Ever since delivering my daughter more than two years ago, I have battled with on-and-off eczema on my hands--it has come and gone at seemingly random times, but has been a fairly steady presence in my life, and I have been unable to pin down exactly what might be causing it. This latest flare-up was an especially bad and prolonged one--and when my skin got so raw in August that I could barely function, I made an appointment with my dermatologist, who prescribed me a steroid cream to control the current breakout and ordered a patch test to determine whether my condition was being triggered by some sort of substance with which I was coming into contact. My doctor suggested that perhaps I was allergic to a chemical used in baby wipes--which made sense, considering that this was a condition I developed only after my daughter came into the world, and it was limited mainly to my hands.
And, lo and behold, the patch test revealed that I did indeed register a mild reaction to isothiazolinone, a chemical compound used in many household, personal care, and beauty products--including the brand of baby wipes we had been using for some time, as well as the "gentle" and "natural" hand soap in our dispensers throughout the house. I also found several other products with the offending ingredient in my mix of toiletries, so I did a clean sweep of our home, replacing our hand and dish soap with diluted, unscented castile soap, and swapping our current set of baby wipes with a new brand that didn't include any variant of isothiazolinone. My husband even threw out his shampoo, conditioner, and hair gel without hesitation when he learned that they also included the trigger chemical.
For a week or two thereafter, my skin began to quickly heal, and my itching subsided. I wondered why I hadn't scheduled this patch test sooner, and I was relieved to have finally found an answer to this previously unsolved mystery . . . until my hands broke out again, about a week ago, along with the fronts of my elbows, my chests, and my underarms. The blisters and itching were as bad as ever--and with the problem more widespread than before, I began having trouble sleeping, waking up scratching myself multiple times in the middle of the night, never feeling like I could rest quite fully. Taking an over-the-counter allergy medication before bed has helped a little bit, but it makes me feel extra groggy in the morning. Clearly, avoiding isothiazolinone was not the miracle answer I had been hoping for.
So, I did a bit of research, and, apparently, there is some evidence that eczema can be triggered by food allergies or sensitivities--often by dairy, eggs, or wheat--and my nagging suspicion that my woes are in part a reaction to something I'm ingesting came strongly to the surface. In addition to my skin problems, I've been feeling especially groggy, foggy-headed, and exhausted for the past week (partly because of my inability to sleep through the night)--but, if I'm being honest, I have generally felt this way for quite some time now. I've brushed off these things as the consequence of balancing new motherhood with a demanding and often stressful workload (not to mention the demands of [barely] keeping up with household chores)--but my reading has revealed that these symptoms also can be linked to food sensitivities. So, perhaps there is more at work here than deadlines and an active, needy toddler.
After a great deal of thought over the past few days, I've decided to put my suspicions to the test by undertaking a strict elimination diet to determine whether I truly have developed some sort of food sensitivity or allergy. Starting tomorrow, I will avoid a certain set of foods for four weeks, to see whether cleaning out my diet relieves the symptoms I'm currently experiencing. If that is the case, I will then reintroduce each food, one at a time, to observe whether it causes any sort of reaction on my skin or within my body.
I am a bit nervous and sad about having reached this point, where I feel compelled to take such drastic measures--but I am also determined to find out what is wrong with me, and hopeful that this exercise will reveal something once and for all that can shed light on how I can avoid what I've had to endure for more than two years now.
At the very least, I know that eating clean will help direct me onto a healthier path, which is something that is also tremendously needed in my life. As of today, I am at the heaviest I've ever been, having gained a substantial amount of weight during my pregnancy--and then putting on an additional ten pounds since giving birth. In addition to all the obvious self-image issues that come with carrying so much extra weight, I have to admit that it is becoming increasingly difficult to have my daughter sit on my lap--something which causes me great shame, disappointment, and sadness. I am in desperate need of a change. I know that this elimination diet will not be easy, but I am firmly committed to seeing myself through it, no matter what temptations (or holidays) crop up in the months ahead. Nothing is more important than becoming healthier for my daughter's sake, for my husband's sake, for my family and friends' sake, and for my own sake. I am determined to stick to my plan and put my health first--if I can get through this, there will be lots of time for splurges later. The present is now all about recapturing my health and vitality.
My goal is to use this blog to chronicle my journey--and to capture the physical, emotional, and spiritual changes I might undergo as I move forward. I am not sure what might lie in store for me, but I am eager to discover what the future holds. Tonight I go to bed with a bloated belly and a weary spirit--but with an ever-hopeful faith that I will find healing and perhaps also rediscover myself at some point along the way. Tomorrow is a new day, in many ways.
Note: The following is a list of the foods I will be consuming and avoiding for the next four weeks.
| Foods to include | Foods to exclude | |
| Fruits | Almost all fresh fruit | Bananas Citrus fruits (e.g., grapefruit, lemon, lime, orange) Grapes Kiwi Strawberries |
| Vegetables | Almost all raw, steamed, sautéed, or roasted vegetables | Eggplant Okra Peppers of all kinds (except black pepper) Potatoes (except sweet potatoes and yams) Tomatillos Tomatoes |
| Starch | Buckwheat Rice | Barley Corn Gluten-containing products Kamut Oats Rye Spelt Wheat |
| Legumes | None | Beans Lentils Peas Soybeans Soy milk Tempeh Tofu |
| Nuts and seeds | None | All nuts All seeds Nut milks (e.g., almond milk) |
| Animal proteins | Fish (except shellfish or raw
fish) Lamb Turkey Wild game | Bacon Beef Canned meat Chicken Cold cuts Eggs Hot dogs Meat substitutes made from soy Pork Raw fish Sausage Shellfish |
| Dairy products | Unsweetened coconut milk Unsweetened rice milk | Butter Cheese Cottage cheese Cream Ice cream Milk Nondairy creamers Sour cream Yogurt |
| Fats | Olive oil (extra virgin) Coconut oil (cold-pressed, extra virgin, unrefined) | Butter Cooking spray Margarine Mayonnaise Processed and hydrogenated oils Spreads |
| Beverages | Herbal teas Water | Alcohol Caffeine (black tea, coffee, green tea, soda) |
| Spices, condiments, and baking products | Black pepper Herbs and spices (e.g., cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, oregano, parsley, rosemary, thyme, turmeric) Kosher salt | Barbecue
sauce Cayenne pepper and other dried peppers (except black pepper) Chocolate Chutney Cornstarch Ketchup Mustard Paprika Relish Soy sauce Vinegar |
| Sweeteners | None | Brown sugar Corn syrup High fructose corn syrup Honey Maple syrup White sugar |
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