My decision to train as a nutritionist was largely as a result of my own experience of food allergy and attempting to relieve the suffering caused by eczema. My eldest daughter suffered terribly with eczema as a toddler. One of her earliest words was ‘itchy’ and she also had regular sickness. We tried everything, desperate to relieve the itch. I’ve lost count of the number of times her distress brought me to tears, the holidays when her eczema flared so badly that we found ourselves Googling flights home in the middle of the night, the money we spent on “wonder” products that might help. I once bought a set of silk pyjamas because I read that it would relieve the night-time itching. There was very little support, I lost count of the number of times I was told, "she will grow out of it" and my concerns raised about a link with food were dismissed.

I had a feeling that what she was experiencing was related to her diet but had no knowledge to back this up. Finally at the age of 3, she was diagnosed with an IgE allergy to egg and nuts and an intolerance to dairy. The allergy diagnosis had an immediate impact on the regular sickness but eczema is more complicated. I wanted to understand more about eczema's potential link with diet and not just accept that there was nothing more we could do but use a cycle of steroid creams and piriton.

My nutrition experience & training has given me a much greater appreciation of health and the complexity of the human body. Diet and our environment are critical factors to be considered in health management, yet in relation to skin health the primary focus is often only on what can be put onto the skin to resolve the immediate symptom or complaint.  Consideration of both, has huge potential to be truly transformational.

As for my daughter, now 13, having reviewed food allergy & sensitivities, conducted an elimination diet, worked to support gut health, we are back in control and manage eczema flare ups with considered approaches rather than desperate measures.