Confused over eczema and dairy allergy/intolerance

[mayaknew]

At the weekend my ebf 3 month old had to have some formula and broke out in a rash all over her face back and thighs. Took her to gp today who said it was eczema which is triggered by dairy. He told me to avoid giving her formula again and to limit dairy in my own diet.

So I've done a bit of googling just for some info and I'm even more confused. Does she just have eczema or does she have an allergy or intolerance to dairy ?? that's what the Internet is telling me but not what the gp said.

[Lindy2]

My DD had the same thing. She had a cow's milk protein intolerance. We gave her formula at 6 weeks old and ended up in a & e as she came out in a most alarming rash all over.
Your gp needs to provide more support. DD was put under the care of a pediatric consultant who we met with every 6 months. I w referred to a nutritionist to advise on a dairy free diet for me and how to wean DD when she was old enough. We were also given some dairy free formula to have in the case of emergencies. We didn't need that as I managed to continue to BF but it was reassuring to have.
A dairy free diet is manageable but you need guidance as to how to get enough calcium and what replacement milk to use. We used soya but not all dairy free babies are ok with that.
As DD got older she started to be able to have some cows milk and pretty much out grew it by age 6. It is quite common in young children and most do outgrow it.

[MayfairMummy]

The (probable) allergy is the cause. The eczema is what you see. Other people see other things from allergies (eg vomiting, gut issues, breathing issues, etc). It's as your GP has said; the allergy "triggers" the eczema. It's worth getting referred to an allergy specialist as recommendations on what to do with allergies are changing all the time, and what one person/doctor says these days isn't necessarily current advice. In particular as to what/when to give your child the allergy food (based on how bad the reaction is, and the fact that taking it out of the diet entirely can increase the chance of it becoming worse).

I also recommend the CMPA page on facebook. lots of friendly, helpful people.

[mayaknew]

Thank you both that's very helpful. The nhs website seems to suggest that foodstuffs will only flare up eczema when there is already an intolerance or allergy to it anyway iyswim, but my gp didn't tell me that.

I've made an appointment with my lovely HV tomorrow to see if she can give me any advice or at least tell me who can.

Can she refer me to an allergy clinic or does that have to come from gp?

[mayaknew]

So spoke to my HV this morning. The eczema is still bad on her face so she told me to cut dairy and see if that helps the eczema and she will come visit me in 2-3 weeks and take it from there. She also said if I need to give her the formula again I should do so and if it does bring a rash out again then she will try her on a dairy free formula.

Any tips for me going dairy free ?

[Lindy2]

You really should be given more advice on going dairy free. I think you should push your gp for some extra help. My HVs didn't have a clue about being dairy free and one regularly advised me to put butter in DDs food to help with weight gain.
As a starter though,
Pure dairy free spread to replace butter/margarine.
The free from aisle is good for some replacement foods.
Alpro soya for yogurts
Soya milk, rice milk, almond milk etc are all widely available
Swedish Glace for ice cream
There is no good replacement cheese (sadly). They all taste utterly awful no matter what the packet says
Green and blacks very dark chocolate is dairy free as are bourbon biscuits.

It isn't too hard once you get into the habit. You will need to read the packets for ingredients especially to begin with as milk can be in lots of things you wouldn't necessarily expect it to be in, such as sausages, flavoured crisps etc.

Good luck!

[mayaknew]

Thanks lindy so helpful I think it's because I'm only initially doing it for a few weeks to see if it actually helps. If I have to do it long term I'll definitely ask for referral to a nutritionist.

[situatedknowledge]

The good news is that many grow out of this particular type of allergy fairly quickly. DD was 2ish, which was bang on when the paediatrician said most outgrew it. I had to give up ebf in the end when her weight dropped off the scale. The formula really stinks but we all got used to it. She's fine now, despite dairy soya and citrus allergies when tiny.

[fatandold]

I would be wary about trying the formula again, jus to see! Pretty sure paediatrician would not recommend this. In my experience HVs are not allergy specialists. Ask your GP for a referral .They are also most likely not allergy specialists. Had to bang my head on lots of brick walls before I got anywhere with DS. Only a visit to a and e when his trapped wind stopped him breathing produced any sensible knowledgeable help. Be prepared for it to take up to 4 weeks for dairy to work its way out of your system. PM me if you have further questions, I'm happy to help. DS is now 2 and his allergies are well managed.