Possibly allergic to dairy

[Gooddie]

DD is 6 months and breastfed. She had Aptimal (1oz) in hospital when she was born for about 5 days. No reaction.

I drink milk in my coffee and eat yoghurts and there doesn't seem to be a reaction (only copping onto the possiblity of a dairy allergy, so will keep on eye on her from now on).

I decided to wean her onto Aptimal 2 weeks ago, but she got a rash under her chin (like a nettle rash...white spots within the red) and was quite agitated, swinging her head from side to side continually. It went very quickly.
The same thing happened the following day, so I brought her to the GP (who didn't see the rash as it disappeared so quickly).

He said to try SMA, but the same thing happened last week when I tried it.

Back with the GP (my own one this time) again and she said to try lactose free formula. I haven't yet as I'm going to continue to breastfeed for another while, just to give her a chance to get over it if it is an intolerance.

Anyway, I googled dairy allergy and intolerance and it sounds like she is allergic. Most sites said that if she was intolerant, she would have had stomach issues and wind, which she didn't.

She also has eczema which i know is linked to dairy allergies.

She hasn't had the rash again, but can be quite agitated at times and is really really scratching the top of her chest where the original rash was...I just read that there is whey in Sunshine Orange and wondered if that had to do with it too??

Any thoughts or tips on this? Is it a massive big deal to be allergic to dairy (as in hard to live with)?

I'm weaning her onto food at the moment and she's fine with fruit and veg. Obviously I won't give her yoghurts (or will I try them to see what happens??) or cheese. Any other advice about weaning?

Sorry for the long post, but just trying to get my thoughts .

Thanks a million!

My DS had a dairy allergy, which only came to light when he was six months old and I gave him a yoghurt. He came out in a rash from head to foot after one spoonful. There had been no concerning symptoms before then, when he was breastfed only, but he did get some excema.
Your GP should be referring you to a child allergy paediatrician, to get to the bottom of it.
If she does have an allergy, the best thing in the world that you can do for her is continue breastfeeding. I carried on breastfeeding my son, and had to cut out all dairy products from my own diet as well. It was much harder for me than it was for my son - it was easy to feed him a wide range of foods that didn't contain dairy, but I had to cut out a lot of food that I loved (and also milk is contained in many many foods that you would never believe). I lost a lot of weight and was far too skinny for a while, but for me it was worth it - DS was retested at 18 months and appeared to have grown out of most of the allergy. Now he is 26 months and can have most dairy products apart from plain old milk itself, as it gives him a bad stomach. We're told that he should also grow out of this in time too.
It is hard having an allergy, and for me it was hardest getting the message through to family members than anything else - having to tell them over and over again what he could and couldn't eat. When you're out and about, a lot of restaurants and food places are a lot more clued-up about allergies now.
But for now, I'd just get on the GP's case about referring her rather than having to guess what it could be.

Please do not try any other formula or yoghurt until you get seen by an allergy clinic. My ds had exactly the same reaction of hives round chin & neck after taking sma at about 6 mths - previously breastfed. The out of hours doctor advised me to try a different formula but I didn't & when eventually got to see the consultant at allergy clinic he couldn't believe the doctor had advised trying another formula. It is just a matter of reading ingredient lists & cooking from scratch most of the time. It does get easier. Another thing to be aware of if it is an allergy is they are prone to be allergic to other things as well - in my ds case dairy & egg. Don't want to alarm you but good to be aware when introducing new foods.

Get to the consultant/dietician. It's not the end of the world though - would be advisable to steer clear of dairy with the eczema atm anyway, as it will most likely make it worse regardless of allergy/intolerance.

DS only reacted after a few attempts at dairy and was not tested at a young age. He is fine though and leads a normal life - obv there are some changes, but you are lucky compared to so many other parents, always remember that. If it is a life (even if first few years) without dairy then just alter the whole family slowly and you'll find that it's not too bad at all and easy enough to get around. Good luck and you would be joining big club, so don't panic and relax.

If you get any more reactions to foods while weaning, take a photo. My GP was more than useless on the first 3 visits I had re: DS's food allergies, but did on the 4th visit when confronted with photo evidence agree for a referral to the paediatric allergy clinic where a dairy allergy was confirmed (along with egg and nut allergies). The photos were also useful evidence to provide to the paediatrician.

Thanks a million for your replies.

I'll keep her off dairy for a while and if there's another rash I'll take a pic of it for the GP. Yeah looking back I can't believe I gave her another formula type...I suppose I didn't want to think it was an intolerance/allergy.

What other symptoms would there be? I'm asking because my mother gave her some toast yesterday with Low fat butter on it and there was no reaction. I went mad but she had it eaten in seconds!! She eats a lot for a 6 month old, but only veg and fruit so far...i've stopped the baby porridge, etc as there's milk in them.

Some babies are more sensitive to dairy than others. A small amount can affect the really sensitive, whilst others may take a build-up of dairy to have a reaction. Or symptoms may take a while to appear.

Some babies are more sensitive to dairy than others. A small amount can affect the really sensitive, whilst others may take a build-up of dairy to have a reaction. Or symptoms may take a while to appear.