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Children with skin allergies may be allergic to oat proteins commonly found in skin products, study findings suggest.
Of 302 children seen at a paediatric dermatology unit in Bordeaux, France, nearly one-third had a positive skin reaction to oats, reported Dr Franck Boralevi, at the Hopital Pelligrin-Enfants, and colleagues.
The researchers used skin-patch tests and skin-prick tests to determine the sensitivity to oat proteins among children, aged 4 months to 15 years, with eczema. Also referred to as atopic dermatitis, eczema is a chronic skin disorder that causes scaly and itchy rashes.
Overall, 32.5 per cent of the children were sensitive to oats, study investigators report in the medical journal Allergy. Skin-patch tests showed oat sensitivity among 14.6 per cent, while skin prick-tests identified oat sensitivity among 19.2 per cent of those tested.
Hospital-based oral food challenges, completed by 32 of the 98 children who tested positive for oat sensitivity, further identified 16 per cent with sensitivity to oat meal.
Of the children who were tested for oat protein allergy by repeatedly applying oat cream to a skin area previously unaffected by atopic dermatitis, 28 per cent developed eczema or other skin eruptions.
The researchers suspect repeated application of oat-containing skin products is associated with oat sensitisation in the study population. They suggest oat-containing skin products be avoided in children younger than 2.
- Reuters
