Eczema and Asthma

[Elisabeth Kable]

I’m looking for some ideas to help with my son’s eczema and possible asthma. A brief history:
DS was born at home, no antibiotics or drugs
I received antibiotics when he was 3 mo, 6 mo, and 7 mo for mastitis
Eczema started about 6.5 mo, came on very gradually on cheeks, later moving to arms, hands, torso.
The eczema moves in cycles almost clearing entirely than flaring again.
I had 4-5 amalgam filling put in when he was 4 mo.
DS has not received any vaccines

Started solids about 6-7 months with fruit/vegetables but he soon became mobile and found lots of mixed ingredient foods, now he’s almost exclusively breastfed with some meat, veggies, fruits, bone broths.

Started elimination diet 2 months ago and have been dairy and gluten free since, he seems to be sensitive to dairy and we’re working on becoming a dairy free home (we’ve had trouble with slip ups with him finding leftovers) . We’ve tried elimatinating other foods but I’ve struggled to find any correlation with food journaling other than dairy.

Spring time, he began wheezing, we thought he was just playing with his voice, but it continued
Now it’s becoming a little more prominent and noticeable, but he’s never had an attack, never been in a situation where’s he’s struggled to breathe. I’ve never been overly concerned about it, still it seems like an early sign of asthma.

Went to allergist two days ago and had some skin prick testing done, the only thing postitive was ragweed. Allergist prescribed zyrtec daily, pulmicort daily in nebulizer and albuterol for any episodes. We’ve also been seeing a classical homeopath who is wonderful and helped my daughter with her skin conditions. DS seems to respond to the remedy but we’re still working on finding the right dosage. With the wheezing now, we are going to go a little higher. I’m very torn on what to do for the asthma. This is so new to me I haven’t had time to learn and research. I really don’t want ds to have an attack and end up in the er with possible lung damage, but I also don’t want to compromise his immune system. I’d really like to try to let the homeopathy work (the pulmicort would interfere with the remedy) but am nervous with cold season approaching. How important is it to use the pulmicort or is it possible to rely on the albuterol for any attack that could potentially happen?

We’re slowly trying some gut healing things like water kefir, sauerkraut juice, homemade fermented veggies, Epsom salt baths, bone broths. I’m also hoping to order some fermented clo soon. I’m really just looking for any ideas/information out there on all this. Thanks much for reading.

[Shannon]

Did the appearance of the eczema correlate with him starting solids?

The thing I always seem to think of first with asthma is a problem with sulfoxidation and so likely a molybdenum (Mo) deficiency. You can google sulfites and asthma for more on the connection, and then know that Mo is needed for the enzyme, sulfite oxidase, which is responsible for converting sulfites (toxic) into sulfate (a detox pathway). Sulfates are then used to detox salicylates, which are another common trigger of both eczema and asthma, and are naturally occurring in fruits and vegetables.

Then if that doesn't pan out, the next angle to look at would be methylation (folate and b12). Especially If you or he fails the beet test.

[Elisabeth Kable]

The eczema did start shortly after starting solids. I've spent many weeks food journaling and doing detective work and have had a very hard time coming up with anything. It could be salicylates, which would explain why i'm having a difficult time finding a culprit(s). I think I'll start watching the salicylates and maybe supplementing with the molybenum? Does it work to take the supplement or is it better to get food sources for molybdenum?

Also wanted to add, ds is on the pulmecort for now for the asthma, until we're comfortable not having him on it. His eczema is actually starting to look very good, I really think a lot of it is from adding the sauerkraut and fermented foods, I've noticed my digestion is improving and his rash isn't flaring every week!!

[Shannon]

Hooray for progress and fermented foods!

Mo is absorbed in a dose dependent manner, but it's also excreted in a dose dependent manner. The best food sources are nitrogen fixing plants (lentils, pulses, etc) and presumably, certain organ meats like liver (and kidney?). It's pretty safe, even in high doses. Putting all that together, I think I'd do a fairly high loading dose at first, then long term low dose supplementation, or work hard on the food sources. I was able to get symptoms (new small patch of eczema and red cheeks/sal sensitivity in dd, likely asthma diagnosis in dh, adrenal symptoms/sal sensitivity in me) to disappear with just a day or two of supplementing (it does NOT increase in milk, so your ds will need to get some directly), but it was a brand new deficiency for us so we didn't have any backlog to work through.