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Well, it's odd really. He eats blueberries most days atm (one of the few fruits he'll accept). I was actually wearing the same clothes as the previous day and I've not had any new clothes.

The day before this reaction he'd reacted to some banana (one of his suspected allergens) but only with redness, not with the eczema bumps all over his face.

It's better than it was - the redness has subsided - but all the bumpy bits are still there. The dermatologist said that now his eczema is so much better controlled (with topical immune suppressing cream), flares due to allergies should only last 24 hours or so. This is going on much longer.

My best guess is that I managed to eat some of his mystery allergen which is why the reaction was so bad (plus probably being extra sensitivity due to the banana reaction the day before). Trouble is, I don't know what it is - when he had the bad reaction we'd just come out of the swimming pool so he could have swallowed anything in there.

The only other explanation would be a new and sudden-onset dairy allergy. He has always seemed fine with dairy (apart from melted cheese, but we thought that was due to histamine levels). He & I are doing a DF trial to see if it helps a couple of other health issue he has. We'd been off it for 5 days and it turned out that the sweets I ate had some milk in. (It must have been a reasonable amount as it was enough to make me briefly unwell - I'm lactose intolerant.) But that doesn't seem that likely to me...

I changed what I was wearing too - no wool, no synthetic shiny stuff and nothing scratchy while breastfeeding and in the sling. Have you bought any new tops recently?

How is your DS now? Good luck getting to the bottom of this.

I see your DS is well over one (congrats on the tandem feeding btw! I was aiming for it but ended up weaning DS1 at 23 mo.), but given he is already allergic to a few things it might be worth a thought.

I thought berries were quite likely to cause allergies: where I am from the recommendation is not to introduce them until the baby is over 1. So maybe blueberry jam?

I had to change what I wore when i was breastfeeding my allergic son, a wool jumper caused huge reaction on face, red/hives etc.

so cotton for him and for me!

also he used to do the same when we went clothes shopping as the chemical on new clothes used to irritate him.

I'm not surprised - oranges do aggravate his skin (though he adores orange juice.)

Oranges are also very bad for people with eczema and allergies. My sons facial eczema flares right up after oranges..gets really red, hot and angry looking. Try a more alkaline diet for both u and him.

Thanks - that's useful.

I doubt it's the almonds (unless they're contaminated, which is always possible) as DS was eating ground almonds yesterday evening without incident - but as you say, it can change at any time.

I'll experiment with cutting out both and see if it's a bit better tomorrow.

Yes it's possible. DD who is allergic to eggs went bright red and blotchy inmediately the only time I had egg then bf her.

With peanut and nut allergies, the almonds and the pea protein are the likely suspects IMHO.

DS ate humous many many times before reacting to it ( he's allergic to both sesame and chickpeas). Eating something previously with no issues means nothing as allergies can appear at any time.

2.10 y.o. DS has mild allergies to some foods including nuts/peanuts (bring him up in hives), suspected allergies to other foods (cause red blotches & eczema flares on his face) and a more severe allergy to an unknown substance (the one reaction he’s had caused hives, swelling around the head/face/neck and lethargy).

This morning after bf’ing his face was red and blotchy and his eczema was badly flaring just as it does with his suspected allergens. (By way of context, he was discharged by the dermatologist a fortnight ago as his eczema was so improved as to be almost non-existent.) AHs reduced the symptoms but they didn’t disappear. He was tearful & tantrummy mid-morning, had a big bf and immediately developed blotchiness & eczema flares again. This afternoon’s bf had the same effect. His face was still red & bumpy by bedtime.

I thought it was most likely to be something on my skin, but the only things that have been on it since he bf’d yesterday were conditioner & soap. I dabbed some of each on his face and he didn’t react to either. I’ve not changed washing powder & he’s not reacting to other fabrics.

Is it likely that he’s reacting to something in my milk? Would it be likely to work that fast or have that dramatic an effect?

I avoid eating all DS’s allergens (actual & suspected) so I don’t know what it could be. AFAIK the things I ate yesterday/today that DS didn’t also eat were a pack of chewy sweets, some chocolate, S&V crisps, almonds, cornflakes, rice cereal, blueberry jam, a scone, chocolate oat milk, pea-based protein powder, orange juice. Apart from the jam, I’ve had all of those many times before without problems – and DS has eaten many of them himself on previous occasions.

DS2 (4 wks old, also bf, no known allergies) has been fine.

Any ideas?