Top News

'My son is allergic to the UK and breaks out in horror rashes whenever we come home'
Reach Daily Express | March 14, 2026 9:40 PM CST

A mum has revealed how her son is 'ALLERGIC to the UK' as he breaks out in rashes when in England - but they vanish while living abroad.

Lucy Richardson left the UK for Indonesia two years ago after she and her husband found they were working so hard they were struggling to spend quality time together.

Little the five-year-old Roo had struggled with eczema before the move but it had mysteriously cleared up after spending some time outside the UK.

So when the 41-year-old and her two eldest kids returned to England in November last year to visit family, she was stunned when a rash sprung up again on Roo's arms and legs with days of landing.

When covering him in cream didn't work, Lucy felt compelled to leave the UK a week early.

Lucy forked out £200 to change the dates of their £2,500 flights in order to fly home early, and said Roo's rash went away within two weeks.

The mum-of-three puts the rash down to the food and the constant indoor heating in the UK, where she says biscuits and chocolate treats are more common.

However the family eat more nutritious food and spend more time outdoors while in Bali, the mum explains.

She posted pictures of the skin condition online, with the caption: "Bad allergies in the UK. The environment and food is making us sick."

Lucy, from Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, said: "I went back [to visit family in the UK] with my older two in November.

"My son has asthma and quite bad allergies. When we were back in the UK he had eczema, he was sick as a baby all of the time.

"He was quite a sickly child but when we came to Bali everything went away. We haven't had any skin conditions or anything that we had in the UK.

"We had only been back for four days and he had really bad eczema. He was itching all over, so I had him covered in cream.

"That contributed to our decision to leave earlier. He was very unwell when we were there. He had lots of problems in the UK but we didn't actually associate it with our environment and the food [until we got back to Bali].

"I don't know whether it's going back to the cold weather or central heating. Obviously we don't have any heating here, the food is a lot better.

"We eat a lot fresher here. We never cook in Bali, it's quite rare, it's actually more expensive to shop in a supermarket than order in or eat out."

The content creator said she knew Roo's eczema would clear when they returned to their home in Sanur, Bali, and did not take him to the doctor.

Lucy said: "Within two weeks of being in Bali for two weeks, he had nothing, no conditions at all. He gets really itchy in his elbow and behind his knees and his legs.

"He is basically allergic to the UK. But he loves the UK, my kids love visiting and have the best time.

"It's not good, you're making that decision to bring him back to the UK and he got sick so it wasn't nice.

"I knew it would clear up when we got back so I didn't take him to the doctor. I changed my flight and it was £60 each for the three of us. We had another week left but we flew back."

The content creator said her family has been healthier since living in Bali, having fresh food and not snacks like biscuits and crisps.

Lucy said being outdoors has helped her kids be healthier, compared to being inside 'artificial environments' in the UK due to the weather.

Lucy said: "You can buy really good produce. In the UK ordering in is normally a takeaway, Chinese, Indian, a burger, pizza, while here you are ordering in healthy food.

"My kids eat way better here. There's a lot more snacky things in England like biscuits and crisps. They're not really a thing here.

"Having sunshine everyday has helped. It's the rainy season at the moment but it's still 30 degrees. And we spend most weekends at the beach, we're outside most of the time.

"We live in an indoor/outdoor villa so only our bedrooms are enclosed. But in the UK, you're inside a lot more because it's cold and raining so you spend a lot of time in an artificial environment. Whereas here the kids are outdoors from 6am.

"The move has made our family healthier than in the UK. The only negative is the tap water and the air quality unless you go to the islands."

While the family was initially meant to stay in Bali for only three months, Lucy said they decided to stay permanently due to the weather and positive energy.

Lucy said: "We initially came for three months but ended up staying six. We were going to travel around the world, but we really missed Bali so this will be our base.

"The people are very lovely, very positive, smiling all the time. Being in that kind of environment every day sets your day off on a really positive note. The weather also helps."


READ NEXT
Cancel OK