Is my breast milk making my DD's eczema worse?

[mummamoo]

My DD's eczema is getting worse... my poor angel's face and head is covered and she scratches and rubs and she's making it raw... At least it's kind of cleared up on her body and arms and only bad on her legs and face/head now. I feel so sorry for her. I keep moisturising her in aqueous and have some steroid cream the doctor gave me to use sparingly but I don't really like using the steroid cream (even sparingly) as I know it thins the skin. I bathe her in oilatum and use aqueous to wash her too.
I'm breast feeding her and her face is often worse after a feed. Am I making her eczema bad? I don't know whether to start her on formula.... anyone got any advice? Breast feeding is easy this time round (thank the lord, it hurt like hell with my DS) but I would be looking to go towards some formula feeds shortly as she is now 19 weeks and I'm planning on weaning her soon too. Just a bit nervous about whether to try her on formula/some food... really want to make her feel better and not worse.... has anyone else been in the same boat?

[user1467273391]

It's difficult to know, as eczema can be caused by many things. When my ds was 3-4 months he started to get eczema, but he also had other symptoms and started to refuse his milk feeds. When weaning we found out he was allergic to milk and eggs, when I went on a milk and egg free diet a few weeks later the eczema was gone.

My ds is now 3 and still on a milk and egg free diet, although he has sensitive skin his eczema has not returned.

[Deeps1234]

Hi my 3 year old son has suddenly developed eczema near genital on on bum cheeks. He did have eczema issues and ojly oiltum lotion suits him. I hv still not found a bath product which helps. I use double rinse clothes so wash rinse and then rinse. Washing power/liquid are mildest ecover waitrose sensitive power. Hv used surcare but i found although very mild it made no difference to my sons condition.
Hes been recently toilet trained and is off nappies/pull ups.
He wears briefs, and now I hv ordered boxer pants just in case briefs are making the area tight and hence friction is causing raskes which turn to eczema.
Plz help advise what can i do poor child is suffering!!!

[iris66]

christywhisty - with all due respect I think the phrase you were looking for is "I believe that you cannot diagnose anything using kinesiology"
unless, of course, you have personal experience of it and have been disappointed with the results?

I do have that personal experience (read my earlier post). I wouldn't suggest something unless i was sure it worked!!

[honneybunny]

hi, must admit i haven't read the whole thread, but just wanted to add this: lots of babies develop eczema-like rash around 4 months. this is when their immune system starts maturing, and i guess sometimes it overreacts a little. in some cases the rash is just caused by this, and will disappear within weeks. i found this out when ds2 started developing what was diagnosed as eczema by hv (but it wasn't). btw we got calamine cream from pharmacy (aquous cream+calamine lotion), and this helped cure the rash within days.

[christywhisty]

For the sake of accuracy you cannot diagnose anything using kinesiology it is quakery plain and simple.
I do not understand why people pay good money for to these quacks without actually doing research first.
Blind tests show that kinesiology , vega testing et all are unable to diagnose either allergies or intolerances.

www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/Tests/ak.html

the problem is that every who is tested comes away witha list of intolerances and allergies. The general public then start to be suspicious of claims of allergies and intolerances and then are less likely to take them so seriously thus putting in danger the life of people who do have a life threatening allergy

[mabel1973]

someone may have already said this, but a friend of mine had to cut all dairy out of her diet while she was BF as her son reacted to it in her milk. It may be worth cutting it out of your diet to see if it improves his excema.

[iris66]

christywhisty - For the sake of accuracy, you can identify intolerances and allergies using kinesiology. However, you can't determine which is merely an intolerance and which is a true allergy that may be likely to be life threatening. Kinesiology highlights those substances that the body has trouble dealing with.

[Catilla]

Mummamoo just saw your further question to me. Have you had any luck finding a specialist to see? Whereabouts are you? My GP was useless in recommending so I phoned round lots of hospitals. Eventually got a lead by phoning Great Ormond St and linked through to a team at St Marys Paddington - Gideon Lack leads it and we saw Helen Cox who works with him and was very helpful.

I found it difficult to figure out what department to call in these hospitals. The people I have found are consultants in Paediatric Allergy but most places don't have this as a dept.

If you are in/near London CAT me and I can give you some more details.

[VeniVidiVickiQV]

I have skimmed through and can see you have had loads of good advice already.

Just wanted to add that Aqueous cream is absolutely USELESS for eczma, generally.

At my last GP visit for my DD's eczma, I was told that studies had found that Aqueous cream actually aggravated it more than helped it.

[christywhisty]

Apologies confusing Kinesiology with Vega testing, however you CANNOT diagnose allergies with either of these methods.

[christywhisty]

YOu cannot use Kinesiology to diagnose allergies. the people who use these machines are charletons and quacks.The machines are banned for sale in the US fpor precisely this reason. In blind tests they miss dangerous allergies.
if you have legitimate allergy problem see your doctor or talk to Allergy Uk who have an excellent helpline

[mummamoo]

PS - Chandra you are so right what you say in your last paragraph. Thanks for being so wise and keeping me from worrying too much

[mummamoo]

Sorry for late reply... Thanks so much for this info. All really really helpful.

[tatt]

I read this today and thought it might help people to post it here. I can't imagine many people exclusively breastfeed until 9 months, most will have started some other food.

www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125634.400?DCMP=NLC-nletter&nsref=mg19125634.400

A link between dairy in your diet and eczema wouldn't be at all surprising. Avoiding all traces of milk including casein and whey can be difficult but supermarket lists of dairy free foods help when you start. Probiotics during early breastfeeding reduce the risk of allergy and if you have any other children take them in the last weeks of pregnancy too.

[iris66]

mummamoo - i had my 6 mth ds tested by my homeopath (in wiltshire) using kinesiology (muscle testing)the other week. he'd been raking his face /head & his torso was red raw. she confirmed strawberries (which I'd been eating by the bucketload) bananas (what I was weaning him on)dairy, wheat,eggs & red meat - though she did say that he was likely to grow out of them if I avoid them until he's 1. She also prescribed an infant probiotic to boost his gut flora development as he had antibiotics as a newborn (which, i think, is a huge factor). 3 weeks of exclusion diet and he's clear & non itchy (apart from a huge attack following some disprol (banana flavour!)) HTH

[Chandra]

It's a long way Mummamoo, there are very few allergists and waiting lists, particularly if you live out of London are almost eternal (DS reacted to peanuts in March 2005, was refered for testing one week later, and finally was tested 3 weeks ago), in the mean time we tried to go the private route but couldn't find ANYBODY who could see him in less than 3 years, we ended up having him tested abroad. The skin prick test his doctor sweared was the only reliable test (it's all matter of preference TBH) only confirmed what the other tests had already told us.

We were never refered to an allergician for eczema, we also took him abroad as somebody recommended this wonderful dermatologist (sure there are some in these country but nobody could point us in their direction) and all what I wrote (eucerin included) was what the prescription and comments of that dermatologist.

Now, when we came back with the diagnose from Spanish consultant we were taken seriously (finally) and refered to dermatology, DS even got a pass to bypass the GP and go straight to the dermatologist for a year which we never used, the treatment prescribed abroad has kept him free of eczema for almost 3 years now.

Your GP can order RAST tests (at your cost) to bypass the need of waiting for ever for an appointment with the allergician, but most avoid to do so as the knowledge of allergies for a regular GP is somewhat limited and they find it difficult to act on the results., or you can get her tested for intolerancies via an Elisa test that you can get privately but it's not particularly reliable.

Now, bear in mind that your baby is still developing and many of these sensitivities are very likely to disapear by the time she is one year old.

[mummamoo]

I'm not sure Catilla if you will still be looking at this thread but will give it a go... if I don't hear from you I'll post a new thread.
You mentioned you had your child allergy tested at 9 months. Could you tell me what this involved and who allergy tests children. I'd really like to get my DD allergy tested so I know exactly where I stand with food for her. Not sure if there's an age limit to have this done...?

[Chandra]

Hurray!!! very happy to hear that you have already seen such difference. Very pleased to hear that

[mummamoo]

I really want to say a huge thank you to all of you. I feel so happy My darling daughter looks almost blemish free and in a record amount of time!
I used the steroid cream on her really bad bits (in front of her ears, on her head and behind her knees) and have continuously been moisurising her skin with Eucerin (with 10% urea) and the difference is just amazing. I had lunch with some girl friends today who saw my dd last week and they could not believe the difference.
I have also cut out milk, cheese and butter from my diet. It's probably too early for that to be making a difference to her but you never know, it could be helping and I'd do anything to help her.... even though I'm a PG tips monster usually!!
I have also been raving about this site to my friends - thanks again. xxxx

[alexsmum]

just wanted to add my twopenceworth.

might be worth asking the gp for an alternative to the oilatum as it contains lanolin which is an allergen.my son's eczema got worse after using that. Also aqueous cream is rubbish.it really stings and it's water based too so not the best thing for dry skin.If the skin is very dry you need an oil based emollient-i second someones reccomendation of Epaderm.Fab stuff.

Her face might seem worse after a breastfeed because she gets a bit hot cuddled up to you, and the heat makes the appearance worse.

[BernieBear]

Really just repeating what the others said, I too thought me breastfeeding was causing my ds ezcema (now 2.4 and 98% ezcema free), I managed to get my ds allergy tested at 9 months and he was allergic to dairy and egg which I then cut out of my diet and hey presto (it took about 6 weeks) his skin did improve and I continued to b/f til 18 months. I also started using Aveeno about this time too. He now tolerates Goats milk but had a recent allergy test and is still massively allergic to egg and now peanuts. Do use the steriod cream - I used it for the first year of his life, and there have been no affects from it. Good Luck - oh and welcome to the club!!!!

[laundrylover]

Agree withy others and do try to get Aveno and Epaderm on prescription. My docs give me 5 tubes of Aveeno at a time and we have one in the change bag, one in the kitchen etc so that we can out it on when DD1 asks. Epaderm is great at nights and for the scratching you could give some antihistamine at night for a while to give it a break. Have you seen the sleep wear at excema clothing (sorry can't find website) it is very good for stopping scratching. Tubigrip have also started to produce tights and vests which I think come with built in mittens which you can get on prescription.
FWIW I think DD1 started when I introduced formula but that's just my theory. DD1 100% bf and fine so far...
Good luck.

[Catilla]

Just wanted to agree with Chandra and others on here from my experience. My DS (now 2)has a severe allergy to milk & eggs. He had eczema which flared on and off when he was small. We gave him a few ml of formula at 5 months as the preparation for me going back to work... and he had an anaphylactic reaction. Consultant advised that with that strength of reaction it was likely the dairy in my breastmilk was affecting his skin, but not concentrated enough for a more severe reaction. I went dairy-free for 3 months while transitioning him onto Neocate (hypoallergenic formula) and his skin improved within the first two weeks.

One warning - if you have success with removing dairy or some other food from your diet - please make sure to see a dietician to ensure you are not missing vital nutrients. While dairy-free I had to take a high dose of calcium supplement - enough for me and DS.

On creams, agree with the others that many babies seem to react to acqueous cream (I have felt it sting me, same with Oilatum Junior). We have had good success with Diprobase cream, Diprobase ointment and Diprobath. We also use low level hydrocortisone on any areas which flare up - and have found it useful as an ointment rather than cream - then it spreads out well and moisturises too, rather than having to moisturise on top.

HTH and good luck!

[Wicker]

Hi.

I breast fed my DS (now 1 yrs) until he was 7 months old. His eczema was also particularly bad on his face and I thought made worse by my BF. I tried cutting things out of my diet but by the end I had removed so many things (dairy, eggs, wheat, soya etc) that I started to feel really ill myself!!! So I was advised by the dietican & paed to stop BF and put LO on Neocate. This worked wonders - his eczema really calmed down and he started to put some weight on. At birth he was on 95% for weight and by 6 months on 9% and classified as failing to thrive.

I agree with everyone here that BF is meant to be the best for allergic babies but obviously this is not always the case. I was really gutted when I had to give up but realised it was for the best.

Also in my little boy's case I think his system just went into overdrive and started rejecting everything. We have just had him allergy tested and confirmed he is allergic to dairy, eggs and sesame. Initially his skin went much worse after eating all sorts, eg banana, melon etc but as he gets older he is now able to eat these without it affecting him.

HTH and hope your DD's eczema starts to get better soon.xx

[QueenMab]

Re the HC and other steroids - my understanding was that they have a reputation for thinning the skin because when they first came into common usage in the 60's and 70's they were so effective that people were using them as a preventative measure on non-inflamed skin. Like a moisturiser, to stop the eczema coming back. But if you ONLY use them when the skin is inflamed they will not thin the skin. As Chandra says, the damage untreated eczema can do is far worse, and it WILL get infected if left.