Chicken Skin

For more than six weeks my two-year-old has had a rash covering his trunk and scattered on his extremities. It doesn't bother him. No itching. No hurting. But every time the little guy seems to be improving, his goosebumps flare up once again. Keep in mind, there have been zero complains from him so it has been easy to pass it off to deal with later. The other day, our nanny (who is studying homeopathy on the side), told me she identified his condition as keratosis pilaris, or chicken skin disease. But why? The condition is genetic. But I have never had this issue, or had I?
Upon further research, it seemed this condition could be brought on by a lack of Vitamin A and Zinc, or more specifically, a malabsorption of these nutrients. Since this child is a phenomenal eater, and consumes plenty of carrots, mangoes and sweet potatoes, there must be more to it. What would cause him to not absorb these nutrients properly? A food intolerance.
I'm not sure why it didn't dawn on me before, but during a recent visit outside the country he was on a yogurt kick. Since we could not find any coconut or even soy yogurt where we were, I allowed him to eat regular yogurt during the three weeks we were gone. Since I have been dairy-free for quite some time, I was hesitant to give the little guy any milk products, but my husband felt I was being over protective. Just because I have food intolerances does not necessarily mean that he will too.

Toward the end of our extended visit, I noticed the little one was starting to get very dry skin. At the time I was chalking it up to different water or extra sun exposure. Since this condition was not bothering him, and knowing that the majority of skin irritations in children will go away on their own, I let the dry skin ride out with just extra daily applications of Calendula Cream. 

Since we've been home for a while now, why hasn't this gone away? As I mentioned in a previous post, not everyone in my house is as cautious with irritant containing foods. I, too, can be lax at times when it comes to some of the snacks my two-year-old eats, since he has never shown any signs of intolerance before.

So, now, I will clear out the pantries of wheat-ridden foods, and make sure no dairy treats find their way into the house again.