Please can anyone help .... Cows Milk Allergy ...

[shelly81]

Basically my DD 19 weeks is breastfed and for the last 6 weeks has had one bottle of formula before bed we tried normal formula at first which she had a horrible reaction to ...Hives, wheezing, vomiting, so took her to gp who diagnosed CMPA he prescribed Pepti and told me to cut dairy out of my diet which I have done ...last week or so things have worsened and DD came out in hives when daddy kissed her after eating dairy, she has also come out in exzema so I returned to gp who has said she's to young to be tested for allergys and to just stop breastfeeding and just give her pepti all the time .... I'm a bit unsure where to go from here now as I seem to be gettin fobbed off whenever I go to the gp & I don't want to stop breastfeeding either ........ Sorry for the epic post :(

Why did he suggest that you stop breastfeeding? Did she have any reaction to your breastmilk before you gave formula?

I'd be more inclined to stop the formula than the breastfeeding, especially if she was fine on it before.

Gosh...that must be hard for you, but you are not alone. There's loads of different products available...Alpro soya, or almond milk. Years ago I gave my dd2 goats milk...A great point of contact is Allergy UK. They're great for any advice on any allergies and can point you in the right direction with regards to diet and getting the right testing and referrals. I do know that there are several paediatric consultant immunologists in the UK. Allergy UK used to have details...give them a try...they also have help lines. Good luck.

There was an occasional skin reaction if I'd eaten a lot of dairy but that only started to fall into place after diagnosis and I was thinking back ..... He said to stop breastfeeding as I can't control what she is getting through my milk :-/

Thank you cazakstan I will have a look x

Oh...You can buy a homeopathic cream from boots for dry skin and eczema Nelsons calendula...it's fantastic on babies delicate skin, also porridge oats...just tie a handful up in some muslin and use to wash skin or run under tap for a soak. Will soothe.

My DS has dairy/cows milk allergy I would say because she is under a year to switch to infasoy formula rather than alpro soya milk because infasoy will have more nutrients added like regular formulas have more nutrients than cows milk! Also look online for information which foods are high in calcium for when you introduce food and include those foods in her dinners speak to your health visitors they will have advise on foods high in calcium as well and also advise about infasoy.

If you want to carry on breast feeding you would probably need to cut all dairy from your diet and her dad cut it from his diet if she had a reaction just from him giving her a kiss. Read labels on everything you buy because some things you would never think contain milk but they do!!

We are still waiting for an allergy test which is booked for december think they wait until they turn 2 because it can be common for babies to have intolerances to cows milk rather than be allergic (so I have been told by the millions of doctors we have seen) also I had to keep on going and going and going before they did anything! Took months of at least one appointment a week before he got referred.

DS also has food related eczema and have got a really thick prescription from the doctors called cetraben on repeat I find bathing every night in quite a deep bath so his skin gets a good soak for at 10 to 15 minutes then pat dry gently and put cream on him asap the more moisturised it stays and I just cream him as and when he needs it because he itches and breaks the skin. The more allergies I find and cut out of his diet his skin improves slightly! Hope some of that was helpful sorry if I rambled got interrupted a lot by DS

You do NOT have to give up breastfeeding, you just need to remove all dairy from your diet and make sure anyone who looks after your DD washes their face and hands before touching her. My DS has always reacted on skin contact with even tiny amounts of milk inc kisses after eating chocolate etc but it is manageable (we haven't all given up dairy, we're just careful).

It's true that you do NOT have to give up breastfeeding unless you want to. The NICE guidelines say that breastfeeding mums who have children with cmpa should be given advice about exclusion diets, but sadly this does not always happen. Many GPs do not have much information about allergies, and many don't know a lot about breastfeeding either. You are well within your rights to ask for a referral to a specialist in paediatric allergies, and the Anaphylaxis Campaign (01252 542029) can help you find out who is best in your local area. It's not true that your baby is too young to be tested for allergies.

I have breastfed my son with multiple allergies and I won't lie and say that it is easy... However, it is perfectly possible, and I have no regrets at all. It helped me to keep a meticulous food diary, so that I could link any reactions, including eczema, with what I had eaten.

I had great support from the Breastfeeding Network, and also from the lovely mums on this allergy board.

It can be scary when you realise your baby has an allergy, especially if you feel the health professionals aren't listening to you, but you will get through this. My son still has very severe allergies and reacts on skin contact, but now that we have got the right diagnosis and support, whole days go by when I hardly think about it (apart from performing basic safety checks) and he leads a pretty normal life really.

What are you replacing dairy with in your diet? I replaced dairy with soya not realising that a lot of children will be allergic to soya as well as milk as the proteins are similar. I would also try and keep a food diary and note when your DD's eczema gets worse. I would watch particularly for things like eggs, tonstoes, wheat.

Thank you everyone :)