My name is Deborah Mason. I live in Hampshire, UK, with my two daughters Sophie who is 10 and Alice who is 8. Talkallergy was created by me.

I suffer with mild eczema, and Alice suffers with eczema and several allergies. Today (18/2/03) it was confirmed that she is also suffering with asthma!

At 5 months old Alice developed severe atopic eczema following a short spell in hospital for suspected meningitis. Fortunately it was only a very bad viral infection, but the drip used to hydrate her contained an antibiotic which I feel was responsible for triggering her eczema. Alice has subsequently developed several allergies, primarily to certain fish and eggs, and has a severe reaction if she has any form of penicillin.

Alice has recently had RAST blood tests to establish whether or not she still has food allergies. The results came back with a low positive to eggs and pink fish but she was given the all clear to eat nuts, shellfish and white fish. We now have a hospital date for 10 December 2003 for Alice to have Challenge Testing. I will report back once these have been done.

I started talkeczema 3 years ago because Iwanted to talk to others who were experiencing some of the things I was experiencing. It has mushroomed into an internationally visited web site and is quite unique in the way it brings people together.

I realise that there are also many allergy sufferers who will no doubt benefit from becoming part of this on-line community helping to support each other.

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Last Update: 26 June 2006