Many people with food allergies also suffer from atopic dermatitis (eczema), allergic rhinitis (hayfever), and asthma, a progression of disease known as the atopic march.
Research published in the journal Clinical and Experimental Allergy warns individuals with inflammatory skin conditions (e.g. eczema, seborrhea, psoriasis) to avoid using skincare products that contain food ingredients such as goat’s milk as they may cause sensitization resulting in food allergies.
The study reports on seven patients with inflammatory skin conditions who experienced anaphylaxis — a life-threatening allergic reaction — after ingesting goat’s milk or cheese products. All had a history of using skin products containing goat’s milk to treat their inflammatory skin conditions prior to the onset of their allergic reaction.
The authors state:
Sensitization through inflamed skin has been recognized as a significant risk factor for the development of clinical allergy, with evidence for a causal relationship between atopic dermatitis and the development of food allergy. The most comprehensively studied association has been the connection between atopic dermatitis and development of peanut allergy in children, with two foundational studies demonstrating an association between peanut allergic children with atopic dermatitis and topical peanut exposure.
They go on to summarize:
Marketing of skin products derived from goat’s milk is extensive and targeted to patients with ‘sensitive skin’ who commonly have underlying inflammatory skin conditions. Our findings provide novel evidence of the origins of adult-onset milk allergy and adds to the growing body of evidence that use of foodstuffs as therapy for inflammatory skin conditions can lead to the development of new food allergies.
- Could goat’s milk and other food-containing skin products be dangerous for patients with inflammatory skin conditions? — Clinical & Experimental Allergy
- Goat milk skin products may cause the development of goat milk allergy — Clinical & Experimental Allergy
