March 23, 2004 (San Francisco) -- Is your child allergic to milk, wheat, or nuts? You may be unwittingly exposing him or her to those allergens in children's skin care products, a study shows.

"Pediatric skin care products may represent a previous unsuspected source of exposure for children with food allergies," Kelly Newhall, MD, a pediatric allergy fellow at the Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, said during a news conference.

Parents who have been told to avoid exposing their allergic children to common food allergens may not be aware that certain skin care products could also put them at risk, Newhall said.

In the study, presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology, almost one-fourth of skin care products tested contained traces of foods that many children are sensitive to, including cow's milk, wheat, and tree nuts.

Read the Label

Researchers purchased 293 lotions, creams, oils, and other children's skin care products. They reviewed whether the ingredients included any foods, herbs, or fragrances that are known to cause common food allergies.

Most products were manufactured in the U.S., although the manufacturer's country of origin was not associated with whether a children's skin care product contained a common food allergen.

The products included soaps, body washes, shampoos, creams, diaper ointments, wipes, breast creams, powders, baby oils, and miscellaneous produces, including body glitters, sunscreens, and hair detanglers.

They found that 26% of the skin care products contained a common allergenic food, such as cow's milk, soy, hydrolyzed soy, wheat, egg, or tree nut.

None of the products purchased contained either eggs or peanuts. However, two did contain peanut oil, including one product in the soap/body wash category.

In addition, the higher-priced skin care products were more likely to contain a common food allergen, especially high-priced diaper ointments and baby oils.

"Parents should read ingredient labels on the products they choose for their child," Newhall said.

"Skin care products do have food allergens, that's an area of concern,"

agreed Stanley Goldstein, MD, director of Allergy and Asthma Care of Long Island and the session moderator. "Parents need to have a discriminating eye."

SOURCE: 60th annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology, San Francisco, March 18-23, 2004, abstract 837, presented March 22, 2004.