Eczema, Allergies and Diet

I have never really struggled with eczema until this past year.  This winter my hands started to show signs of eczema.  They were dry, itch and red.  It really came on around Christmas so I kind of thought it might be related to an increase in chocolate (as it is my weakness) as well as the dry weather.

 This is my hand on a "not so bad day," unfortunately I didn't get a photo of flare-up

 It wasn't until we recently took our oldest daughter to the naturopath and mentioned her dry hands that she told us, dry skin on hands is often related to eggs but of course could be another food. Of course... why didn't I think of this?  I know dairy often causes eczema but I forgot about eggs. Needless to say, for the last three weeks I have been very strict with eggs at home.  Our oldest has had a huge improvement on her skin and so have I.

Eczema is typically a reaction to a food allergy or intolerance.  The main food culprits are eggs, citrus, dairy and corn, however there are others.  We don't have a lot of dairy or corn at home and I know egg whites are on some of our food intolerance lists, so why I didn't put this together? I don't know.  You live and learn I guess.  So I am sharing my experience with you.  Eczema is not fun, it can be hard to get rid of but instead of using topical creams etc. consider looking into your diet perhaps you are eating something your body does not tolerate well.