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DD 2 has eczema on her wrists and where her nappy rubs, we have hydrocortisone and dermol and have been told she'll prob grow out of it. I still breastfeed her and she has a lot of feeds for her age, she also loves dairy stuff to eat, as do I. After getting really down about her scratching etc and not really being someone who is happy to wait for her to grow out of it I thought I'd try and work out if its dairy that is causing her a problem as lots of people (most of whom are vegan though!) are telling me that is prob what it is! I have switched her to goats milk and cheese for the last week as I prefer the idea of a natural milk than soya for example.

I've not noticed much difference yet but I have stayed with cows milk for myself. Any advice on where to go from here? Her skin is bad at the mo as it was before I started the change from milk to goats. Any advice on how long to give it, should I do it as well as she is breasfed, I can't stomach the goats milk tbh. My GP is no help, can't really afford private appt, can anyone give me any advice?

Hi, my ds, now 15, suffered with eczema when younger. We used wysoy, and then tried goats milk. Eventually after hospital appointments at the allergy clinic and with the nutritionist he was put on a totally dairy free diet at the age of 5 (years). Until then he had never slept through the night. Sometimes he scratched so much there was blood everywhere, so we had to bandage him up at bedtime.

within a short period of time he began sleeping through the night, and the eczema faded away. Yes, there was still the odd mild flare up, but nothing like previously. Now he is clear, though he does have asthma, though that doesn't stop him playing loads of sport.

We still on the whole stick to dairy free, which is quite easy once you get used to it. I cook with soya milk and soya cream and it tastes just as good. You have to be aware of calcium intake, so calcium tablets might be needed, but you need to speak to a health professional about that.

I also use non-bio washing detergent, no softener. I also avoid using chemical cleaning sprays.

I hope this helps. Eczema can be so miserable.

good luck

Just wanted to say that eczema is indeed very cruel and watching your little one suffer is truly awful. Sometimes there is a direct cause such as an allergy but unfortunately, as much as you may want to find a magic 'cure', most of the time there is no rhyme nor reason to it. I'm only saying that because I drove myself crazy trying to find a 'cure' for my DS's eczema and while he does have multiple food allergies, eliminating all the foods he's allergic to hasn't got rid of his eczema (it did improve but we're still battling with it on a regular basis). Also wanted to add that goat's milk is too similar to cow's milk to make any difference. You'd be better trying soya or oat milk if you really want to see whether or not it makes a difference.

Thanks for your advice, I figured I'd do a few weeks of goats and then go onto maybe coconut or oat milk if goat didn't show any changes. How long do I need to try each one for do you think?

not sure how long you should try each type of milk for, but probably between 2 and 4 weeks. also check ingredients of all bought foods (biscuits, ham ,sausages etc), it's amazing what contains milk/milk products. Be aware of calcium intake.

Will your GP refer you for tests? I know they are very reluctant but it's worth a try. My son only got referred when he was admitted to hospital with an asthma attack and the consultant noticed his eczema and arranged for him to attend the allergy clinic. Also remember that washing bathing/showering too regularly can dry out the skin and make the eczema worse, so try not to bath everyday, and be careful what you use as soap.

x

Sorry to contradict Lindor but current advice for eczema is to bath everyday to prevent skin infections. As long as you use a good bath additive and soap replacement it doesn't dry the skin. In fact, our skin nurse told us to bath twice a day when eczema is really bad because the eczema stops the skin from working as a natural barrier to infection so you need to make sure you keep the skin clean and moisturised at all times. DS is very prone to skin infections like impetigo because of his eczema.

My daughter had eczema from birth. GP said she would grow out of it but sooo bad I couldn't wait. If its really red make sure it's not infected. I went to see nutritional therapist and after series of questions suggested it was milk. As I had cut out milk before I wasn't sure so we did RAST test (blood test). The results were clear - major allergy to milk, grains and egg. After probiotics and vitamins and oils - all clear! Blinking miracle. NB she was allergic to protein in milk so included ALL animal milks.

Similar situation with 19mo ds. We have been on red alert for food allergies because his brother is allergic, but still found it very difficult to identify what it is (if anything). Finally last week dp took him to GP and must have been more assertive than me as has got a referral for testing, but also some stronger creams - eumovate and elocon to get the rashes under control. These worked very quickly and we've had some great sleeping since then (normally wakes scratching and crying).
It seems that having cleared the skin it is easier to test foods - we've taken him down to a dairy and egg free diet and then yesterday he had some pesto (contains cheese) which seemed to cause itching and rash within a couple of hours. Before, everything was itchy and we just couldn't tell. Next thing for us is to introduce eggs, then cows milk again. (I know, should have done milk before cheese,but I thought might be ok with tiny amount!).
Our clinic appt is July so too long to wait really.

On the breastfeeding, I'm not cutting things out myself yet but might do if I can work out what it is. I got very skinny cutting out everythign for DS1 and it didn't seem to make a difference even pre-weaning.

NB I think it is 80% of children allergic to cow milk will also react to goat, as proteins similar, so I would say soya or rice/oat would be a better starting option. Soya worked for us but is also an allergen, lots of people on here have to avoid it too.

Not sure if antyhing here helps at all but would love to hear how you get on.

Hi My lo is 5 months with terrible eczema (wet and dry bandages) her Dad has food allergies but the hospital are really ant allergy testing this young but could anyone tell me if their lo was tested young and had success i am bfing and absolutely happy to give up whatever if it would help but feel if they could allergy test then i would know what to eliminate rather than months of trial and error i've been dairy fee for 2 weeks but no difference yet
Would love to hear if anyone successfully allergy tested

Yes with ds1 he was referred first to dermatology with his eczema (infected, tormented with itching at 5 months - was 6 months by the appointment and they immediately did RAST (blood) tests for a full allergy screen. There was a younger baby in with us having the same thing so am sure it is not unusual in those cases. It told us he was 'multiple allergic' - but in fact some of the positives turned out to be OK for him to eat (e.g. a low reaction on wheat, which he was fine with). We are still stuck with egg, cows milk and white fish and shellfish at 4.5yrs, but having a cake challenge soon.

I was bfing too but wanted formula to put in weaning foods and they recommended nutramigen (yuk), later I used WySoy in foods but was never his main drink.

Thanks heliotrope i really appreciate you reply you have strengthened my resolve to keep argueing !

By the way did it really make a difference with his eczema ????

DD3 has it quite badly as well. Started with a few patches at about 4 months (she didn't start solids til 9 m so can't have been her diet), and now at 2y5m she has it on her wrists, elbows, and behind knees. When it's bad the wrists and elbow patches join up down her arms, and she gets the start of it on her entire body. Her knees are bad all the time and it sometimes creeps up her thighs as well. She also has terrible nappies when she has any cow dairy produce. They smell terrible and burn her bottom to a bleeding blistering mess in less than a minute (the nursery has been witness to this phenomenon as well and are quite taken aback that the GP will do nothing about it).

I am trying to gather together the resolve to take her yet again to the GP and explain about what I think the problem is- every time I mention the milk thing they all but roll their eyes and hustle me out the door of the surgery. She has been prescribed Aveeno and hydrocortisone by two different GPs but the Aveeno doesn't really work beyond the moisturising effect and we can't possibly slather her entire body in hydrocortisone even though it works in the short-term to relieve the itching and irritation.

As few months ago when I stopped only giving her my milk we started her on rice milk but she is tricky to feed and soon was drinking over a litre a day and not eating much so I felt she wouldn't be getting enough of the right nutrients and have recently bought her goat formula. It seems not to make her symptoms as bad but it's still not ideal as she's still itching, and waking up several times a night scratching.

Frankly I'm at my wits' end with it. I want to help her but I can't. Short of relactating (I could because she still has the occasional sneaky 5am feed) and expressing until she grows out of it (which might be 10 years' time for all I know) I don't know what else to do. At least at the moment she looks healthier presumably due to the adequate nutrients in the formula.

Sorry not to be able to actually give any advice as such. Eczema is a bugger. My oldest child had it as well but was cured virtually overnight by falling into a pond at Pamukkale in Turkey. We are considering a trip there- anything has to be worth a try at this stage.

You'll need to go dairy free too.

Here's the Animal Free Shopper to help you check ingredients if you haven't seen it before.

Bookworm - keep fighting!!! My ds had bloody weeping excema at 1 month. I said I thought it was milk allergy. I was ignored. I tried to swap to goats milk, then soya milk finally someone listened and he was given nutramigen (one of the hype allergenic formulas - there are others). His excema disappeared. At 3 months he was skin prick tested by george du toit one of the top paediatric allergy consultants in the UK ( ie he knew what he was doing!) - surprise, surprise he was found to be allergic to milk, as well as to a whole host of other things. That was 5 years ago. None of those skin prick tests have sadly been found to be inaccurate. Your doctor is talking tosh. There are new NICE guidelines saying that you have a right to expert testing and consultation re suspected childhood allergies. See if you can get a referral to st Thomas if you are in London/ south east. Good luck,

Ps the hypoallergenic formulas are in fact available over the counter if you want to give them a try ....

publications.nice.org.uk/food-allergy-in-children-and-young-people-cg116

NICE guidelines - wave them around - they are a year old - I would have hoped things had improved and people are not being lied to misled as they were when I was arguing with them 5 years ago!

Our experience similar to babybarrister's - DS had horrible, infected, weeping eczema at 4 weeks, which improved hugely when I cut out eggs and milk from my own diet (he was ebf). I started keeping a detailed food diary, and on the basis of that also cut out a lot of other foods as well. His skin was completely clear by the time he was finally allergy tested at 13 months.

freefrommum is right that not all eczema is related to food allergies, but I still think it is worth a try.

Oh thank you so much for all your words (first time I've posted on mumsnet)
We are now having RAS testing TODAY !!! after allergic reaction to nutrimagen last night !!! We are in Edinburgh so off to sick kids. I know it won't be a cure but hopefully it will help. Im bfing and was only trying formula to add to food I have now been dAiry free for nearly 3 weeks i'm starting to see a difference (they'll probably say coincidence as have yold me NOT to change my diet) will keep arguing !!!

my son has had excema since birth and when he was on cows milk it was really bad with it.
on cows milk he would have such terrible stomach aches, nausea.

then we found out he was alergic to lactose.

since he went on to lactose free milk it has been much better
good luck

just to explain, an allergic reaction is a reaction to a protein. if your DC is allergic to cow's milk, it is to the protein component. lactose is the sugar. many DC are intolerant to lactose - in many cases severely so. that is not the same as an allergy. this is very important as different formulas are designed for different things. RAST tests identify allergies, not lactose intolerance.

Oh hope the tests went well and gave you information - the more info the better as trying to work it out yourself is so so hard. Let us know!
TO answer your question earlier (sorry rushed off at work!), DS1's eczema was the reason we got the allergy tests, but in his case not necessarily actually caused by the allergens - he'd only had breastmilk and I'd excluded the 6 major allergens for 4 weeks and dairy and egg for longer). His eczema was still severe at that point but after getting it controlled with strong steroids at about 6-8m we had only minor flare ups. I don't know whether that is because we had the allergies pinned down. To be honest when he's had the allergens the reaction has been immediate hives, vomiting etc, all instant so very clear. I've never noticed a delayed skin reaction, but then obviously his only exposures have been accidental and stopped as soon as we've realised.

DS2 (19mo) is different - not obviously/immediatlely allergic to anything, eczema less severe - but has carried on for much longer and affects his sleep much more. I am now thinking that he may have allergies too, causing eczema, but they're harder to pin down - so trying a food diary / elimination etc while we await a referral. THis is such a hard process though - we make a bit of progress but then he gets ill or goes to nursery and it all gets confused.

3 weeks until results and then longer to see dr !! She's teething now and kept coming out in rashes until I realised the teething powder has milk in it !!!!! So pretty sure it's all allergy related ! They're testing for dairy eggs fish wheat and soya hope it's not all of them Poor wee scone teething and a cold which is all making eczema worse and I've got flu all a bit miserable in our house !

Milk is highly unlikely to be the cause of your child's eczema. The treatment you describe could be improved hugely before you even consider such a significant dietary change.
Hydrocortisone is very mild so the first thing to try would be a slightly stronger steroid like Eumovate. Dermol is not an ideal moisturiser - try an ointment like Epaderm or QV instead. And bath every day with oil added - no soaps or shampooing in the bath.
Look at National Eczema Society website

Only just joined mums net but what a great thread.
My daughter is almost four and has had severe eczema since age 1, quite a late developer!! It got worse and worse until I was crying as nothing I did could help her and I didn't want a life of steroid cream. The dogs weren't really helping so I started researching myself. Basically as her eczema didn't really start until she was weaned and then gradually got worse I was sure it was food related, I exclusively breast fed for 6 months then was her only milk until age one then feed until age two.

I decided to eliminTe wheat,dairy and egg. I would say it took3 months to see an improvement - we did this age 18 months. But ii would say she now has controlled eczema, not gone but only has flare ups on joints. She will always have sensitive skin, can't use creams besides prescribed, surcare washing powder etc.

The diet has taken some getting use to but it's easier as she is young she has grown up understanding she has special food. The doctors now acknowledge she has type four allergies a d have seen the improvement.

It's the best thing we could have done.

That was meant to say the docs weren't helping!! Although dogs don't help either.....but that should be another thread!!!