Monthly Archives: September 2021

7 Foods to Avoid in Babies and Toddlers with Eczema – Healthline

Posted: September 10, 2021 at 5:24 am

Also known as atopic dermatitis, eczema is a common condition characterized by red, itchy, and inflamed skin.

Although eczema can affect anyone, its especially common among children. In fact, about 60% of cases develop within the first year of life (1).

Many factors can worsen eczema flare-ups, including foods.

Research shows that certain foods may trigger eczema in 2030% of cases of moderate to severe eczema. Additionally, foods are more likely to worsen symptoms in children and infants under age 5 (2).

While foods do not directly cause eczema, making dietary changes could help reduce symptoms, especially for those who have a sensitivity or allergy to specific foods (3).

In children with a confirmed food allergy, eliminating trigger foods from the diet may significantly improve symptoms of eczema within just 12 months (4).

However, keep in mind that its not necessary to avoid all the foods listed below to help manage your childs eczema.

Certain foods may worsen symptoms of eczema, especially in children and infants. However, it depends on the childs particular allergies or sensitivities, so speak with a healthcare professional to determine which foods might be best to eliminate.

Research has shown that eliminating one or more of these foods from the diet may significantly improve symptoms of eczema in some children.

Not only is a cows-milk allergy the most common food allergy in young children, but dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese are also common triggers for eczema (6).

One study in 132 children with food-triggered eczema found that 39% of children developed an immediate reaction after consuming cows milk (2).

A 2019 review reported that infants with eczema were six times more likely to have an allergy to cows milk, eggs, or peanuts at 12 months of age compared with infants without eczema (7).

Fortunately, there are several simple plant-based milks available as an alternative to cows milk, including soy milk, almond milk, and cashew milk.

However, be sure to check the ingredients lists carefully, as some of these products are high in calories and added sugar.

The term shellfish refers to any aquatic animal that has a shell-like exterior, including crabs, lobsters, oysters, mussels, and shrimp. Meanwhile, most types of fish, including salmon, trout, tuna, and tilapia, have fins and scales.

Although both fish and shellfish are highly nutritious and can be great sources of protein and omega-3 fatty acids, they can also worsen symptoms of eczema for many children.

This is because fish and shellfish allergies are common and can cause a wide range of side effects, including hives, itching, and eczema (8, 9).

While some children may be sensitive to finned fish or shellfish, others may experience reactions only to certain types, such as crustaceans (like shrimp and crab) or mollusks (like oysters and clams) (8).

A pediatrician or registered dietitian can help determine which specific types of seafood may trigger symptoms for your baby or toddler.

For those with a soy allergy, consuming soy products like soy milk, tofu, or edamame can cause an immune response, which could trigger skin reactions such as eczema (10).

Compared with allergies to other major food allergens, soy allergies are not nearly as common (11, 12).

For example, one 2013 study in 175 people with eczema found that around 30% had an immune reaction to soy. However, only about 3% of people experienced symptoms, such as hives and itching, after consuming soy (13).

If your baby or toddler has a sensitivity to soy products, keep in mind that many processed foods contain soy-based ingredients, all of which could worsen symptoms of eczema. Examples include (14):

Some babies or toddlers may have an allergy to the proteins found in egg whites or yolks, which could trigger symptoms of eczema (15).

Egg allergy is one of the most common food allergies, affecting an estimated 1.3% of children under 5 in the United States (16).

Furthermore, one study reported that infants with eczema are nearly 6 times as likely to develop an egg allergy by 12 months of age compared with those without eczema (7).

However, most egg allergies in children resolve by around age 5 (17).

Additionally, some babies and toddlers who are sensitive to eggs may be able to tolerate them in some forms, such as baked eggs (16).

Tree nuts could worsen eczema for many young children with a tree nut allergy. Examples of tree nuts include:

Tree nut allergies are very common and may affect up to 4.9% of children and adults (18).

Unfortunately, tree nut allergies can be very serious, and some research suggests that more severe reactions to tree nuts are often associated with severe cases of eczema, asthma, and seasonal allergies (19).

In addition to avoiding tree nuts specifically, your child may need to avoid foods that contain tree nuts, including pesto, nut butters, coconut products, and certain types of cereals, cookies, crackers, or candies.

Wheat is a type of cereal grain and a staple ingredient in many foods, such as bread, pasta, and baked goods.

Gluten is a specific protein found in wheat, barley, and rye that gives dough its structure and elasticity.

For those with a wheat allergy, consuming products that contain wheat may worsen eczema and could also cause other symptoms, including hives, asthma, and digestive issues (20, 21).

Eczema and skin rashes can also be caused by a sensitivity to gluten, as well as by celiac disease, an autoimmune condition that triggers an immune reaction when gluten-containing foods are consumed (22, 23, 24).

While there is no test available to diagnose non-celiac gluten sensitivity, your childs pediatrician can use a skin or blood test to help determine if your child has celiac disease or an allergy to wheat.

Peanuts are a common allergen and are associated with several skin reactions, including rashes, hives, itching, and eczema (25).

Peanut allergies are especially common among babies and toddlers, as most peanut allergies appear within the first 2 years of life (25).

Additionally, some research shows that peanut allergies are more common among infants with moderate to severe eczema (26).

If peanuts cause flare-ups of eczema for your baby or toddler, try swapping other ingredients into your favorite recipes instead, such as seeds or seed butters.

Some of the most common foods that cause allergies in infants and toddlers are dairy, fish, shellfish, soy products, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, and eggs.

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7 Foods to Avoid in Babies and Toddlers with Eczema - Healthline

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Teens eczema is so bad hes asked to be put in an ‘induced coma’ – Metro.co.uk

Posted: at 5:24 am

Barney is constantly bleeding from cuts (Picture: SWNS)

A desperate mum is trying to find a cure for her teenage sons crippling eczema.

Miranda Rae wants to help her 14-year-old son Barney who has the condition so bad that hes asked to be placed in an induced coma.

Barney says his skin constantly feels like its on fire and is so itchy that he often scratches himself until he is covered in blood.

The teen, who is due to start Year 10 this month, also finds it excruciating to wear school uniform.

Single mum Miranda has even tried to bandage Barneys body, but he rips these off as he sleeps.

The 50-year-old, from Bristol, says: One night he came into my room and was bleeding from head to toe.

He was shaking and said I cant believe Ive done this to myself.

Now hes terrified of sleeping because he ends up scratching when hes asleep.

Hes bleeding with cuts and puss all the time. Its constant, theres no second of relief.

Barney has suffered with eczema since he was four years old but last October his condition deteriorated.

Miranda adds: The worst thing was when he said he wanted to be in an induced coma because the pain was so bad.

I have to keep telling him its not your fault.

He has no life. His life has been crippled. Even wearing clothes hurts for him. He cant even put water on his skin because it feels like fire.

He cant do any sport because he cant sweat.

Its heartbreaking to see him go through this. I would do anything to fix this.

Sadly doctors havent found an effective treatment for Barneys condition and now his eczema has spread to his face.

Radio presenter Miranda said: After taking the new medication it looked like hed had acid thrown in his face.

We must have tried 50 different creams in the last year and every single one was like fire on his skin.

Were in this horrible position where nothing is working.

You can see its really got to him but hes brave and Im incredibly proud of him.

Currently Barney is on a daily dose of a steroid called Prednisolone but it has strong side effects, such as weight gain, which means its not sustainable.

The steroid has reduced the eczema on Barneys face but Miranda says hes totally reliant on the drug and still has a severe rash on his neck.

He also takes Dupilumab, a 24,000-a-year drug prescribed by the NHS, but its yet to prove effective.

Now Miranda is fundraising 20,000 for private treatment to properly diagnose Barneys condition and to find him a cure.

So far, shes raised 13,000 some of which was used to buy an air conditioning unit for Barney for the hot weather, when his condition worsens.

More information on the fundraising page can be found here.

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.

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Teens eczema is so bad hes asked to be put in an 'induced coma' - Metro.co.uk

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Teen tells mum hed rather be put in an induced coma than suffer unbearable eczema – The Mirror

Posted: at 5:23 am

Barney has suffered from eczema since he was a toddler but now, it makes his skin so itchy that he often scratches himself raw and he is covered in blood.

Image: SWNS.com)

The mum of a teenager living with crippling eczema is desperately trying to find a cure for his skin condition.

Barney, 14, has asked to be placed in an induced coma to avoid dealing with his dry, cracked skin, which makes his body constantly feel as though its on fire.

Eczema is red, flaky and itchy skin, which will often crack and weep. The most common type of eczema is caused by allergies (atopic), but people may suffer from contact eczema (flare-ups after touching allergens such as nickel or rubber), discoid (which occurs in coin-shaped patches), or seborrheic (eczema of the scalp).

Although you may be genetically predisposed to eczema, it can only be set off by a trigger, which could be anything from nuts to dog hair, wool to cigarette smoke.

Image:

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Barneys case of the condition makes his skin so itchy that he often scratches himself raw, until he is covered in blood.

Barneys mum, Miranda Rae has told Metro of her dilemma, saying she wants to help her son to regain control of his life.

The teen is due to start Year 10 this month, but finds it excruciating to wear a school uniform.

Miranda, from Bristol, has attempted to bandage Barneys body while he is sleeping, to no avail. She said he had one day come into her room bleeding from head to toe, shaking, saying he couldnt believe what he had done to himself.

Image:

The pain was constant, Miranda said, and Barney was frequently covered with cuts and puss.

While Barney had suffered from the skin condition since he was four years old, it was only last year that his condition began to deteriorate.

Now, wearing clothes hurt, while water and sweat touching his skin caused the boy excruciating pain.

Image:

Miranda adds: The worst thing was when he said he wanted to be in an induced coma because the pain was so bad.

Its heartbreaking to see him go through this. I would do anything to fix this.

Doctors have not yet managed to find an effective treatment for Barneys condition, despite the family having tried dozens of different creams and medication over the past year.

But Miranda said they were in a horrible position where nothing was working. The eczema had now spread to the teens face, and Miranda said the situation really got to him.

The steroid Barney was currently on, Prednisolone, had strong side effects such as weight gain, which meant it was not sustainable as a long-term fix. It had helped the eczema on his face, but his mum said he is reliant on the drug, which has not fixed bad rashes on his neck.

He is also taking a 24,000-a-year drug called Dupilumab, which is prescribed by the NHS, but its yet to prove effective.

Desperate for a fix, Miranda is now fundraising 20,000 for private treatment, to properly diagnose Barneys condition and find him a cure.

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Teen tells mum hed rather be put in an induced coma than suffer unbearable eczema - The Mirror

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When to Worry About a Rash in Adults – Healthline

Posted: at 5:23 am

Rashes can cause irritation and discomfort. Rashes in very visible places such as your hands or face might even cause embarrassment. Fortunately, most rashes are mild and not a cause for concern. You can generally treat a rash with over-the-counter (OTC) remedies.

However, there are rashes that a medical professional should look at. These rashes might be a sign of an infection, allergic reaction, or disease. You can read 12 common signs a rash might be a sign of something more serious below.

An area on your skin that is itchy, irritated, and swollen is called a rash. A rash can be raised, bumpy, blistered, or patchy.

Rashes can present differently depending on your skin tone. People with lighter skin often see rashes that are pink, red, or purple. People with darker skin might develop rashes that are white, gray, or darker than the surrounding skin.

Rashes can be caused by many things including:

Rashes are very common. Many types of rash are mild and can be treated with OTC medications. For example, contact dermatitis is a rash you get when your skin touches something that causes it to become itchy and irritated.

If youve ever gotten a rash from a new laundry detergent, lotion, or soap, your rash was likely contact dermatitis. A contact dermatitis rash will be inflamed and itchy. It will generally be contained to the part of your skin that touched the irritant.

Avoiding the item in the future and using an OTC anti-itch cream is normally enough to treat contact dermatitis.

Other common rashes in adults include:

Sometimes, a rash is a sign something serious is going on with your body. Its a good idea to keep an eye on any rash you develop and watch for these signs. Seek medical care if any of them develop.

A fever is a key sign that rash should be looked at by a doctor. It could be a sign of an allergic reaction. A fever along with your rash could also indicate an infection such as:

A rash that is spreading is another sign its time to seek medical care. A rash that is spreading quickly might be a medical emergency. Its best to go to an urgent care center or the emergency room if your rash is spreading rapidly.

If your rash is spreading slower but is spreading over your body, its still a good idea to get it looked at. It might be a warning that your rash is caused by an allergic reaction or an infection.

A painful rash should be looked at by a medical professional. It could be infected or a sign of conditions such as shingles.

Its best to also keep an eye on any rash that isnt painful but that is tender when you press on it. This could be a sign of infection, and youll want to have it checked out if it doesnt resolve after a day or so.

A rash that comes suddenly may be an allergic reaction to a medication. Sometimes, a rash can develop in the first few weeks after you start a new medication. Let a medical provider know about this side effect as soon as possible.

Its important to be careful when a rash is caused by an allergic reaction to mediation. This kind of reaction can lead to difficulty breathing and may become a medical emergency.

Sometimes rashes caused by sun exposure or poison ivy can blister. These rashes generally heal on their own in most cases.

However, unless youre sure your rash was caused by the sun or poison ivy, any rash that blisters should be looked at by a doctor. It could be a sign that your rash is a severe allergic reaction to a medication or caused by an autoimmune condition called pemphigus vulgaris.

Rashes damage the surface of your skin. This can make it easy for infections to develop, especially if you scratch the rash area. An infected rash should be looked at by a medical professional. Signs a rash is infected:

This is a medical emergency. Call 911 or seek care right away. A rash and difficulty breathing can be signs of a serious allergic reaction. This might happen when you eat or drink something youre allergic to.

A rash that looks like large purple patches or dark bruises can be a sign of a serious condition. It could be a warning sign of an infection spreading throughout your body or of a blood clotting problem. It could also indicate a condition called vasculitis that causes your blood vessels to become inflamed.

A medical professional can determine whats causing this rash and start treatment.

A rash with bruising or swelling around it might have been caused by an insect bite. Its a good idea to seek medical care if you notice this symptom. The bruises and swelling are a warning that that poison from the bite could be cutting off blood flow to the area.

A circular-shaped rash could indicate Lyme disease. Caused by ticks, Lyme disease normally causes a rash that resembles a bulls-eye and symptoms similar to the flu. Antibiotics are the primary treatment for Lyme disease, so youll need to visit a medical provider for a diagnosis and prescription.

A rash that persists for more than a week is worth getting looked at by a medical professional. There might be a reason your body is having trouble healing the rash. Plus, even if your rash is mild, a medical professional can give you tips to treat it at home.

Its a good idea to get any rash that is causing you to feel significant discomfort or concern checked out by a dermatologist or other healthcare professional. While it might be simple contact dermatitis, its still a good idea to consult a doctor.

Rashes are a common skin condition. Most rashes are temporary and clear up on their own. However, a rash can be a sign of something more serious.

Allergic reactions, infections, autoimmune conditions, and more can also cause rashes that need to be seen by a medical professional.

Rashes that occur along with trouble breathing, fever, lightheadedness, or nausea, are a medical emergency.

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The A-Z of baby skin conditions the signs every parent needs to know (and tips to treat them)… – The Sun

Posted: at 5:23 am

IT can be scary when your baby comes up in a rash, bump or lumps.

Most of the time, skin conditions that affect babies are harmless and easily treated.

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They are also extremely common, as little ones have very sensitive skin which is still developing.

This A-Z skin bible, created by WaterWipes, gives the rundown on what to expect when you take your baby home.

You would think acne isnt something that hits until teenage years.

But baby acne is common and is thought to develop because hormones that aggravate skin glands are passed from the mum to baby via the placenta.

The babys own vomit and saliva can also aggravate the skin.

It usually develops on babies cheeks in the first few months of life. You might notice spots on your babys neck, back or chest.

In most cases the acne resolves on its own without treatment.

From port wine stains to blue-grey spots, birthmarks can come up anywhere and are usually nothing to worry about.

See your GP if one develops near the nose, eye or mouth; gets bigger, darker or lumpier; or is sore or painful.

You should see a doctor if your child has six or more cafe-au-lait spots or a large congenital mole from birth.

If a thick, crustly, oily or scaly patch covers your babys scalp, they may have cradle cap.

The harmless skn condition doesnt bother your baby. But could be there until they are a toddler.

Its not catching. But there are some things you should avoid doing, including picking the crust, using adult shampoos, soap, peanut oil or olive oil.

Baby and vegetable oil are suitable, as well as unperfumed baby shampoo and body washes.

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Contact dermatitis causes the skin to become itchy, blistered, dry and cracked. Lighter skin can become red, and darker skin can becomes dark brown, purple or grey.

It is most commonly caused by irritants such as soaps and detergents, solvents or regular contact with water.

Depending on what is causing it, there are steps you can do to manage it. See your GP to find out more.

It can lead to eczema.

Baby eczema often appears in the first year, and looks like patches of red, scaly skin that feel quite rough. It causes the skin to become itchy, dry and cracked.

The patches are often on the backs of the knees, elbows, cheeks, forehead and scalp.

Some things you can to help calm eczema include avoiding overwashing your baby (no more than three times a week), wearing cotton clothing, and avoiding perfumed products.

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It is normal for babies to scratch their faces and not something to worry about, unless there is a condition such as eczema.

To try and reduce them catching their skin, keep their nails trim, as they can grow quite fast.

You can use baby nail scissors or a nail file.

As babies start to move around more, it is very normal for them to get grazes and cuts.

As you would do with a child or adult, stop the bleeding, clean the wound and cover it with a plaster.

Speak to your GP if you have any concerns.

Hives are a sign of an allergic reaction. In babies, this could be to a certain food or an insect bite.

In babies and young children, up to four in five cases are triggered by an infection, such as a cold or flu

Hives cause raised red patches, which may be less noticeable on darker skin.

Its usually not serious. But call 999 if other symptoms are present including difficulty breathing, swelling of the lips and/or mouth, a rapid heart rate or clammy skin.

Impetigo is a skin infection that's very contagious, causing blisters and sores.

But its not usually serious and often gets better within 10 days with antibiotics.

You can help in the meantime by covering the sores with loose clothing or bandages, avoiding touching the sores, and keeping surfaces and shared toys or materials clean.

8

Jaundice sounds like a scary condition but is actually quite common in babies (60 per cent) and is usually harmless.

It causes yellowing of the skin and eyes.

This is due to a buildup of bilirubin, a yellow substance, in the blood.

Bilirubin is produced by red blood cells - and newborns have more red blood cells.

A newborn will be checked for jaundice within 72 hours of birth and about five days lateral

This condition causes small bumps to appear on the skin, also seen in adults.

Keratosis usually presents as patches of small bumps on the arms, thighs or bottom, but they can appear in other places where hair follicles are.

It is a long-term skin condition, but with many people, the bumps go away as they get older.

Lumps are quite uncommon in babies and could be either a verruca or wart.

You can buy creams, plasters and sprays from pharmacies to treat warts and verrucas. But they may take a few months to clear up.

Warts do not cause any harm, but if your baby has one they may find it itchy and uncomfortable in some cases. Verrucas, also known as plantar warts, are more likely to be painful.

Other lumps in babies, include caput succedaneum which refers to swelling of an infant's scalp that appears as a lump or bump on their head shortly after delivery.

Nearly half of all newborns will have milk spots, which are tiny yellowish or white spots on the face.

Milk spots should clear up on their own, without treatment, in a few weeks. However, it's a good idea to keep your baby's face clean with warm water and gently pat dry the affected skin, don't rub.

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Nappy rash is very common and occurs because the material of the nappy rubs on the skin around the bottom and legs.

Make sure you are changing your babys nappy as soon as it becomes soiled or wet, and ensure their bottoms are cleansed well when changing.

But visit your GP if there are signs the rash is severe, including if it spreads beyond the nappy area or if there are sores that bleed.

8

Oral thrush is a yeast infection thatoften appears as white creamy spots or patches that coat your baby's mouth, tongue and gums.

While it is only a mild infection, it can be uncomfortable for your baby and they could pass it on to the mums nipple.

If your baby is over four months old and has oral thrush, speak to your local pharmacists. But if your baby is under four months, speak to your GP first.

A baby born before 37 weeks is premature, and their skin may be more sensitive.

Even full-term babies have a weak skin barrier, so premature babies are likely to spend some time in hospital.

It is important to avoid chemicals, including fragrances, instead of choosing gentle products with minimal ingredients.

When you take home your baby, youll be full of questions on how to care for it.

When it comes to skin, avoid any ingredients that may irritate the skin, like harsh soaps or cleansers.

Stick to baby-friendly products.

A rash could be caused by chicken pox, teething, prickly heat, measles, or hand foot and mouth disease.

Most of the time, rashes are not something to worry about.

However, they can be the sign of something very serious.

If you notice your little one has a rash that spreads or they have other symptoms (such as a high temperature), difficulty breathing, or limp limbs you should call 999 or go straight to A&E.

If the rash doesnt fade when a glass is pressed against it, this could be meningitis.

8

Babies have thinner skin than adults. This means it's more prone to irritation.

This can be worsened by changes in the weather, heating in your home, fragranced products, or excessive washing.

Dont wash your baby more than 2-3 times a week with warm water, and only for around five minutes.

A rash can come up when your baby is teething because they drool.

Typically the cheeks, chin and neck are affected - and your little one may rub its ears.

The best way to treat this is to keep your babys skin clean and dry by gently wiping or patting the saliva away.

Teething usually starts at around six to 12 months old and by three years old your little one should have all their milk teeth.

When you take your newborn home, it will have an umbilical cord stump.

For the first few weeks, its important to keep the area dry, before it falls off naturally, usually after two to three weeks.

It will then take another week or so for the belly button to form.

There may be some blood - but dont panic, just wipe it away. If there is a lot of blood or yellow pus, see your GP.

Vitiligo is a long-term skin condition where patches of skin lose their colour permanently. The patches are different in everyone.

It is most common on the face, hand, genitals and chest. It can also cause the hair or eyelashes to turn white or grey.

If your little one is under six months, they should not wear sun cream and should be kept completely out of the sun, kept in the shade and should wear hats/loose fitting clothes to protect their skin.

Wipes will come in handy for all sorts of things as you care for your baby - cleaning their face, wiping surfaces and your own hands.

But dont use any old wipes, as they could be full of harsh chemicals.

WaterWipes recommend their own product which has minimal ingredients, and therefore is delicate on the skin.

They are purer than cotton wool and water, the firm claims.

Founder Edward McCloskey created them when his newborn daughter suffered with severe nappy rash.

Who do you turn for when you need advice on your baby and their skin?

The NHS website has a wealth of information. You can also speak with your GP, a pharmacist, a health visitor or midwife.

Your midwife is your key point of contact during pregnancy and directly after the birth, followed by a health visitor.

A babys journey to eating solid food, and how they move food around their mouth, chew and swallow, can be a messy experience.

Weaning is when you start to introduce your baby to solid foods at around six months old.

Introducing new foods can also sometimes trigger allergies in babies, so introduce common allergy-trigger foods slowly and one at a time.

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The A-Z of baby skin conditions the signs every parent needs to know (and tips to treat them)... - The Sun

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Teen asked to be put in induced coma because of his eczema – Derbyshire Live

Posted: at 5:23 am

WARNING: Contains distressing images

A desperate mum is appealing for a miracle cure for her teen son's crippling eczema - which is so bad that he's asked to be placed in an induced COMA.

Miranda Rae, 50, said that son Barney, 14, feels like his skin is constantly on fire and has scratched himself until he's covered in blood to stop the itching.

The poor lad is due to start Year 10 this month despite finding it excruciating to even wear a school uniform over his cracked body.

Single mum Miranda said she's tried to bandage up Barney's skin to ease his pain but he can't help but tear the bandages off as he sleeps.

Miranda, from Bristol, said: "One night he came into my room and was bleeding from head to toe.

"He was shaking and said 'I can't believe I've done this to myself'.

"Now he's terrified of sleeping because he ends up scratching when he's asleep.

"He's bleeding with cuts and puss all the time. It's constant, there's no second of relief."

Barney has suffered from eczema since he was four but last October the condition deteriorated - forcing the teen to his lowest point.

Miranda said: "The worst thing was when he said he wanted to be in an induced coma because the pain was so bad.

"I have to keep telling him 'it's not your fault'.

"He has no life. His life has been crippled. Even wearing clothes hurts for him.

"He can't even put water on his skin because it feels like fire.

"He can't do any sport because he can't sweat.

"It's heartbreaking to see him go through this. I would do anything to fix this."

Doctors can't find a cure for Barney's condition and his eczema even spread to his face last June after he tried one suggested Emollient spray.

Miranda, a radio presenter, said: "After taking the new medication it looked like he'd had acid thrown in his face.

"We must have tried 50 different creams in the last year and every single one was like fire on his skin.

"We're in this horrible position where nothing is working.

"You can see it's really got to him but he's brave and I'm incredibly proud of him."

Barney currently takes a daily dose of a steroid called Prednisolone but its strong side effects - which have seen his waist balloon to 40 inches wide - meaning it's not sustainable.

The steroid has reduced the eczema on Barney's face but Miranda said he's totally reliant on the drug and still has a severe rash on his neck.

He also takes Dupilumab, a 24,000-a-year drug that the NHS agreed to prescribe to Barney once a fortnight after appeals from his mum and doctor.

But Miranda said the drug is yet to prove effective in battling the eczema.

She's is fundraising 20,000 for private treatment to properly diagnose Barney's condition and find him a cure.

Miranda has already raised 12,000 - some of which was used to buy an air conditioning unit for Barney for the hot weather, when his condition worsens.

The fundraising page can be found here.

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Teen asked to be put in induced coma because of his eczema - Derbyshire Live

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Shoppers Are "Blown Away" By the Huge Difference This Serum Makes in Wrinkles Overnight – Yahoo Lifestyle

Posted: at 5:23 am

Shoppers Say This French Retinol Is "Practically a Miracle" for Deep Lines and Large Pores

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Little known fact: For Whom the Bell Tolls has two meanings. One refers to Ernest Hemingway's novel, and the other, to everyone who's been shafted by beauty products that fail to deliver. There's nothing like spending money on a do-nothing cream that's inevitably tossed into a shadowy cabinet, and if you're trying to avoid that fate, the key is to stick with trusted brands and trusted ingredients, like a retinol from La Roche-Posay.

The French brand made its name with ultra-gentle essentials for stubborn eczema, acne, and sun protection both Kelly Ripa and Heidi Klum love La Roche-Posay's tinted sunscreen, which Klum dubs her "greatest beauty discovery." A bottle of the brand's Double Repair Hydrating Cleanser sells every two seconds, so the brand's definitely a crowd favorite, and its Redermic anti-aging line is just as revered.

"Miracle worker," writes one shopper of the results they saw in four days. "WOW. My laugh lines are disappearing right before my eyes." Others write that it gave them clear skin the likes of which they haven't seen in years, all from a few dots of the potent Redermic R Anti-Aging Retinol Serum.

La Roche-Posay Redermic R Dermatological Anti-Aging Treatment Intensive

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Shop now: $50; amazon.com

After searching for something to replace their prescription retinol when insurance stopped covering it, one shopper says Redermic "is definitely the winner" for similar results at a lower price. A single application produces a remarkable change: "After only wearing it overnight once, there was already a huge difference in redness reduction, softness, and wrinkle smoothing," comments a 46-year-old, adding that it also made creases more shallow and reduced rosacea. "I was blown away."

Reviewers a decade older see similar results from the creamy serum. "I'm almost 63 and don't have one wrinkle around my eyes. No one ever believes my age," one person writes. "You wake up looking five years younger, not kidding!" A few weeks of it diminishes dark spots, and long-term use develops even greater rewards; a 66-year-old at the sixth-month mark says that it significantly reduced their fine lines, and vastly improved "deep wrinkles." Those with sagging, uneven skin say it performed just as well, their skin left glowing, even, and smoother within days.

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The ingredients responsible? Two forms of retinol, emollient octyldodecanol, and adenosine. Speaking to the latter, Paula's Choice writes, "One of the particularly exceptional qualities of adenosine is that it's a natural component of the body, and its receptors have specifically been identified in skin cells, allowing for a direct connection and impressive effectiveness when applied topically.

In one study conducted by L'Oral, adenosine showed efficacy in as low as 0.1 percent concentration for improving deep wrinkles in the periorbital area (i.e. crow's feet) as well as glabellar frown lines (known as the 11s between brows)." La Roche-Posay is owned by L'Oral, so grain of salt, but impressive nevertheless.

The effects extend to acne and large pores: "After two weeks, I don't have a single noticeable blackhead anywhere. The acne that used to pile up over my temples is gone," one 45-year-old noted. "My friends are even starting to notice, asking if I quit smoking and drinking beer. The answer to that is no. I will buy this stuff as long as it is available."

Another shopper writes, "I received a compliment recently from a young man on how pretty my skin is. I haven't had a compliment on my skin since my 20s [and] I'm 55 years old." They're not alone; a different person writes that it erased their fine lines so well, their skin actually looks better than it did when they were in their 20s. Intrigued? Try the multitasking serum for yourself.

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A.I. Can Now Write Its Own Computer Code. Thats Good News for Humans. – The New York Times

Posted: at 5:23 am

As soon as Tom Smith got his hands on Codex a new artificial intelligence technology that writes its own computer programs he gave it a job interview.

He asked if it could tackle the coding challenges that programmers often face when interviewing for big-money jobs at Silicon Valley companies like Google and Facebook. Could it write a program that replaces all the spaces in a sentence with dashes? Even better, could it write one that identifies invalid ZIP codes?

It did both instantly, before completing several other tasks. These are problems that would be tough for a lot of humans to solve, myself included, and it would type out the response in two seconds, said Mr. Smith, a seasoned programmer who oversees an A.I. start-up called Gado Images. It was spooky to watch.

Codex seemed like a technology that would soon replace human workers. As Mr. Smith continued testing the system, he realized that its skills extended well beyond a knack for answering canned interview questions. It could even translate from one programming language to another.

Yet after several weeks working with this new technology, Mr. Smith believes it poses no threat to professional coders. In fact, like many other experts, he sees it as a tool that will end up boosting human productivity. It may even help a whole new generation of people learn the art of computers, by showing them how to write simple pieces a code, almost like a personal tutor.

This is a tool that can make a coders life a lot easier, Mr. Smith said.

About four years ago, researchers at labs like OpenAI started designing neural networks that analyzed enormous amounts of prose, including thousands of digital books, Wikipedia articles and all sorts of other text posted to the internet.

By pinpointing patterns in all that text, the networks learned to predict the next word in a sequence. When someone typed a few words into these universal language models, they could complete the thought with entire paragraphs. In this way, one system an OpenAI creation called GPT-3 could write its own Twitter posts, speeches, poetry and news articles.

Much to the surprise of even the researchers who built the system, it could even write its own computer programs, though they were short and simple. Apparently, it had learned from an untold number of programs posted to the internet. So OpenAI went a step further, training a new system Codex on an enormous array of both prose and code.

The result is a system that understands both prose and code to a point. You can ask, in plain English, for snow falling on a black background, and it will give you code that creates a virtual snowstorm. If you ask for a blue bouncing ball, it will give you that, too.

You can tell it to do something, and it will do it, said Ania Kubow, another programmer who has used the technology.

Codex can generate programs in 12 computer languages and even translate between them. But it often makes mistakes, and though its skills are impressive, it cant reason like a human. It can recognize or mimic what it has seen in the past, but it is not nimble enough to think on its own.

Sometimes, the programs generated by Codex do not run. Or they contain security flaws. Or they come nowhere close to what you want them to do. OpenAI estimates that Codex produces the right code 37 percent of the time.

When Mr. Smith used the system as part of a beta test program this summer, the code it produced was impressive. But sometimes, it worked only if he made a tiny change, like tweaking a command to suit his particular software setup or adding a digital code needed for access to the internet service it was trying to query.

In other words, Codex was truly useful only to an experienced programmer.

But it could help programmers do their everyday work a lot faster. It could help them find the basic building blocks they needed or point them toward new ideas. Using the technology, GitHub, a popular online service for programmers, now offers Co-pilot, a tool that suggests your next line of code, much the way autocomplete tools suggest the next word when you type texts or emails.

It is a way of getting code written without having to write as much code, said Jeremy Howard, who founded the artificial intelligence lab Fast.ai and helped create the language technology that OpenAIs work is based on. It is not always correct, but it is just close enough.

Mr. Howard and others believe Codex could also help novices learn to code. It is particularly good at generating simple programs from brief English descriptions. And it works in the other direction, too, by explaining complex code in plain English. Some, including Joel Hellermark, an entrepreneur in Sweden, are already trying to transform the system into a teaching tool.

The rest of the A.I. landscape looks similar. Robots are increasingly powerful. So are chatbots designed for online conversation. DeepMind, an A.I. lab in London, recently built a system that instantly identifies the shape of proteins in the human body, which is a key part of designing new medicines and vaccines. That task once took scientists days or even years. But those systems replace only a small part of what human experts can do.

In the few areas where new machines can instantly replace workers, they are typically in jobs the market is slow to fill. Robots, for instance, are increasingly useful inside shipping centers, which are expanding and struggling to find the workers needed to keep pace.

With his start-up, Gado Images, Mr. Smith set out to build a system that could automatically sort through the photo archives of newspapers and libraries, resurfacing forgotten images, automatically writing captions and tags and sharing the photos with other publications and businesses. But the technology could handle only part of the job.

It could sift through a vast photo archive faster than humans, identifying the kinds of images that might be useful and taking a stab at captions. But finding the best and most important photos and properly tagging them still required a seasoned archivist.

We thought these tools were going to completely remove the need for humans, but what we learned after many years was that this wasnt really possible you still needed a skilled human to review the output, Mr. Smith said. The technology gets things wrong. And it can be biased. You still need a person to review what it has done and decide what is good and what is not.

Codex extends what a machine can do, but it is another indication that the technology works best with humans at the controls.

A.I. is not playing out like anyone expected, said Greg Brockman, the chief technology officer of OpenAI. It felt like it was going to do this job and that job, and everyone was trying to figure out which one would go first. Instead, it is replacing no jobs. But it is taking away the drudge work from all of them at once.

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Ethical Artificial Intelligence is Focus of New Robotics Program – UT News – UT News | The University of Texas at Austin

Posted: at 5:23 am

AUSTIN, Texas Ethics will be at the forefront of robotics education thanks to a new University of Texas at Austin program that will train tomorrows technologists to understand the positive and potentially negative implications of their creations.

Today, much robotic technology is developed without considering its potentially harmful effects on society, including how these technologies can infringe on privacy or further economic inequity. The new UT Austin program will fill an important educational gap by prioritizing these issues in its curriculum.

In the next 10 years, we are going to live more closely alongside robots, and we want to be sure that those robots are fair, inclusive and free from bias, said Junfeng Jiao, associate professor in the School of Architecture and the program lead. And because the robots we create are reflections of ourselves, it is imperative that technologists receive an excellent ethics education. We want our students to work directly with companies to create practices and technologies that are equitable and fair.

Called CREATE (Convergent, Responsible, and Ethical AI Training Experience for Roboticists), it will offer graduate coursework and professional development in responsible design and implementation.

CREATE is a collaboration among Texas Robotics, industry partners and the UT grand challenge research initiative Good Systems, which seeks to design AI technologies that benefit society. The program has been recently awarded a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation through its Research Traineeship Program, which will support 32 doctoral students to receive coursework, mentorship, professional development, internships, and research and public service opportunities.

Students will focus specifically on how to ethically design, develop and deploy service robots, which can make deliveries, work in factories and clean homes. They will consider factors such as how to design delivery service robots so they are more inclusive and can reach all people and how to ensure home service robots protect occupants privacy. Several notable robotics companies have also said they will offer students internships, including Sony AI, Bosch, Amazon, SparkCognition and Apptronik.

Researchers involved in the program cross many disciplines at UT, including computer science, architecture, engineering, information, and public affairs. Faculty members from these units will teach courses as part of the curriculum, and two faculty members will mentor each trainee during the five-year program. Additionally, each trainee will receive help with career development, grant writing, and exposure to local startup companies.

More than half of the programs trainees will be chosen from underrepresented groups in STEM education, including women and racial minorities, to help bring much-needed diversity to the field of robotics. The coursework component, which includes five classes in ethical robotics, will be institutionalized as a graduate portfolio program and will be available to all STEM graduate students at UT Austin.

This program will enable us to educate well-rounded roboticists who are not only grounded in the technical details of designing and building autonomous robots but also are equipped to fully consider the societal implications of their work, said Peter Stone, director of Texas Robotics and a professor of computer science. That is a missing part in robotics education in the U.S. and the world. We believe this is a game changer for the future of robotics.

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Rank and File | Artificial intelligence comes to the fore in computer chess – Evanston RoundTable

Posted: at 5:23 am

Championship tournaments for computer chess engines moved from onsite competition to online well before many human tournaments made the move last year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recent years the Top Engine Chess Competition, which has been played virtually since 2010, has become the unofficial world computer chess championship.

In recent years, many of these competitions have been won by the open-source chess engine Stockfish, thanks to its ability to conduct deep searches of chess positions enabled by powerful computing. However, in 2019 the Stockfish engine was upended by the LCZero engine, which was developed using a very different approach, employing techniques that develop artificial intelligence. LCZero was launched in 2018 with no chess-specific knowledge other than the basic rules; it learned how to play by analyzing the results of millions of games played by volunteer users. This approach was extremely successful and led to LCZero defeating Stockfish to win TCEC tournaments in 2019 and 2020.

The Stockfish team responded by following the maxim if you cant beat em, join em. In late 2020, a new version of Stockfish was introduced that complemented its deep position searches with a learning function similar to that employed by LCZero. The improved Stockfish has regained its top position among chess engines. In the latest TCEC championship, Stockfish trounced LCZero, with 19 wins and only seven losses in their 100-game match. Other chess engine developers have taken note, and all of the top-rated chess engines now combine classical computing with learning functions.

In the recent match, Stockfish often outperformed LCZero in games that reached unusual positions where deep position searches proved to be more valuable than evaluations that relied on prior learning. In Game 68, the following position was reached after lengthy maneuvering by both sides. LCZero evaluated the position as even, but Stockfish found an opportunity to unbalance the game, to its advantage, by offering a surprising bishop sacrifice.

White to Move

(Stockfish-LCZero Game 68 Move 180)

180Bf6! If black plays 180gxh6? white has 181Rxh6+ Nxh6 182Rxh6+ Kg8 183Qh5 and white forces checkmate in a few moves. After further maneuvering, Stockfish intensified its attack on the black king by offering to sacrifice a second piece its queen.

White to Move

(Stockfish-LCZero Game 68 Move 191)

191Qg5! The queen cannot be taken; 191..hxg5 192Rh8 is checkmate. Black has no satisfactory response. The game continued 191Re8 192Rxh6! Nxh6 193Rxh6 gxh6 194Qxh6 when black must sacrifice its queen to delay checkmate.

Black to Move

(Stockfish-LCZero Game 68 Move 194)

194Qg7 195Bxg7 Rxg7 196f5 exf5 197Qg5. Black cant capture whites e-pawn; 197Rxe5? 198Qd8+ and white is about to checkmate.

197Rf8 198e6 Rc7 Stockfish now maneuvers its King to g5, freeing up the queen to harass the black king and rooks.

199Kc3 Rg7 200Kd4 Rc7 201Ke5 Rg7 202Kf4 Rc7 203 Qh4 Rg7 204Kg5 Re7 205Qf4 Kg7 206Qd6 Rfe8 207Qe5+ Kg8 208Qf6 LCZero is reduced to pawn moves, because moving its king or either rook leads to immediate disaster. The game continued until checkmate, per TCEC tournament rules.

208b6 209axb6 a5 210Qf7+ Rxf7 211gxf7+ Kf8 212fxe8+ Kxe8 213b7 Kf8 214Kf6 Kg8 215b8(Q)+ Kh7 217Qc7+ Kg8 218Qg8 checkmate.

(Stockfish-LCZero Final Position)

To view this game on a virtual board, go to https://chess24.com/en/watch/live-tournaments/tcec-season-21-superfinal-2021/1/1/68.

Keith Holzmueller has been the head coach of the Evanston Township High School Chess Club and Team since 2017. He became a serious chess player during his high school years. As an adult player, he obtained a US Chess Federation Expert rating for over-the-board play and wasawarded the Senior International Master title by the International Correspondence Chess Federation. Keith now puts most of his chess energy into helping young chess players in Evanston learn to enjoy chess and improve their play.Please email Keith at news@evanstonroundtable.com if you have any chess questions.

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