Baby Allergies

My daughter experienced the same thing, I took her to the doctor and they said she was most likely allergic to dryer sheets. I just use the liquid kind now and haven't had a problem since. Hope this helps....

I know this may sound a little crazy, but my friends child did the same thing and her pediatrician told her to get rid of all her cleaning supplies and start using non-toxic supples (that's my business.) Also, most baby care products have formaldihide And that's what he was allergic to-hives all over his body. Johnson & Johnson is the biggest one. I would love to help ypu put in any way. If you want her information or would like to talk to me my contact info: J. Warren cell ###-###-#### & email is ____@____.com.

If it is happening right after feeding, it more the likely isn't the dog. It is itchy? Does she have problems with the hives? Viruses can bring up hives and bumps that last weeks if you can determine whether it was or not.
My daughter has reactions to certain types of soaps. She gets red itchy bumps if not using the lotion the dermotolgist gave her regularly.
Have you switched detergent? Soaps? Lotions?
Just hang in there and see what the allergist says. It is AWESOME that she is not allergic to dairy as kids need that so much as they grow and it is in so many things! That is great news!
If it isn't bothering her much it could be viral related. I know I went through roseola with both of my kids and it took forever for the rash to go away. Does it go away with Benadryl? That will be a tell tell sign sometimes if it is a allergy.

Have you considered it being the laundry detergent that you are using. I know I never though about this until I had some issues with rashes, and had to change over to natural products. Alot of people don't realize that the products they are using in their homes have many harsh chemicals in them. I know I had no idea, but when you think about it, it just makes sense. If she has developed an allergic reaction to the laundry detergents, she has the clothes against her little skin every day, and she is sleeping in the sheets, etc. My father in law also suffered really bad with hives, so I told him about that too, and it helped. I shop from a company where I get all my natural products for wholesale prices. I absolutely love them, and they come right to your doorstep and are much less expensive than Whole Foods, or any other Natural Food store. If you want more info let me know, and I'd be happy to pass it along.

www.DoYourPartShopSmart.com

Hope you figure it out soon. I know how frustrating that can be, and how miserable she must be. Poor little thing.

I have heard that kids raised with cats/dogs are actually less likely to be allergic to them.

Great advice here. My daughter would break out if she had too much of one type of food. So if she had a banana every day for four to five days she would get a rash. Or any myriad of foods would do the same thing! Go with your gut. I found a lot of relief for her with some computer-generated testing at my local chiropractors office. They use accupuncture points and would test my daughter through me. They found out a lot of stuff, and I put her on drops and it really helped!

If you still suspect dairy you could pull all dairy from her diet for at least 2 weeks and see how she responds. The blood work (did she have the CAP RAST) can occasionally give false results. Did they test her for other allergens as well? (Soy, nuts, dogs, cats etc). It could be the dog, laundry detergent, or something else? I would still go to the allergist and see what they say because she is obviously reacting to something. Hang in there!
Ali

K.,

To echo your other responses, the allergy tests are not always accurate, and they only screen for certain types of reactions. Your granddaughter could certinly be *reacting* to something without being technically *allergic* to it. I would try to get her into a homeopathic doctor who specializes in allergies, if her parents are willing. I have also heard wonderful things about accupuncture and allergies. With small children, they do not use needles - they actually do accupressure with small beads that are stuck to baby's skin, so you don't have to worry about needles.

If you know that she is reacting to the formula, then obviously don't give it to her. We figured out my daughter's skin allergy through process of elimination. She broke out after using a certain type of soap, so we switched to another brand but kept the first bottle. She broke out after the second soap, so we tried another and kept both the first two bottles. By the third soap, there was only one ingredient that was in common to all three soaps, so we were able to peg it down. Try keeping a diary of what causes flare-ups to see if you can find a pattern or common denominator.

I would also ask, is she breaking out in a certain part of her body? My oldest got terrible hives, but only on her torso and a little on her legs - none on hands, feet or face. We figured out that she was reacting to the new detergent. Laundry detergent is a big culprit, as can be dryer sheets. I actually make my own laundry detergent now. I know exactly what's in it, and I can make a 2 gallon bottle for around $0.50! Even my husband's eczema - which the doctor said we couldn't do anything about, except to treat with topical steroids when it got really bad - has reduced to 1/3 of what it was before. Finally, I don't know if the doc gave her a topical steroid to treat the hives with, but you might reconsider using it. My daughter was prescribed a topical steroid when she had her horrible hives. Being the skeptic I am, I treated only one half of her body with the steroid cream and left the other half alone. The half that I left alone healed up in just a couple days once we switched detergents. The steroid half was only a teeny bit better by the time the other half was all healed, so apparently the steroid was INHIBITING her healing!

Anyway, it's awesome that you are working so hard to figure out what is going on. Don't give up, and sooner or later you guys will isolate the cause.

Best of luck,
S.

Are you by any chance using well water to make the bottles? That happened to us with my oldest. We were visiting my grandparents who had well water, and something in that water did not agree with him at all! Once we figured out it was the water, we switched to purified water and the reactions stopped.

You also might try a different type within your brand of formula, or switch brands-my children threw up every type of one brand but did fine with any type of a different brand-of course it is the most expensive brand they can handle.

Good luck1

K.-

I feel for you and I went through many pediatricians. I was at my wits end. I was desperate. I had even spent $1500 in a surgery to find if she had allergies (it is called an endoscopy, and they stick a camera down her throat to see what they can find). Still no answers. Then I met a woman on here that absolutely changed my life and helped me to stop all the problems. They all refused to do the blood test and I finally got a naturalpath to do it. Here is some info you NEED to know.

They do not like to do blood tests on infants and anyone under 3 because there are a lot of false negative's. They do not like to do scratch tests because there are a lot of false positives.

I have a few questions for you...Do you use baby wash that has the ingredient Quaternium-15 in it? This is a formaldehyde releaser and is linked with cancers and skin irritation. Have you had your carpets cleaned latetly? Big culprit in skin reactions. The chemicals we use to clean are carpets are too harsh for our skin, and especially children of this age as they are crawling around on the floor. We had one Ped who told us to only clean them with hot water. Are you using dryer sheets? Another huge problem. Dairy, could be a problem still and just not show up. Try using 2% instead of whole milk. I have to use this for my 1 year old. There is big problems if she gets the whole milk.

What changed for my daughter? I changed my household cleaning products to non-toxic ones. I was so skeptical at first, but a month after completely changing my house over all of her problems stopped! No more eczema, no more rash, no more late nights (except for teething). I couldn't believe it. I too was at the point of getting rid of stuff. We were going to buy a new car because we thought it could be someone might have smoked in ours (we bought it used) and that could be causing her problems. We were about to rip up our carpet and lay down wood floors. We bought a brand new house so their wouldn't be any problems. The list goes on and on. Everyone who saw her before switching told us we needed to get her help, that the rash wasn't ok, that the runny nose wasn't ok, that she was a sick baby and we needed to do something about it!

I used to cry so much because I was trying everything and no one helped. There was no answers except for she had a virus. Well, there is no way any baby has a virus for a year! Such a simple solution to such a serious problem. Not only is my daughter well and has been since switching, I also have noticed a major change in myself. Plus, they save me money!! I would love to give you more information. Go to my website for what it can help with.

http://www.livetotalwellness.com/safemommy

Fill out some info at the bottom and I will contact you and give you the same info I was given that changed mine and my families life! It's all free info, and it's super quick. As a note, this website does not give you the information you need, it just lets you know common things they have helped with. It allows you to securely give your info so I can contact you.

I know the frustration you are feeling, believe me. I can even send you receipts showing how much I spent on my daughter so you know I really did go through the same problems, and I spent a ton of money trying to fix it. I am so thankful for this! I was calling everyone asking for prayers for her. A week after the calls I was introduced to this that made her healthy again! Prayers really do work!

HUGS!

J.
www.livetotalwellness.com/safemommy

I'm guessing if it is hives all over it isn't the dog. That is usually a sign of a food allergy. I'm allergic to most carpet fibers for example and I get a rash and break out where I was touching the carpet like on my arms if I was lying on my stomach. but don't break out all over my body. When I was a kid I used to break out every year at Christmas. We never figured out what it was--a couple of years ago we discovered I am allergice (deathly allergic) to Walnuts. Still don't know if that was the hives as a kid--but I have an epipen. I think you can rule out the dog. :) I second verifying if anything has been changed by way of doing laundry. I am allergic to most detergents that have scents. I also have to be careful on my dryer sheets, we just changed that to try to save some money, well we are going back as I am itchy all the time and breaking out now and then and I know that is all I have changed. If you aren't sure what part of the laundry routine it might be, start using Dreft products for a few weeks and see if that helps. Then change back one part of your laundry and wait a week before adding another part back--see if you can pinpoint what it is.
Also read all of the ingredients in the Formula, it might be something you would never think about...I have a severe reaction to Asparteme and just realized part of my chronic headaches has been because I love to chew gum...try finding gum without Asparteme in it...
Watch for any allergy medications given, I was put on one as a kid with a pretty strong steroid in it and have had some complications due to that. I don't think that strong is legal anymore but use intuition of mom and grandma with medications. (Benadryl also no longer works for me because I used it so often as a child) I didn't have my scratch test done until I was in my early 20's. I have also heard that scratch tests are not that reliable in small children. and many doc's don't like to refer for them because kids grow in and out of their allergies frequently as well. My dd used to break out sometimes as a small toddler and we found that using Yogurt with her meals helped. Her body just wasn't making enough live bacterias to fight things off and her body was translating that as allergies. Couldn't give you any docs referrals or anyone else's either just a gut feeling as a mom and it was right, I know it was.
To help with the hives...my mom used to put cornstarch paste (just cornstarch and water) in my hives to pull the heat and itch off. just enough that it is like a baby powder as it dries off. or a warm bath with cornstarch in the bath water. It really helped a lot during my breakouts.

A lot of time food allergies, or sometimes they are food sensitivities, won't show up on an allergy test. Dairy is a very common allergy, as is wheat or gluten (which is an ingredient in a lot of other foods- I don't know about formula). There are many ways to go off dairy completely but that still provides proteins and calcium. for example my son drinks a mix of rice milk and almond milk (as long as almonds aren't a problem that make a complete protein).

What has really helped my son, with eczema, more than anything else is a technique called N.A.E.T. Many alternative practitioners can do this: chiropractors, acupuncturists, naturalpaths etc. This might be the technique that the chiropractor does in an earlier posting? Anyway they muscle test allergies and go through the ingredients and nutrients that are in certain foods and treat the body so that it can process those foods. It is very effective if you go the website www.naet.com they give you a lot of information and there is a page to find a practitioner as well.

good luck

I just waned to say if she is allergic to your pup there is a lot they can do!! Pup has been with you through everything, sounds like, don't get rid of him!!!

Despite the fact that every single doctor we talked to disputed it, my son was allergic to the soy oil in his formula. We were able to determine this after my husband learned how to do the NAET technique to treat allergies (he's a chiropractor). If done correctly this technique has been known to eliminate allergies (in my son and myself as well as many many others).

I would suggest you look into it and see if it could bring some relief...whether the baby is allergic to dairy, soy or your "old, old dog." :) Best wishes and hang in there!

Oh, I understand. Mine had chonid diariah. I was like..when is this baby pooping stage going to end!!! I had to wait until about two but eventually was able to direct through the allergist and to the GI. He also had hives and ecema in one spot on his leg. these are supposed to be from allergies but all tests were negative including Khrone's and Ciliac's. so he is not allergic to anything....but why is his poop goss, he looks sick and tired, he gets hives on his lower back, and so on. So I found Allergy Friendly Foods published by Barnes and Nobles. They explain the difference between intolerant and allergy. in the end, I...his mother, diganosed him as low tolerance to dairy, soy and corn. I found that it can be the proteins or the sugars. I believe he is sugars (Celiacs is protiens and this is what autistiv children have a chemical reaction to.) He can not tolerate BHT and other produced preservative chemicals. Also any modified sugars. also, salisilytes which are a natural cemical in foods. ) I can go on and on. But I feel he would have been a happier baby had we known al this. follow that instinct and alsways say...but this still is not right here. It was like the curtains were lifted from my son's eyes. in fact, just turned three, we had gone out and he got some terriakky sauce (he can get by with a little bit that is cooked in the meats but not straight sauce). He was horrible today. Cried all day and so on. I get frustrated first but then I was like...ah ha. so i will "detox" him tomorrow and a coouple days with steamed chicken, steamed brocolli, pears, and plain rice. I allow small amounts of organic ketchup too so he will at least eat something. this is his control diet we had him on for a month to figure all this out. I have already written so much and probably confused you. but if you think that maybe it is actually a "chemical" reaction to foods, reply and I can talk nore about a control diet and stuff. I had to educate myself on the internet with only a bit of help from doctors. My peditrician still doesn't "get it"...so I am changing. Oh, and I know it is hard to go dairy free at that age. If you truely get into a GI or allergist, ask about Peptamin Junior. It is a canned whey drink. It is $8 a can so you have to work to get some coverage. that is how I made it through that year when the eating is so unpredictable. Now, he is dairy free completely and fine. He takes a Calcium suppliment with D as well as a dairy free Acidohilus. Oh, and for now, stick with organic plain yogurt, goat milk or cheese, hard cheeses, and if you really want to get cow products, see about delivery from a local farm that is low hormone and antibiotics (organic).

celiac (spelling) disease is where you are allergic to whey protein, which unfortunately is in tons of products. i think many formulas also have whey protein or a form of it. if your little one would react after a bottle maybe it's the whey. you should have the baby's mom/dad ask the pediatrician about the possibility of celiac disease.

it sounds like you're working things out just fine, but the postings reminded me so much of what we went through with my little guy... turned out he was allergic to dairy, soy and corn products!! Because i was breast-feeding I had to eliminate those things from my diet...I lost 5 pds the first week- you wouldn't believe how many foods have soy, dairy and corn products in them (and yes, high fructose corn syrup is a corn product). Someone suggested Rice milk and I had some with my cereal and he fussed and broke out that evening- I found out that babies with dairy allergies are often sensitive to rice milk as well- go figure! Well good luck :)

Hi--
I went through something similar with my oldest son. After many doctor appointments that got me nowhere I found an alternative doc, actually he's a chiropractor/acupuncturist/bio-energetic practitioner who was able to diagnose and treat my son almost instantly after months of western medicine not helping at all. He uses a diagnostic technique called electral dermal screening (EDS) that is remarkable, accurate, and non-invasive. My son was very very sick when we first took him and is now remarkably healthy. I swear by this man!! He is also treating my second baby who is now 7 months old and so much healthier than the first because we knew right away what foods to avoid. The problems with scratch tests is they are not always accurate, and they only test for allergic reactions, not sensitivities. EDS tests both. If you are interested in pursuing this further please let me know and I will give you the doctor's information. Again, I swear he saved my child's health!! I've referred over a dozen people to him and every single one of them also had remarkable results.
Good luck!
J. Parker

if its only been the last three weeks, it probably isn't the formula or the dog. I'd look for what has changed - new laundry soap, carpets were cleaned, new formula, other new food, new cleaning product, new baby soap, etc.
I'll echo all those below - be very careful what you bring into the house. Cleaning - vinegar and baking soda cover most anything and can't cause any reactions. laundry - buy only those w/out dyes or perfumes. No dryer sheets for now. No softener either. No deodorizing sprays or plug ins. Perfume/cologne need to be out for now as well. Baby shampoo/soap - only aveeno or cetaphil. don't trust the all naturals - they tend to have lots of botanicals that can cause reactions. Good luck.

I was sure my daughter was allergic to dairy as well, and the tests were negative. She was breastfed, and I chose to go off ALL dairy. She improved greatly. I have heard that allergy tests on kiddos under 2 are not very reliable.

I totally agree with the poster about a pediatric chiropractor. Our has helped with every health issue we have had.

There is also a chiropractor in Pueblo who will diagnose and treat allergies. He has gone through extensive training to do this. I know several people (from infants to my middle aged mom) who have gone to him and swear by him. I don't know where you live, but it might be worth the trip. His name is Tano Welch. ###-###-####.

Good luck - trust your instincts!!

When we supplemented my daughter's diet with formula, she would breakout and have stomach trouble. She turned out to be soy intollerant. We found soy in every single formula at Soopers and Sageway. Something to be aware of.

K.,
As a mother of 2 and a daughter who is sensative to dairy my first question would be, does she still break out after drinking the rice milk? How long has she been on it? Has there been any mild improvements? My daughter didn't get hives but she did have a constant ear infection for about 5 months until we had her tested by a homeopathic doctor, our family physician was cool with it and even though it isn't his cup of tea he respects our decision and has helped when she got another ear infection right at the start of allergy season...he prescribed two allergy meds to take daily and that fixed that problem has had perfect ears since. Honestly after reading alot about allergies I wouldn't be surprised if she was allergic to dairy and possibly wheat they are the top 2 of 5 the others include peanuts, soy and (sorry) can't think of the last one of the top of my head.

If I were you I would continue to try the rice milk atleast for a few weeks to really get the dairy out of her system and see if it helps. If it helps even a little it is worth it, then you can always try cutting out wheat to see how she is after a few more weeks. Be patient it is hard but if it has been in her system for months or even a year it could take time for her little body to filter it out.

Best of luck and let me know if you would like any reading material, remember it is best to solve the problem then treat the symptom.

N.

I know you got lots of responses, but I'd encourage you to keep trying to get an answer. We were in the same boat until we went to National Jewish. We got some great answers and now lead a normal life. The one thing that really helped me was to know that the "allergist" who had helped us before had run incorrect tests and that's part of the reason they are so unreliable. Our doctor at NJ ran new tests and we got results. Enjoy that little baby!

Hi K.,

I know how frustrating this can be. I went round and round with health issues with my little guy. I went to doctor after doctor, specialist after specialist, surgery after surgery for almost a year and got no where! Things got worse and worse. My son ended up in the hospital and thats when I decided it was time to take matters into my own hands.

Believe it or not, a pediatric chiropractor was the answer. They were able to confirm allergies that all the doctors and panels were not able to pick up, and regular adjustments have made all the difference. My son has been happy, healthy and symptom free for over a year now, all because of the chiropractor.

I was a HUGE skeptic when someone off this very message board presented the idea, but I was at a point where I felt I had nothing to loose and everything to gain, and thats exactly what happened.

I wish you and your bundle of joy all the best!

You've got some great advice here.

I wanted to weigh in because my nursling is allergic to milk but we also got a negative test result. In his case, I'm fairly sure it's a non-IgE-mediated MPA (milk protein allergy) as he's got very clear reactions that include blood in stool when I was eating dairy regularly. He does react to even *tiny* amounts so I avoid it entirely.

ANY non-IgE allergy will not show up on the testing, regardless of whether you do RAST or SPT. But that doesn't mean that your granddaughter isn't reacting.

Hooray for you that you're working on finding out what is bothering her! :) A lot of people aren't willing to go to that much effort.

I'd suggest a detailed food diary (there's a book that has some great examples: "Is This Your Child?" by Doris Rapp, MD) and see what the common factors are. It might be really easy to identify triggers since she splits her time between your house and elsewhere. If she only reacts at your house, that's where your culprit is. If she reacts everywhere, it's something that's used everywhere: formula, diapers, wipes, perhaps laundry detergent, etc.

If the rash is a regular thing, chances are good that you'll identify what's causing it and be able to help this little one be more comfortable.

Keep up the good detective work! Best of luck!

Hate to say it, but do another scratch test and have them do a blood allergy test, also. There can be false negatives and false positives - I've experienced both with my son. My son's first test did not show an allergy to egg, the second did, and he is SOOO allergic to egg - he touches something with egg in it and breaks out. Both tests showed positive to dairy, and he is indeed allergic to it, too. The first showed positive allergic to wheat, corn, tomatoes, and chocolate, the second was negative, and challenge tests proved he is indeed not allergic to those things. Allergy tests are highly inaccurate, which is extremely frustrating to us parents trying to figure out how to best help our kids! Good luck!

H.