Question: If I eat a food and I get itchy within a few minutes, is that a reaction and is that food possibly an offender? Joan, thank you so much for your articles. I am in the middle of an elimination diet now for my eczema and am worried about the reintroduction phase. My eczema, which is mostly on my chin, is not yet healed (but is much better).
Dear Lauren,
Investigating your diet means lots of thinking about all the possible happenings. Following are some:
Any symptoms that happen during the 4 week diet trial time can be part of withdrawal. Remember that with eczema it takes 4 weeks with minimal suspect foods to see the new skin come through.
If when eating you get any of the food juices on your face around your mouth you can get a quick reaction. It can happen easily with pear as it is so juicy. This is the most likely explanation in small children.
If your temperature rises to a particular point critical for you, while eating, for any reason at all, your skin will get itchy.
If you do react via the usual method [having the food chemical or allergen go into your gut, be absorbed but not metabolized at the usual rate in your blood and skin so you have an eczema reaction] then having that happen within a few minutes would be VERY USEFUL but also very unlikely.
The other possibility is that your elimination diet is not exactly right for you. You may not be excluding some food that does contain suspect chemicals, such as apples, olive oil, or mint toothpaste. Have you included the Family Sensitivity History factors and how to incorporate them, using my book from this site Are You Food Sensitive? It also reminds you of all the environmental factors to consider giving you the Total Body Load concept which is very helpful. You may have used a different face cream, or been near a plant you react to. I presume you have also read the article on Eczema among all the useful information in the Articles section. See https://foodintolerancepro.com/category/eczema/eczema-and-diet/ All the best with your diet detective work! Joan
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