Soya allergy -is my dietician talking nonsense?

[Swannykazoo]

Been to see the dietician for dairy free weaning advice (6mo cmpa, breastfed, I've eliminated all milk, milk products, soya, no more mucus nappies, happier baby but eczema pretty dreadful still) and she was extremely sceptical that my wee one couldn't have soya. At one point she did say "soya doesn't cause eczema" and almost all the official advice was to use soya as milk substitute. Suggested co-existant cmpa/soya was more like 15-20% of cmpa kids than the 50-60% I'd read.
So - I had some bread with soya flour yesterday and the poor wee soul scratched all night, eczema has flared. I had an alpro dessert for lunch and (against my better judgement but thought I must be getting a bit PFB) gave him a tiny taste - half an hour later screaming baby with a red bumpy rash around his mouth. I was a bit scared so I've given him a dose of his prescribed antihistamine and he's zonked out now.
I can't see how this isn't an allergy. What do you wise people think? I'm thinking most sensible action is 1-no more soya, 2-dairy+soya free weaning ignoring my helpful NHS leaflet, 3-trust my instincts!

[ukey]

yes if ur wee one is reacting to soya then soya and dairy free is deffo the way to go x

[Scousadelic]

Dieticians are giving advice based on what often works in large groups of babies, you are looking at what is best for just one so I would follow your instincts

[eragon]

I agree, and food does cause eczema so soya could be a trigger.
I would avoid milk and soya does seem to happen at once.
do you have a referral to allergy clinic? mention this to your doc as dieticians should be double checking with medical advice /doc before adding an already suspected allergen in to a diet.

[Swannykazoo]

Cheers ladies. No referral to allergy or paeds but I'm planning on doing some GP badgering this week...

[Waltonswatcher]

Gee I am delighted your dietitian isn't mine !
I have never heard of soya being the go to as a dairy replacement . In my experience it was avoid avoid from all hcp .
Anything can cause a skin rash I would have thought , all reactions are personal .
Again I say read The Complete Guide to Allergy and Intolerance .
And push for a referral - she needs proper supplements as advised by an experienced hcp .

[Swannykazoo]

Supplements Waltonswatcher? I'm on calcium supps on GP's advice but there was no mention of baby supps!

[Waltonswatcher]

Calcium and very importantly vitd for her too when her feeds drop off - usually at six mths .
If my memory is correct , this is why you need a referral !

[ShineSmile]

Yes definitely get hold of that book.

Also baby needs vitamin D and calcium supplements.

Ready Brek is high in calcium, iron and vitamin D, worthwhile giving with coconut milk (koko/karo).

[Swannykazoo]

Arse! 6mo baby and I'm going back to work in a month so definitely aiming to reduce feeds though not stop...I even mentioned that I was on calcium supps and was worried about calcium. Amazon fairy should have the book to me by middle of week.

[Slacktacular]

My DD, now 21m has CMP and soya allergy. I weaned off the boob at 15m onto fortified oat milk, and our dietitian has got her on calcium and multivitamin supplements too. Oat milk not as widely available as soya, but a great substitute. In the way of encouragement I'm slowly introducing cows milk produce to DD who can now have a bit of cheese or yoghurt. Soya to follow - sounds like she had the same reaction your LO had. Def sounds like a proper allergy, and my DD's excema cleared up when we quit all soya. Best of luck with your small person. Allergys are stressful :(

[Sleepwhenidie]

I'm a bit she was so sure there was unlikely to be a soya allergy/intolerance, after dairy and gluten, corn and soya are the main source of problems!

[anotherdayanothersquabble]

It also sounds like you haven't got the full picture if your baby eczema is still bad. If other symptoms have improved on exclusion, it is likely that there are other allergies triggering her eczema.

[Slacktacular]

Gah! *Allergies - my phone declined to pluralise!

[ShineSmile]

Have you tried eliminating wheat, eggs, nuts and fish?

[Swannykazoo]

I'm certainly worried there's other things causing the eczema still. On the other hand I'm worried about further dietary restrictions when things like pollen/dustmites might be masking/suggesting reactions. What's peoples experience of allergy testing at 6 months?

[ShineSmile]

We had LO's at 6 months and it was fairly accurate. Though it showed no wheat allergy when she early has that.

[Swannykazoo]

Grr! Stronger steroids and been told allergy testing unreliable so no point yet. Waiting for a callback from dietician about supplements

[ShineSmile]

Puggle, the book you've ordered tells you how to do the test at home. In your case, it's worth a shot

[Swannykazoo]

Fab thanks shine

[OHforDUCKScake]

Most dairy allergic kids cant have soya.

I so hear your pain about the terrible lingering eczema. It really takes a long time to go, despite eliminating all offending items.

How are you treating it? Do you have Aveeno and steroid ointments for it?

[NothingMoreScaryThanAHairyMary]

Dd is dairy and soya free( bastard soya in everything!) we have never had confirmation that she is intolerant, but experience shows that she reacts, it's not an instaneuos reaction like your dd but normally 12-24 hrs later. Dieticians like all hcp's are variable in knowledge....

[Swannykazoo]

Not got on too well with Aveeno (though I like it) - its clarty epaderm for emollient and today we were upgraded to betnovate. Also LO has learnt to roll off the changing mat and back (its on the floor before anyone panics) so its like trying to put cream on a freshly landed fish...

[HotMommy]

Your dietician sounds rubbish. Mine told me to avoid soy products because my little one has cmpa. We had a skin prick test (as she has several allergies) and she does not test positive for soy allergy - but soy products give her a very upset tummy so we avoid them altogether anyway.

You might want to try removing egg as well. It was only when I stopped eating egg, after battling eczema for months, that it cleared up. Then the skin prick confirmed it.