In response to Mark's kind words:
>
> Jessica
>
> Hi. My family members are veterans with this. I am allergic to dairy,
soy,
> melon, and safflower. My son is anaphylactically allergic to dairy, eggs,
> and all nuts, and also has some "lesser" food allergies. It took us years
> to find a "clear" diet and environment for Josh - one where he was
> relatively free of severe, whole-body eczema, and also free from
> food-induced allergy and asthma.

This brings up a question for me: is it possible to have eczema that
"cycles"?  My oldest son Chris has had periods of eczema on his body and
scalp (so bad you could see it under his thick blond hair), and then it
dissapears.  Although he always has dry skin, it does not show up in
patches like eczema does half the time.  I am just now suspectng he is also
allergic to dairy due to his chronic constipation, but I wonder if the
eczema is caused by something else?  I have heard that the allergy can
cause a type of build up in the system that will eventually show up as
eczema.  Does anyone know if this is true?  My husband also has eczema that
cycles.



Your search will be difficult indeed, but
> well worth the effort. Consider yourselves blessed that you have one of
the
> rare allergists who truly believes in "the gold standard". It is indeed
the
> only reliable test, since the other options are approximate at best, and
> rarely do well at predicting other than immediate hypersensitivity
> reactions.

I have been considering seeing the allergist again to have a skin test and
blood tests done on my oldest son, and a blood test done with my youngest.
I am really frightened of trying to induce severe reactions  with certain
foods (like peanuts, eggs and fish) and hope that these tests can answer
these questions for us.  I know false positives are common, but I am
willing to take that chance.  I just don't know how else to test each and
every food.  I will still be doing the rotation diet on many foods we are
suspicious of.  This whole thing is becoming a little overwhelming!

> Good luck, and feel free to write back. I've written a lot about what we
> did for Josh, and would be glad to share it with you.

Thanks, Mark. I woud be very interested in hearing your stories.  I am
learning a lot from everyone on the list, and can use all the wisdom and
advice I can get! :)
Jessica