Possible allergy to SMA Gold??

[laura325630]

Hi, my dd is 7 weeks old and has been on SMA Gold since birth (seriously regretting not breast feeding ) She has now developed bad ecezma on her face and is projectile vomiting after every feed - Started around the same time as her rash.

We had her in hospital yesterday so that they could check her face and ears - Very swollen. They said she couldnt be allergic to her milk but Im not sure.

Can I just change her milk or do I need to do it gradually? Has anyone had this? What milk worked for your lo?

I am seeing the health visitor on Monday and Doctor on Tuesday so may hang on until then.

Thanks.

[lulumama]

surely the hospital should have advised you on changing her milk if they suspected an allery? how distressing

it might still be possible to get breastfeeding going, with lots of determination if you want to give it a go

[andyrobo237]

I would wait until you see the GP - they do go through a 'growth spurt' around this time, which can upset their tummies. I dont know if there is a relation to the rash and the vomiting - probably not. SMA is well known on these forums for not suiting some babies - but if you have the time to stand in the Supermarket and compare the ingredients in all the baby milks they are very similar. There is a slight difference between the normal baby milks and the hungry baby milk, but I have read that Hipp ORganic can be gentler on the tummy.

We had problems with vomiting and reflux and I tried various milks - nothing really made a difference, and we settled on Aptimil (Which I believe is exactly the same as Cow & Gate).

Is there any history of ecezma in the family? Both of my nieces suffer with this, but they are breastfed and their mum has it.

THis is not much help I know - the GP may be sympathetic, but dont expect much from the Health visitor!

[rebelmum1]

i disagree i'd switch straight away and see if there's a difference.

[laura325630]

Thanks, I may give Hipp organic a go. It just seems odd that she has started bringing up pretty much all of her bottle at most feeds. She had lost an oz in 2 days when she was weighed yesterday.

Lulumama - How can I start breastfeeding now? Is it not too late??

[rebelmum1]

my dd had an intolerance and I took a while to change, it did far more harm than good.

[rebelmum1]

I believe mum knows best, you know your child better than any GP. There is obviously a reaction to something with projectile vomit and ecezma.

[barnsleybelle]

My 11 month ol dd was EXACTLY the same. Same age too when it started. Really nasty eczema on her face and the vomiting was simply horrendous lasting most of the day. My gp and hv were totally unhelpful as because she was thriving they didn't seem to think it mattered! I started to wean her at 15 weeks and although she adored her food, she was still just as symptomatic. I DEMANDED she be referred to a paediatrician He cahnged my life. he took one look at her cheeks and said "cows milk allergy". I saw the dietician that day and 2-3 weeks after neocate milk and cutting out all dairy products her skin was beautiful and the vomiting had vanished. It's a pain at times eliminating dairy but sooooo worth it. She has a couple of other allergies to kiwi, raspberries and eggs but i introduce things one at a time so i know straight away what it is.

Trust your instincts and get a referral. Even if she's not allergic to cows milk proteins you have nothing to lose. Because she has been properly diagnosed i get lots of support and my neocate milk on prescription.

Good luck

[rebelmum1]

Just change the milk! Then get it confirmed at a referral. Why make the poor child suffer any longer there are plenty of alternatives nowadays.

[laura325630]

I have just been and bought some Hipp organic milk. My dp has gone mad telling me that I shouldnt mess with her health??!!!! It cant hurt her to change her milk can it?

I am seeing the hv on Monday and Gp on Tuesday so if she is no better I will ask for her to be referred.

Thanks for all your advice and help x

[GillianLovesMarmite]

You should be able to re-lactate and get breastfeeding eg see here www.llli.org/FAQ/relactation.html it's not impossible although you may need to seek further advice, but I think encouraging suckling and feeding should stimulate the milk supply again.
I would encourage you to seek advice on this if you do want to breastfeed as I appreciate that some women don't want to or can't, but I love feeding ds.

[Tippytoes]

My dd, now 14 months, had reflux from around 8 weeks and she was on SMA Gold - like you I was told not to change the milk as they didn't think it was this. In the end when she was around 5 months I had just about had enought and went out and just bought some different milk - Cow and Gate Comfort - it was thicker milk and stayed down much better and she stopped the reflux within a week or so. She is still under a Peadiatrician now as she is underweight, probably due to the bad start!

[thefortbuilder]

i don't think there would be any harm in changing the milk - as someone else said, they are all pretty much the same, but it's worth a try. your dh is probably just very worried and doesn't have that mum's instinct to go by.

we had terrible problems with ds2's milk tolerance - he had a really upset tummy and would go for days without pooing and was very uncomfortable. we tried cow and gate then milupa easy digest and finally settled on hipp which he has been a dream on - the difference was also immediate.

also ds1 has an intolerance to cows milk - he was just very congested and it was explained away by gp and hv as many things - finally when he cut down his milk at around 18 months and was only having milk at bed and was very congested then i trusted my instinct, spoke to paed and he agreed trying soya might help. again the difference was noticeable at the first changed feed.

hth

[Sidge]

I would change her milk.

My DD had awful eczema and sickness on SMA Gold, and my nephew had terrible constipation and dry spotty skin on it.

Within 48 hours of changing milk they were both much better.

So it may not be a milk intolerance, it might be just the SMA doesn't suit her. Try a different one and if her symptoms persist then it is probably all milks, but if it clears things up then you know it was possible the SMA.

[Kaedsmum]

This happened to our DS but he's got gross reflux. We went to the doctors and demanded (nicely) that on top of all his medication they change him to Wysoy. They did and he's been great ever since.

Change the milk suddenly, but expect tummy upset and continued symptoms for a couple of weeks.

It's worth it in the end!!

[Kaedsmum]

Oh P.S- Hipp Organic was worse than SMA GOLD for our DS. It was just too thick and nasty. Cow and Gate was bad too but they do a soya version now which might be good.

[barnsleybelle]

I must admit, I wouldn't change the milk without running it past hv first. I know many people have probably done so with success but that's not always the case. It may be just that particular milk. When i had to change to neocate i had to do it over 2-3 weeks gradually mixing it with the old milk so it took a while. If you do it this way ( the way you should) then you may as well wait for a referral. It's your baby so take the advice to change if that's what you want, but i have to say i agree with dp. It could be anything that's causing the vomiting so i wouldn't rush to change the milk until you run it past your hv. Can you ring her?

[StealthPolarBear]

see GP in the miniscule case it is pyloric stenosis
I thought this only affected boys but my cousin's DD had it. Tiny op and she's been fine!

[laura325630]

Thanks everyone, I am going to give Hipp a go over the weekend and see how we go. I still have loads of SMA Gold incase it worse so we can swap her back. I will speak to the hv on Monday but to be honest she isnt much use and talks down to me which i v.annoying!! Thanks again x

[CantSleepWontSleep]

If she is allergic to cows milk protein (very common in infants) then Hipp will be no better. You will need a hypoallergenic milk such as neocate, Nutramigen or Pepti-Junior. You should get these on prescription if required, so you will need to get your GP or Paed on your side.

[ajm200]

My son had terrible problems with SMA gold, colic, screaming for hours, projectile vomiting. The health vistor told us it was very rich and that can cause issues for some

We changed him over to cow and gates milk for sensitive tummies and he was fine.

He's now almost two and is fine with dairy,

[Roboshua]

My DS1 had similar thing with Farleys milk (don't know if they still make it. I breastfed for six months then changed to formula on return to work. Almost immediately he started vomitting after every feed. I ended up in casualty when he developed a bizzare rash all over his body (white patches - he's mixed race). We established it was likely to be the milk and we changed to SMA gold (and later to white). Had no problems with either although for next 12 months he did have phases of vomitting after eating but this occured even after he no longer had formula.

The eczema may not be connected both my breast fed DSs developed awful eczema on their face at 4-6 weeks. Now aged 4 and 8 they have exceptionally dry skin.

For info females can have pyloric stenosis. I did 43 years ago. I still have the operation scar to prove it!!! However there were no skin issues with it. i would have thought that if it was that it would have been picked up by HV by this stage.

[amidaiwish]

does her face get hot when she has her milk?

my DD had terrible constipation and eczema on her face from about 3 - 9 months old.

I suspected it was dairy as her face would get hot after feeding but the GP and HV all said "dairy intolerance does not cause eczema, if she is dairy intolerant she will have diarrhoea and vomiting"

after seeing a homeopath i tried goats milk which stopped the eczema but made her constipation worse. I then moved to BabyNat organic cow's formula and the eczema cleared up within a week.

She is now nearly 3, still has the babynat formula milk before bed but i can use ordinary milk on cereal etc. She has no eczema at all now. She does have an egg allergy (lightly cooked egg only so egg in food is fine).

Definitely give a go changing her milk! How can you be "messing with her health" eliminating something you think may be harming her?

[Roboshua]

True. Change her milk. I didn't really understand that thing about changing it gradually tbh. If something is making your child ill stop giving it to. Certainly when I went to casualty with my DS1 they just told me to stop the milk immediately and change to something else.

[laura325630]

1st bottle of Hipp given! She took a whole 5oz and was only sick a little bit. She has been going red in the face recently when not pooing but not when drinking. Fingers crossed this will work x