, and instead to give them a healthy variety of fresh whole foods.
| March 22nd, 2006 at 12:36 pm
Dr. Greene,
Are there any current recommendations for supplementing infants and toddlers <2yrs of age with L. Bacillis GG?
Thanks~
Laura
| March 30th, 2006 at 3:08 am
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| May 19th, 2006 at 12:42 pm
Oh thank you so much for writing the information on food allergies being a trigger for eczema!
My son had severe eczema from the time he was 5 weeks old. It covered his whole body, was oozing and made him so uncomfortable. After many trips to the Dr’s office, I was finally given a referral to a dermatologist when he was 5 months old. However it wasn’t until he had an anaphylactic reaction to cheese that we began to understand that the two were connected.
As we identified the things that he was allergic to (8 different diagnosed food allergies)and eliminated them from his diet and my diet (as I was still breastfeeding)his eczema cleared up so nicely without the use of the steroid creams and oral steroids.
In my research on eczema I did not come across anything that suggested a link between these two things or I might have explored the possibilities of FA’s much earlier.
Now whenever I hear of a baby that has eczema I try to make the parents aware that food allergies could be a cause and to think about keeping a food journal to determine if it is related to any food. I just wish that I had had this same information when I was going through it. I’m sure it would have made a huge difference in his comfort and given us a chance to avoid the ambulance trips to the hospital.
Thank you again for putting this out there. I think its so important for parents to understand!
Kristen
| May 28th, 2006 at 6:54 pm
I wish I had known about the link of exzema and food allergy also—maybe I could have changed my diet while breast feeding and could have prevented my son, now 15 monthes, showing up with egg and peanute allergies.
But to be proactive now, is there any follow up/update from the information from this article written a year ago? Thanks!
| October 26th, 2006 at 2:13 pm
need to know which is a good probiotic lactobacillus that does not contain milk or soya or wheat as my 2 year toddler is allergic to the same and many other foods
please help … also is there any cure for him with respect to his milk allergy if he touches anything which came into contact with milk be it dried up milk on a table, or on slide etc etc he starts get blotchy and very itchy
please help
| November 6th, 2006 at 11:34 am
Can I give a 18 month old the probotic that contains a trace of milk even though he tested posistive for milk- thinking that the minute amount of milk in the powdered probotic is very small—? Just a thought- I assume I cannot but before I throw it out it cost me 25 $ - Thought I’d double check-
| November 29th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
thank you so much!!! i have beeen battling my toddlers eczema and just recently talking to my aunt, i have come th the conclusion that it could be an allergy.possibly milk, because it started when i weened her at 12months and began giving her milk. it has just recently gotten worse. i think due to chocolate and halloween. it now covers 90% of her body. only her hands and feet remain clear. the stuff from the dermo. doesn’t work unless i apply it constantly. i tried bag balm, aquaphor you name it i tried it and now i’ll take her to an allergist to make sure, although in the meen time i have removed all dairy from her diet!
| February 11th, 2007 at 5:36 pm
My son has multiple food allergies and has benefited greatly from probiotics at a young age. To the commenters that need a dairy free (and other allergen free) probiotic, we use Kirkman Labs (google them, not sure if i can post a link). They are cultured on inulin (aka chicory) and contain none of the top 8 allergens.
In our situation, we have found other strains of probiotics to be helpful. But we also monitor our son’s diet closely and carefully for allergens that trigger eczema.
| April 30th, 2007 at 9:56 am
Thanks Dr. Greene for your informative article. I have a 3 month old who has been suffering with eczema for a the past 2 months. I recently brought him to the dermatologist and he has found relief with topical steroid. I would like to read the study you have referred to and feel there is great promise in using a probiotic. I was subjected to many doses of antibiotic while pregnant and feel this link is plausible. I will write with the progress. I am also following a dairy-free diet while nursing.
| August 17th, 2007 at 8:20 am
How refreshing to find a doctor that actually believes that food allergies can cause infant eczema and gives such good advice.So many doctors deny the possibility and think it odd if you suggest it.
| July 24th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Thankfully, this year there is a new milk-free, soy-free probiotic drink called GoodBelly, in addition to the dairy-free supplements suggested above and others like them.
| October 24th, 2008 at 9:23 am
Dr. Green, Can we give GoodBelly probiotic drinks to 7 month old baby? He is on streriods from last 5 months, right now on desonite…if i dont appy steriods creame on him…he will flare up everywhere. He is only on Necate, no solids at all. He is allergic to eveything…like milk, wheat, soy, corn, egg, etc. not rice. 3 months agai his IGE level was 657. Do you think probiotics witll help him?
| November 14th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
My baby is 7 months old and had a bad eczema flareup… while talking to the doc, she suggested that we supplement her with some formula and so we did the allergy test.. It came out that she is allergic to 5 of the top 8 allergens and alos to a whole lot of other food items. I am just waiting for an appointment with the allergy specialist to see what i can give her going forward. My doc also referred me to the dermo and please take it from me they only try to give you stronger steroid ointments…. i was told to apply desonide, wocart and protopic…. My insticts told me that she could be allergic to food and so many flareups even with so much care…. but i couldnt really tell which item she was allergic to…. If the child has eczema pl pl get food allergy test done as soon as possible…. elimination of food allergens sure helps in controlling the eczema….
| January 10th, 2009 at 2:39 am
Dr. Greene, i have a 7 month old baby who had a congenital diaphragmatic hernia, her entire intestine was in her chest, after getting her 3 month vaccinations, she developed SEVERE allergies,milk, soy, barley, rice, rye,beef, chicken, turkey, pork. We found out after this when hospitalized for inability to breathe. She had the surgery at 5 months it was successful. We think her allergies should be less now but are waiting to expose her to these allergens until she has the allergy testing again. Is there a probiotic that she can take? Can she drink the Goodbelly drink mentioned by others? I appreciate any help or direction as my pediatrician is ignorant of probiotics.
Thank you,
Mia Vajdos
| February 14th, 2009 at 9:56 am
It is time that the vaccine manufacturers be subject to full disclosure of vaccine ingredients. The food industry fought this a number of years ago. Vaccine manufacturers are still permitted to have secret ingredients protected by trade law. My concern is that because we do not know all the ingredients in the vaccines, they cannot be sufficiently studied and may be the direct cause for many food allergies due to trace amounts of food protein being present from the culture medium and vegetable and animal oils used in the vaccine adjuvant.
| February 17th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
Mia, GoodBelly comes in versions with and without a multivitamin included. While kids are still getting most of their nutrition from breast milk or formula, I prefer not adding an multivitamin. Otherwise, up to 4 ounces of GoodBelly could be fine at that age.
Barb, I quite agree that all ingredients in vaccines and other childhood medicines should be disclosed (also cleaning products, but that’s another story). It’s important both for advancing science and for parents making choices in the meantime.
| May 7th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Dear Dr. Greene,
My 4.5 month old daughter has suffered with eczema since she was 3 weeks old. She was bf for 3 months and later supplemented with cows milk formula and always continued to have flare ups. I stopped bf to see if it was something in my diet that was causing her to flare up and the eczema only got worse so I switched to organic soy which seemed to work instantly until a week later the flare ups came back. Could she be allergic to cows milk and soy?? I started added 1/2 tsp of probiotics to her bottle 3x a day hoping that this might work. Do you think I should change her formula again. If so, any suggestions???
| May 10th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Thank you for acknowledging the link between eczema and food allergies! Sometime around 9-10 months old my daughter began getting eczema on her arms. By 12 months I suspected it was a food allergy so did an elimination diet, which revealed that eggs, corn, and citrus fruits all caused breakouts. Eggs caused reaction within hours while corn took about a week. Eliminating those foods eliminated the eczema. I kept trying the foods once a year and thankfully around her 4th birthday she had outgrown the allergies and did not break out again. Interestingly, at age 3 she tested negative to all skin prick tests although she clearly reacted when fed those items.
Baby #2 had no issues - what a relief!
Now baby #3 has eczema on the sides of his face but he is just 3 months old and only breastfeeding. I have already figured out that he spits up a lot when I eat dairy, so yesterday I decided to start avoiding dairy, eggs, and a couple other things while breastfeeding. The odd thing is that I noticed the eczema around the time I began taking acidophilus probiotic capsules for thrush (my chest, not evident in the baby) so I decided to stop taking them too, although this article makes me wonder whether I should keep taking them. Anyway I guess time will tell whether modifying my diet helps the eczema. I am very hopeful.
| May 23rd, 2009 at 3:18 pm
Miriam,
There is an overlap between kids who are allergic to cow’s milk and to soy. Most are only allergic to one of the two, but perhaps 20 to 35 percent of those allergic to milk will also be allergic soy (different studies find slightly different amounts, but the overlap is there). Sometimes switching to a more hydrolyzed formula such as Alimentum or Nutramigen, which have only tiny traces of milk protein, will help. If they don’t work, Neocate, which has none, usually will.
Kristina, thanks for your comment! I’m glad you pointed out the allergy testing, while it gives valuable information, does not always detect real allergies.
You (and Miriam) might also be interested in my update on Vitamin D and eczema. (http://blogs.drgreene.com/blog/2008/04/11/vitamin-d-asthma-and-eczema/#comment-8551) I’ve seen many babies, both breast and formula-fed, whose eczema has improved with an extra 400 IU a day of vitamin D.
| November 20th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
Hi, my fourth child is 6 weeks old and has mild excema on his cheeks, neck, chin and scalp and now on his knee. My question is while breastfeeding exclusively use probiotics and it help my son? Or is there any other vitamins or supplements I should take? Long question I know and by the way I am taking prenantal vitamins and prenantal DHA. Thanks