What is wrong with DS... dairy or gluten allergy?

[minko]

I was sitting here in tears when I remembered there was an allergy section on MN. I have already posted in health under 'Coeliac disease or over-anxious mother'... anyway...

DS is completely off his food. The last 3 or 4 mornings he has woken up with diarrhoea all the way up his back, poor chap. The childminder mentioned that I should take him to the doctor previous to that because of his frequent smelly loose poos too.

I think it started when he turned one, when he suddenly became clingy, whingey and very cuddly. Looking back I think he may just have been feeling ill all this time. Last week we had a period of about 3 days when he seemed really well (not that I had actually done anything different I think?) but it made me realise how off colour he is the rest of the time.

He is still bf twice a day as dairy seemed to make his excema worse, but he does have some yogs and cheese so it could be a dairy allergy. I'm just so worried. The doc has referred him to a paed. allergist but the appt won't be for at least 6 weeks and I don't know what to do in the meantime...

[LucindaBG]

Minko,

Firstly, it's important to contrast "Allergy" and "Intolerance".

This looks more like an intolerance- your DS is struggling to digest the food. I don't know whether this will show up in a skin test.

Normally, an elimination diet is the way to go: if you suspect dairy or wheat - and I can see that it will be almost impossible to tell which as presumably he will be eating both quite regularly - then try taking him off one or other or both.

You'll need to keep him clear for several days to allow his system to clear and for an improvement to become visible.

If you haven't been used to cooking wheat free, it can be a little daunting, but it can be done - we've had to do this for two of our 3 DSs and, once you get the hang of it, it's not too hard. Check out my profile for more.

In the meantime, it's brilliant that he's still feeding from you - stick at it.

[catesmum]

Even though it's hard to do if you think there may be a problem, it's important not to change anything from your ds' diet. Otherwise you'll end up getting an appointment through and they won't be able to tell you anything, will ask you to put your ds on all the food again and it will be another wait. This will be particularly important if they want to check for coeliacs as it takes several weeks to build up again. Instead, keep a food diary of EVERYTHING your ds eats and keep alongside it a record of any "symptoms" (lethargy, diarrhoea etc). This is because an allergist will probably ask you to keep one and come back in six weeks...
Also, it might be worth bearing in mind that a child who has coeliacs at this age deteriorates rapidly and within a week or so is completely lethargic (unable to sit up etc) and will have lost masses of weight...if this isn't the case then you could be looking at general allergy or intolerance which can disappear by age 3...hope all goes well

[minko]

Just been to the health visitors. He has lost half a kilo since 21st November... She also thought he was dehydrated. First she suggested taking him to A+E. Then she got us an appointment with our doctor this afternoon at 4 for an assessment.

I am now worried sick.

[LucindaBG]

Wow. Our DS2 crawled along on the 2nd percentile for weight and that was worrying enough. Losing weight at that age is not a good sign.

Good luck with the assessment and let us know how you get on.

[tatt]

allergy testing won't help if it's an intolerance. You shouldn't take him off wheat as tests for coeliac won't work unless he's eating it. You can switch him to goats dairy instead of cows or go dairy free completely and you can put him on probiotics. Either may help.

Keep a food diary, it's essential. Note anything he eats (including any trace ingredients) or drinks.

Hope your gp has given you a quick referral. This may be just a temporary problem. Temporay lactose intolerance after a bug is very common but it can alst months.

[nightcat]

I'd say it's wheat, dairy usually causes sonstipation (at least that's how it was with my son)

[nightcat]

..constipation..
(wheat meaning gluten in a broad sense)

[bramblebooks]

My husband is gluten intolerant (coeliac!). My ds2 was coeliac tested last year as he was pale and had smelly poos, etc. He came out as clear, but we realised that he wasn't growing properly. They told us not to exclude wheat from his diet before the test as it would affect the results.

Without wishing to alarm you, a year later he has presented as diabetic. Now that he's been on insulin for a month, he's full of energy and is starting to gain weight. It may have been the diabetes which was holding him back from growing properly. It would not have been picked up in screening last year as he was in a pre-diabetic phase, iyswim, with his body maintaining itself, but not growing,

It's horrible to feel that something isn't right, awful to get a diagnosis, but in a way a relief that you can at last do something about it.

Good luck. Will be hoping for you. x

[jamila169]

is his poo very acidic smelling and slimy - that's the classic lactose intolerance appearance (we are a family where not to be intolerant to some degree is unheard of).If you choose to go dairy free(you'd need to make a decision about Bf as well -I continued for a long time but DS was not getting any better until i stopped) for a trial period it takes about a fortnight for things to start calming down, but can be months until everything is ok - most GP's can diagnose this from an account of the symptoms BTW,as lactose intolerance testing induces diarrhoea so is not a good idea for children under 7. Anything different from the above and you need paed referral ideally

[moljam]

ds2 reacted badly to cows milk produce so he has goats milk produce and soya.
gp says sounds like cows milk intolerence but a locum-we went back as need help/advice,decided it was toddler diarhoa.which would be goodas id know he'll defiantly grow out of it rather than hopefully but funny how his 'toddler diarhoa' comes everytime he has cows milk produce and lasts 5 days funny that.im listening to first 2 docs.

[tatt]

lactose intolerance causes diarrhoea in some people (speaks from family experience).

In our experience taking lactase can reduce the duration of diaarhoea if a bit of milk gets missed.

[moljam]

'if a bit of milk gets missed'does that mean they accidently get bit of milk?were constantly going back to ds having 4 days diarhoa if he accidently has a bit,its hidden in loads of things!where do you buy it?

[yuckihatecheesestrings]

Don't know much about gluten intollerance, but in terms of dairy, what about switching to soya (milk yogs etc)? My DD1 had awful eczema as a baby, we did try switching to goats mils products, but soya worked better for us.

At least you're still BFing.

[tatt]

don't do soya - possible link to nut allergy and its also a common allergen so he could become allergic to it.

moljam - yes lactase helped us when we ate out and discovered there was milk in the food or something got missed on a label. We bought some online first then found larger branches of Holland & Barrett sell tablets. They always seem to be on the lowest shelves in the most inaccessible corner! Online you can get drops or tablets and the drops are obviously better for young children. This is not a cure and I've read reports from people who say it hasn't helped them. It certainly won't allow you to eat/drink unlimited amounts of milk but it was a great benefit to us

[moljam]

tatt thanks,thats fantastic-i'll be looking out for some.worth a try!

[Doobydoo]

Hi minko.
How is your ds?I am trawling the allergy posts and your ds sounds like mine[who is nearly one].Wondered how things have worked out and what you did?

[Doobydoo]

Bump