Probiotic for toddler

[mairimac]

my ds is 14 months and wanted to know if anyone knew of a really good probitoic supplement. I've been using one made by biocare and wondered if anyone knew of anything better?

can i ask why he needs it? my ds has always had digestive system problems and he has just seen the consultant who suggested a few things, one of them was giving him yakult. also allergy testing. what is your ds's problem?

My ds had a tummy bug at 6 mo and had a temporary intolerance to milk. We used biocare acidophilus for a couple of months alongside using soya milk and he was okay, but once I started him on Cow's milk at age 1 it seems his intolerance is back again. Was told to try probiotics to build up his tummy flora again.

are the probiotics similar to the yoghurt drinks then? is it more concentrated in a supplement? what are his symptoms? sorry lots of qu. trying to figure out whats going on with my ds!!

suspected dairy intolerance due to tummy bug:-( So probiotic to build up flora lost to the bug. So loose nappies mainly the problem.

I presume that you are not (no longer) BF... Breastmilk is full of probiotic.
Supplements are (I think) better than those yakult and similar brand as you never know how they were stored... and according to a French study I read... most are "dead" by the time they reach you... also you need several to make an impact on an adult and they are very swet so you need to weight the pros and cons I guess

My dd has been on lactose free formula milk since she was a few weeks old she was from day one a crying baby i was forever taking her to our gp because i thought something was wrong told to try her on dairy products for a few weeks crying got worse tried another gp who referred us to see a dietician who recommends we carry on with lactose free and a milk free diet until our next appt. in Jan 07. If any of you guys have any history re. dairy free please any info would be great.

With lactose intolerance it's a bit difficult to find a probiotic suplement (most are lactose based).

I'm not sure if Jimjams and Ghosty are still selling supplements (or if I remember correctly so appologies if I get it wrong) but there was a very good one in their range that had the probiotics without the milk in it.

I started using Permatrol by Biocare with DS and in a week his tummy was very bloated and he complained of pain when he walked. I don't think Biocare products are bad (quite the contrary) but being DS so sensitive to lactose they were not good for him.

Thanks Ghandra although dd has been on LF formula feed for a while I was hoping that when weaning started everything would turn out fine. The best part since making changes in diet is that she has improved, little more content, crying less. It a little new to us and to find anyone to talk about LF and milk free diet would be great.

I introuduced cow's milk when DS was about 13-14m and it didn't agree with him, so I continued with formula until he was 18 -19 m. At the time it looked as if he was fine, no skin problems any more but... it wasn't until we removed the milk (after test result) that we realised how badly was milk affecting him. The change was HUGE, I have diferent child now.

Chandra your the first person who knows exactly what i'm going through with my dd. Cow's milk seemed not to agree with dd although i was advised to try all dairy products and start ruling out. i was so relieved to hear the dietitian agree with my thoughts and to continue with LF formula milk. Most family and friends could not understand why i could not feed her using cow's milk.

chandra - what kind of skin problem did you lo have when on milk. My ds has a spotty rash on his face and suspect it could be from the dairy. I'm using a probiotic for children from the biocare range called bananadophilus - it is dairy free! Ihave my ds on rice milk at moment as I'm not sure what else to do, no one will give me any good advice and I feel like I'm muddling through at the moment trying to find an answer to all this:-(

Can I jump in? 14month old ds has just had an outbreak 'spotty' skin which looks suspiciously like excema (sp - I'm tired!). On his cheeks, arms and legs - but not trunk.

He had baby excema when very little which cleared up with a hydrocortisone cream.

How do you know if your child is lactose/diary intolerant?

He has had a constant runny nose now for months, despite antibiotics, runny nappies (although atm they're quite firm}

I am wondering if the rash is an allergy, but to what I'm not sure.

panicpants have you thought of keeping a diary of what your child eats. You may well notice a pattern of inflammation on skin (if this is the case)due to an allergy of some kind. My dd did have rash on face under her eye and chin area took to GP and automatically she said it looked like an allergy of some sort. A blood test will let you know for sure.

Have been thinking back, and over the last week or 2, the only thing he has eaten a lot of is raspberries, which he doesn't normally have a lot of (bogof offer )

Could raspberries cause that sort of reaction?

Mairimac, lactose intolerance/milk allergy manifests in many different ways so the fact that you have one symptom doesn't necessarily mean that milk is the culprit, as it could be anything else (like raspberries )

DS's case is not very conventional, during the time he had dairy products (up to 28 m aprox) he had eczema (very severe in the first months manageable ever since), he had a perennial bloated tummy and chesty cold, he was always heavy breathing (has asthma), constipation was a permanent problem, and was very very placid, so placid that by 2.5 we were worried about his development as he walked and moved like a child one year younger.

Anyways, when he was 2 he had a reaction of peanuts and we ordered an ELISA test (which included testing for many other allergens) that came with such strange results that we decided not to take it very seriously until he had a RAST or Skin Prick test, but decided to remove dairy in the mean time as the test showed him to be very intolerant to it.... so...

within two weeks, DS "chesty cold" was gone, his asthma got much better (no heavy breathing), the permanent bloated tummy and constipation were also gone and DS was full of energy, he is already catching up with movement and looks more like a child of his age. Eczema flares are almost gone, we have only had to use HC once in the last year.

Now, DS's case is a bit extreme, so not a good reference at all. (He is also allergic to fish, egg, nuts, soya, etc. oh bananas included hence him not being able to use Bananadophilus)

Thanks all for the info. I just feel so helpless as I have no idea what is going on with him. I can't find any explanation for the rash on his face at all. It's NOT eczema but is a spotty rash which can have yellow heads, almost like acne. However he is quite happy in himself so doc says nothing serious - but it looks horrific and surely something is causing it. I didn't realise you could be allergic to bananas.
I feel helpless.

i use Culturelle probiotic for any of us when we are on antibiotics. Capsules you can break open and sprinkle onto puree or anything so easy to get into them.

After reading this thread, some things are clicking into place. Ds' arms and legs are quite bad, and he's scratching his legs whenever we change his nappy.

He has got another cold, snotty nose and chesty, AND we have noticed his pot belly, and in fact commented on it jokingly several times. Now I'm wondering if it's all linked and I should try him on dairy free food to see if it makes a difference.

Panicpants might be best to speak with another gp or hv re. starting a dairy free diet. They might suggest you are reviewed by a dietitian to see if the diet helps, and discuss if it should be continued. With a diary free diet you may have to consider a calcium supplement.

It is actually quite easy to give them plenty of calcium and vitamins if they are good eaters (green vegetables, fortified orange juice etc). Outside the western world, dairy isn't part of the diet beyond breastfeeding. it really isn't that good for anyone. DD1 eats tons of dairy, she can't get enough of cheese, yoghurt etc... DD2 is intolerant - DD2 is definitely the healthier for it!

How long do you need to stop the dairy to see a difference? Have been off dairy now for 5 days a no difference at all as yet?

we saw a difference in about a week, but she was only 7 months. i guess the older they are, the more dairy in their system and the longer it might take (or am i talking rubbish??). i'd give it a month - does he eat well generally?

I use the solgar ABC dophilus one here

I would also suggest not to remove dairy unless you are under medical supervision or have been advised how to do it by a nutritionist/dietitian.

If you are breastfeeding removing dairy from your own diet is not such a problem but for a child it is, mainly because dairy it's the main or one of the most important sources of calcium and fat (yes, at this age fat is very very important!).

You may start by stopping milk (use soya/rice milk or formula but avoid almond milk) and reducing dairy intake by using dairy free spreads and avoiding yoghurts, and soft cheese. But add plenty of calcium rich vegetables and ensure that your child has at least 5 vegetables a day and 2 servings of protein (but please, do NOT use nuts).

Keeping a food-reaction diary it's the best tool for finding about allergies. Try to keep one and write what the child eats plus any reaction had (note that some reactions may take hours to build up, hence the importance of writing up details)

We saw results building up slowly within two weeks.

I am having a problem with his eating at the moment, he has suddenly gone off all the foods he used to eat without a problem. His favourite thing at present is mashed potato and beans. I have been able to add flaked fish or chicken to it but we are really struggling. Very hard considering he used to eat so well.