My one year old has been dealing with medium severe eczema since he was a newborn. He also passes a lot of gas and still wakes every 1.5 to 3 hours. (For the record, I co-sleep and breastfeed to sleep, so the night waking may just be habit.) Yesterday, he ate a new food, vegetable risotto with whey protein and cheddar cheese by Gerber, and two hours later he threw up, for the first time in his life. However, he eats baby yogurt all the time. He does not get cow's milk, since I nurse, but I myself drink a lot of milk. I am pretty sure he is sensitive to eggs and citrus when I eat them, but I am wondering if he could have a true milk allergy? My pediatrician insists the gas is normal, and that the eczema is probably from detergent, even though I use the dye and perfume free kinds. If I go on a a milk elimination diet, does that mean I have to avoid every single drop of dairy, including cheese or milk products in baked goods, to get accurate results? Just wondering if anyone else has had experience with this.
I actually considered milk allergy earlier, but I read that they are pretty rare, so I didn't follow up.
My baby boy developed a weird rash on his cheek. He also had a little blood in his stool. My pediatrician was the one who mentioned a possible milk allergy and he was right. I would get a second opinion.
If your son has medium to severe eczema, is passing lots of gas, and is throwing up--I would suspect a milk protein allergy before I would lactose-intolerant. Despite what you've heard, it is very COMMON for babies/very young children to have a milk allergy.
My daughter developed a milk allergy at 6 months old; I discovered it because her neck started peeling like she had a sunburn (she hadn't been outside in the sun to get a sunburn). She had a wellness check up, and I pointed it out to her Pediatrician, who immediately had me take her off cow milk dairy because it was a reaction to cow protein.
It appears I have had an allergy to casein, a cow milk protein, since I was a baby and it wasn't caught until I was 40 years old! Man, has the allergy done a terrible disservice to my body and my health.
Yes, if you're going to do an elimination diet to see if cow milk allergy is the source of your son's issues, you will absolutely need to "avoid every single drop of dairy, including cheese or milk products in baked goods", to get accurate results (I'm assuming you're still breast feeding). Or you can take him to a naturopathic doctor, who can test him to see if he is allergic AND at the same time, can run lab tests to see if his body is able to tolerate goat or sheep substitutes. That's how I discovered that my body can have goat and sheep products--which has been an absolute lifesaver!
The fact that your little guy has such bad eczema for someone so young points to the fact that some type of food doesn't like him. The skin is the body's largest detoxification organ; if there is a food (or chemical or pesticide or dye or coloring, etc.) the body doesn't like, it can and does purify itself by pushing that "foreign body" out of the system through the skin. I know; this is the way my body detoxifies if I eat something that my body doesn't like.
I would highly suggest having him seen by a Naturopathic Doctor. If you find out now what he food(s) is allergic/intolerant to, you can help him stay away from eating the offending foods and he'll be healthier and happier as he grows up.
***I also wanted to add that the vegetable risotto by Gerber had whey protein AND cheddar cheese, so he was getting a double dose of cow milk protein. The two milk proteins that people can be allergic to are whey and casein.
It's very easy to eliminate dairy from your diet. If you do it for even a week, you'll notice an improvement (if that is indeed the problem.) Certainly worth it to check it out. And yes, to be successful at an elimination diet you do really need to eliminate all sources. Then slowly add it back in, see if symptoms come back, etc.
My daughter was allergic to soy. She was put on the allimentum formula. Eventually when she had a bowel movement there was blood, from being allergic. She too does have the exema but does drink milk. You can always try something to see if your baby is allergic but I had to avoid everything else at that time and do one item at once for a few weeks. She also now is allergic to penicillin. Good luck!!
Hi--
Actually, milk allergies are incredibly common---it is the most common allergen. If you want to get an accurate result you have to take ALL dairy out of your diet---including anything that says whey or casien/caseinate on it (Those are the two dairy proteins that cause an allergic reaction--- usually it is the casein causing the problem). Google the hidden sources of dairy---you'd be surprised how much stuff it is in. For example, hamburger buns often have non-fat dry milk powder in them. Red Robin soaks their french fries in milk before frying them. The reason straight milk causes a more severe reaction then cheese or yogurt is because the latter has enzymes in it that helps the body better digest it.
There is also a difference between an allergy and a sensitivity. An allergy is a histamine reaction coming from the liver--you'll usually see things like rashes (including eczema), puffy or dark circles under the eyes, frequent ear infections, frequent runny nose or post-nasal drip, itching, sneezing, and behavior problems. A sensitivity is an inability to properly digest the food, which leads to diarrhea/constipation and abdominal pain. In both cases you see bad sleeping patterns---the first because histamine causes the body to release adrenaline, and the second because of abdominal pain.
To get an accurate read on whether it is in fact the dairy you have to give it a good month to see any kinds of results. It takes 7 days for the body to completely get rid of the dairy protein, and then the body needs time to come back into balance.
For the eczema you should also give the child omega 3/6/and 9 fatty acids to help heal the skin. You can also put coconut oil directly onto the skin--coconut oil has medium chain fatty acids, which is what the skin uses to heal itself. DO NOT use things with mineral oil in it (like aquaphor, vaseline, and most common lotions). Mineral oil seems to work because it clogs the poors, so whatever is dumping out of the skin that is causing the rash can no longer get out of the skin. The rash goes away, but the toxins are still inside the body--not exactly where you want them.
Hope that helps. Both my kids have every allergy/sensitivity under the sun, so I've had to become an expert on this stuff. Feel free to ask more questions!!
J.
It sounds like either an allergy to the proteins (whey and/or casein) or an intolerance to lactose. The fact that he eats baby yogurt all the time leads me to believe it is more likely an intolerance than an allergy. When my son was nine months old, I fed him 1/2 a yobaby (that's about 2 oz of yogurt). Within 15 minutes, he was developing hives. Within a half hour, he was covered in hives over 100% of his body and vomiting. That was his first direct exposure to milk and a clear indication of a severe allergy (which, at age 4.5, isn't any better). He had pretty bad eczema as a baby which, in hindsight, was probably due to all the dairy exposure he was getting through my breastmilk, though we didn't know it at the time.
Anyway, if you do decide to try an elimination diet, yes, you have to eliminate 100% of all dairy from your diet. That means reading every single label on any packaged goods, looking for the words milk, whey, casein, or any form of any of those words.
Eczema and egg allergies often go hand in hand, so that could certainly be a cause. Have you fed him eggs yet? Many kids with egg allergies can tolerate eggs in baked goods, but can't eat a plain egg. When baked, the protein is denatured and becomes more tolerated. Even in pancakes, it is cooked enough, whereas scrambling, boiling, etc don't change the nature of the protein.
sorry for the long reply. feel free to PM me with questions if any of it was too confusing.
Eczema......do an allergy test to be sure. My daughter used to scratch the stuffings out of herself in her sleep until I demanded the test. She can have dairy in any form except glasses of milk or chocolate milk. Cheese, ice cream and yogurt are fine. Never had a bout of eczema after we cut out glasses of milk.
I on the other hand am dairy intolerant, which I learned about 3 years ago. My stomach gets really unhappy when I have dairy in any form. Oof.
If you are ingesting alot of milk, your baby IS getting that through your breast milk.
He may have just gotten more sensitive to milk, but by one I'd think you would already know. When I was nursing and my baby was having tummy troubles we did process of elimination. And he is lactose sensitive. You could try the extreme route and eliminate all dairy but that is HARD. My baby is now 16 months and still can't drink milk. He can eat cheese, but not yogurt, of any kind and he drinks rice, almond or cocnut milk. Mainly rice though. If I give him yogurt or a little cows milk he vomits and it smells sour, or he gets diarrhea that burns his skin instantly.
Sounds like a dairy allergy or sensitivity to me. I really wish I had eliminated dairy from my diet while I was nursing. I think I would have had a happier baby! I was when I started introduing cereal and veggies at 4 months did I see a significant improvement in my son. But it was not until I cut out dairy completely at age 2 did his mild eczema and irritability clear up. Eczema, lots of gas, and throwing up are all signs of an allergy. No, he is too old at age 1 to be having so much gas. He also should be sleeping more than 3 hours at a time at this age, but that is another issue! I definetly reccomend cutting out ALL dairy in your and his diet for a week and see what happens. Then slowly introduce milk into your diet or his diet. Just one element per week and see what happens.
All three of my children have a sensitivity to lactose. From the beginning their bm's would have a certain smell. The preschool would be advised not to offer whole milk to my children. When I changed their diaper I knew they had offered whole milk. They can drink lactose free milk and not have any bm issues.
Quick story...my kindergartener was having poppies problems at school. I could not figure out how he could go two years without having a bm in his pants to have one everyday at school. The day we were bring my grandmother home from hospital to die at home, the school nurse, two of the afterschool teachers called three times in 15 minutes to pick up my poop filled kid from school. I was like my husband is on his way, I am here with the hospice nurse!! When he got there our son was sitting with a carton of WHOLE milk. My husband told them you are the reason my son is pooping his pants!! He can't have whole milk. (in our sons defense at preschool he drank lactose free milk-so for him he didn't know the difference).
It was written all over his paperwork for allergies. NO MILK. I even brought a doctor's note to the cafeteria. Everything slipped through the cracks. Cafeteria and office staff did not relay information. I told his teacher 1st day of school. As with many other parents sharing little things with the teacher of their Childs issues. So I don't blame his teacher. The registration staff should have looked at the allergies and informed me that the school nurse needed to be advised. When my older child went to school there all I had to do was share with the cafeteria with a doctor’s note, and they gave him juice or water. The new policy was doctors notes had to go to the nurse. That information was not shared with me at any point. As a result my poor son went to doctor to get checked for intestinal problems, UTI and have poopy pants at school.
All three of my kids can eat ice cream and drink chocolate milk in moderation (they love it), they can eat every cheese and be fine. It’s the whole milk everyday that their stomachs can't handle. So drinking whole milk for them every day (like my kindergartener for lunch and afterschool program) will make them have BM problems.
