evidence of breastfeeding links in reducing asthma and eczema (sceptical husband alert....)

[popsycalindisguise]

Ok so ds2 is 9 months and fully breast fed...
exclusively until solids were introduced at 25 weeks.....

a month ago he was diagnosed with mild asthma with croup and today with eczema......

DH's comment (very unhelpfully) was 'so much for breats feeding......hmmmmmm

anyway - hard facts ladies....
with evidence

[bobbybob]

No evidence - but just think how much worse it could have been if you hadn't. Also more chance of outgrowing it sooner - again not got time to find the evidence.

Get some probiotics and flax seed oil - marvellous for eczema, and there is lots of evidence - a Finnish study and a current study in NZ.

[Eaney]

Yeah, I Bfed DS for 7.5 mts and ds had the worst eczema the gp had ever seen. So bad he kept calling me at home with advise.

It turned out he was severely allergic to a few things whcch I had been eating by the truckload while bfeeding. Probably had early exposure to seasame seeds thanks to my diet. I was told to avoid nuts but I wasn't told to avoid seeds.

There is little if any research on mums diet and allergy in the bfed baby but our consultant felt his life threatening allergy to seasame seeds was probably due to my diet. She did try and reassure me about all the good I had done by bfeeding but I felt like shite for a while.

[Helen38]

DS1 was only breast fed and had no dairy before 6mths, did have some eczema as a baby but grew out of it. DS2 was mixed fed breast/bottle and has always had some eczema and how at 4 has mild asthma too. Not proof I know, but I intend to keep next one off dairy, besides which there are so many other benefits of breast feeding.....men!

[popsycalindisguise]

I am wondering about my diet now.....trying to cast my mind back to the weekend...

[misdee]

dd1 had eczema since birth, when i switched to formula she got a lot worse. she was a walking scab. she devoloped asthma at around 8months (not realted to colds, full blown asthma,) had a full on attack at around 12months. is allergic to loads of things.

even tho she will have probably turned out to be an atopic child anyway, her eczema did worsen when formula was introduced. (also co-incided with baby jabs).

[popsycalindisguise]

any tips misdee....
typically in the last week ds2 will not go in the bath....bang goes that bath stuff we have been given....
i even tried getting in the bath with him tonight anfd feeding him in the bath to get him to go in but he screamed and screamed and screamed...
may get the baby bath out

[misdee]

i'll msn you later on. loads of tips.

[popsycalindisguise]

thank you!!!!

[Eaney]

After keeping a diary I noticed major reactions in DS after I ate cheese. It would happen within 10 hrs. It's worth looking at your diet but it will be very hard pin pointing the link unless there is a dramatic response like ds.

[Eaney]

My ds's eczema improved when I stopped Bfeeding although I put him straight on to goats milk formula.

[Eaney]

One of the things I learnt about eczema was whet works for one will not work for another. In case it helps you the following helped us.

Avoid bathing as much as possible. Shower quickly instead and only if youreally need to.
Tea tree oil for infections.
Dry eczema - moisturise with whatever you find best
Wet Eczema - Keep dry (DS had both types)
Apply steroid creams at first sign of flare up as this will reduce the amount you use overall. Don't let the eczema get hold iykwim.
Avoid peope on the street who tell you about a person they know who has a cure.

Consider a water softner. There are lots of irritiants in water.

Can;t think of anymore, Hope this helps.

[misdee]

we found that ointments and lotions worked better than creams for dd1, dd2 needs creams. dd1 used to have a lot of wet eczema, dd2 is more dry.

[suzi2]

My DS has eczema since 12wks and is exclusively breastfed. But since I have eczema, nut allergy & asthma and DH has eczema it's not a surprise. I'm just hoping he doesn't have any huge allergies like me or asthma.

Tell your DH that it could have been so much worse if you weren't breastfeeding...

[suzi2]

As for evidence... I think that the major studies look at children at age 5+ to determine whether breastfeeding has an influence. Eczema is a common baby thing and doesn't necessarily mean that your DS will have it when he's older. Whereas if you had formula fed, he may be OK now but bad from age 5+ IYSWIM. It's the long term that counts.

[moondog]

Just one of those things eh??

Surely he can see that?

(Counter it with a yawn and then 'OhIhadanunclewhosmokedsixtyfagsadayanddranklikeafishandlivedtilhewas103')

{grin]

More helpfully,google 10 reasons to b/feed and 101 reasons to b.feed.

Lots of cold hard facts there.

[popsycalindisguise]

brilliant list!
will show that to him

grrr

[bensmum3]

dd and ds1 both had eczma and mild asthma, I breast fed both for over a year, but with ds2 I brestfed for the same time, but for the first 9 months I had a dairy free diet (made sure I had lots of oily fish etc) and he hasn't had any eczma or asthma symptoms and is tolerating cows milk much earlier (at 2yrs) than the other 2, ds1 was 5 before I introduced cows milk.
Anyway, think of all the antibodies you are passing on as well

[tiktok]

No one ever said breastfeeding was a way of predicting the health outcomes of individual babies....it's just common sense and a basic understanding of how statistics work.

Tell you what - I am going to cross over the busy road at the end of my street and I won't look both ways!! Maybe the 38 bus will be hurtling down towards me, but as it only comes once every 20 minutes, chances are it won't be there. It's quiet now, anyway, now that the school run is over. So I'll just leap across merrily, and when I get to the other side without a scratch, I'll say, 'so much for road safety......hmmmmmmmmm.'

[Eaney]

I do think there should be more research done on aalergies and the diet of the breastfeeding mother. With my second I am much more carefull about what I eat and touch wood no signs of eczema except nappy rash (which cleared up after i stoped drinking grapefruit jiuce).