Children with skin allergies may be allergic to the oat proteins commonly found in skin care products. Of about 300 children with eczema seen at a pediatric dermatology unit in France, nearly a third had a skin reaction to oats.
Eczema, also known as atopic dermatitis, is a chronic skin disorder that causes scaly and itchy rashes.
None of the parents had suspected an oat allergy in their child, and previous clinical examinations had not identified the allergies. Twenty-eight percent of children who were tested for the allergy by the application of oat cream to the skin developed eczema or other skin eruptions on the tested area.
75 percent of the children had been previously treated with oat-containing emollients.
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