Skin Injury May Cause Food Allergy

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There’s a surprising connection between our skin and our guts, particularly regarding food allergies.

Doctors have long known that children with persistent skin conditions like eczema are more likely to develop allergies. While only about 8% of children in the US have food allergies, that figure rises to 30% for kids with eczema. In fact, as part of the atopic march, eczema often presents before food allergies do.

A new study from researchers at Yale School of Medicine, published the journal Science Immunology, provides a possible explanation for this link, at least in mice. The scientists found that when the skin is damaged, it can create conditions conducive to the development of food allergies.

They induced various types of skin injuries in mice, such as lacerations and UV light damage, then introduced a new food protein into the mice’s digestive system via a feeding tube. The crucial aspect was that the food needed to be novel, something the mice hadn’t previously consumed. If the food was administered within a few hours of the skin injury, the mice developed an allergy to it. However, if the food was given later, even as soon as a day later, no allergy developed.

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This suggests the immune system might be making a connection between the skin injury and the new food. It’s a shift in thinking: allergic reactions might not start in just one place, like the gut. Instead, the skin and gut might be communicating to each other through the immune system.

Doctors Anna Eisenstein and Andrew Wang, who led the study, both had young children at the time they initiated the study.

Said Dr Wang:

Anna and I had chatted about this concept and agreed that, generally, our kids didn’t like to smear food on inflamed and damaged skin because it hurts. So the three of us wondered if there were other ways that the immune system could ‘remember’ something you ate as being dangerous, a possibility which people may have overlooked.

Normally, the gut tolerates various substances, such as food and beneficial bacteria, so it’s puzzling that food allergies occur at all. However, if the immune system is activated elsewhere, such as on the skin, this might clarify why it reacts negatively to something that was consumed.

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The study showed that various types of skin damage (cuts, burns, etc.) could lead to an allergy if a new food is consumed shortly afterward. Merely being around the food wasn’t sufficient — only mice that actually ingested the food developed the allergy. The researchers also discovered that certain immune system chemicals, known as cytokines, played a significant role in triggering the reaction. They believe immune cells might be acting as messengers between the skin and gut, but are still working to determine which ones.

Even though this research was conducted in mice, it serves as a valuable reminder of the importance of taking skin health seriously. Skin issues like eczema have also been linked to other health problems, such as inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, and even heart disease in individuals with psoriasis.

Said Dr Einstein:

As a dermatologist, to me these findings really highlight the importance of treating inflammation on the skin. Treating skin disease is more than just treating what you see, but also the inflammation within and the potential for other systemic diseases.

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Dave Bloom
Dave Bloom
Dave Bloom is CEO and "Blogger in Chief" of SnackSafely.com.

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