DD appears to have an egg white allergy - shoud I go to GP and ask for a pin prick test?

[Tapster]

I've tried DD on scrambled egg twice - rashes on face both times. Tried her on egg yolk only and no reaction so I presume its the egg white. She is 8 months, shoud I go to the GP and ask for a pin prick test?

Can you be allergic to cows milk but not cheese or yoghurt? DD refuses to eat anything milky, just like my DH but eats cheese and yoghurt fine.

Tapster, a bit of backgroun about allergies:

You should not give egg whites to children under a year old as their gut is not yet ready to break up the proteins in it. I would stop giving her egg and then try again in 4 -6 months time.

Cows milk should not be given on its own unless is used in cooking before they are 1yr old either. Cheesses (aprticularly the harder ones) and yoghurts are considerably easier to digest, and can be used.

BTW, not much use for an allergy test at this age (unless she has a severe life threatening reaction that makes it essential to have the test done to ensure an epipen is prescribed). Otherwise just avoid it for the time being.

Quick question what can I use on cereal - she won't eat them at the moment with cows milk and can't really use EBM each day and I won't use formula. i suppose I could use diluted fruit juice. I understand both soya and rice milk are not recommended for under 1s?

Goats milk?

if you can't use EBM then formula is, I'm afraid, the logical choice. Goats milk formula is not recommended under 1. Soya has a high risk of allergies and is linked with a higher risk of nut allergy.

You could ask your gp to prescribe a hypoallergenic formula but I doubt they would do so.

tatt do you know why the goats milk formula is not recommended?
I understand that the raw milk is lower in folic acid, and thats why the med profession doesnt approve of it, but the formula should be made up with added vitamins/minerals, surely?
Is it because as a new zealand product, it doesnt meet european regulations in some way?

If she is not very sensitive she may be OK with goats milk, DS unfortunately was and we had to keep him in formula until he was about 18m old.

The thing is that if she is having EBM, yoghurt and cheese, you may relax about the cows milk, she will be fine without it. Perhaps rice milk in the cereal would be the solution. They are not recommended for under ones as main milk but will be fine as an additional ingredient, although to be honest, I would choose formula instead.

Hope that helps.

Nightynight, perhaps what I'm going to say is long out of date but, when I reviewed the formula compositions trying to find the best one for my very atopic child, what I found about the goats formula was that it was not supplemented with aditional nutrients as other formulas were.

A few months afterward Nanny was no longer allowed to call itself formula but infant milk to make clear that it was suitable for older children but not for babies, not because goats milk was bad but because it was not supplemented enough as a sole source of nutrition. Having said that, many mums have used it and swear by it.

Many doctors do not recommend to use goats milk instead of cows milk for children that are sensitive to cows milk because it is highly they are sensitive to goats milk too.

think Isabel's right - it may be folic acid that is the problem but I don't know for sure. What do you have against formula?

Avoided formula for 8 months, don't see the reason to start giving it now. Don't want to offend anybody but there is some controversy over using formula and as I don't need to I won't. Will think about goats milk, she just may not like the taste of cows milk. She is still BF 3 times a day, its that I am a bit stuck for breakfast when she eats no cereal, porridge or eggs. I don't like to give yoghurt more than once a day. Thanks for your advice. I will persevere with cows milk for a bit longer.

Sorry to disagree. You are more likely to get into trouble by feeding them cows milk straight than by using formula which is cows milk that has been treated to make it more digestable for baby tummies.

But as I said, if she is being BF, and has yoghurt and cheese, you have more margin for error, she will be fine without cows milk.

My ds is allergic to diary and i didn't really want to use formula either - didn't see the point of buying it purely for cereal, we eat the same meals and i didn't want to eat it.

I make his porridge with water, use Pure spread on toast and if he ever has any other cereal i usually just use water or he has it dry (wouldn't be my choice for breakfast but hes not as fussy as me)

Otheriwse i don't see why you couldn't use rice milk, it shouldn't be used as a main drink before the age of one as its quite low in fat but if she it was just for cereal i think it would be ok.

Give her yoghurt for breakfast then - better to have yoghurt more than once a day than to have ordinary cows milk - or make porridge with water. If you insist on going against the recommended advice on feeding your baby goats milk is more digestible than cows milk and you could feed lots of green veg to compensate for the folic acid.

I am afraid i have to disagree with all previous posts, this is an area that needs a medical support and advice.
For one, we have not established if this is intolerance or classic IGE allergy.
Having a 'rash' only could still be caused by both.

If a child is totally intolerant to dairy , that a childrens dietian is a safer bet for advice than buying differing formulas.

However have to add on both fronts infant formula does have some choices, for both IGE and intolerant children.

I personally would carry on breastfeeding for more than one year if possible, which would eliminate the need for alternative dairy protein. just to be on the safe side. As one allergy often leads to another.
just my 2 pence worth folks!!

Sorry! cant have read post properly as children are fighting in background.

have personal experience of egg allergy, please insert egg instead of dairy !!!!

If any idea that this is classic allergy NOT intolerance, dont give any egg at all in any form.
until further medical advice.

If highly allergic to egg white, its possible to react to small amounts.
If you have ever seperated an egg yolk from white you can still see white is attached.

However its possible to only react to partially cooked egg.
Again this needs medical support.

sorry about previous post....................will try to read mumsnet while kids are at school!!!!

Williamsmummy... I thought we were talking about an 8m baby here, hence the thing of avoiding egg, and cows milk until he was older. The avoidance was not suggested because of allergies or intolerances, just because of the age of the baby

Anyways, agree about the egg white being difficult to isolate. DS is aparently OK with yolks since a year ago... am I trying them? no, much of a risk while the allergy to the whites is still going strong...

Can I slightly hijack and ask people with older children with egg intolerance/allergy if you think they will grow out of it?

I have a 5 yr and 7 yr old who both still react to partially cooked egg and am wondering if this is forever. They are immediately sick - it's as if the body doesn't recognise it and wants to get it out asap.

I think so, the prospects seem quite good. Obviously some will grow out, others won't but, I belive most do. DS seems to be outgrowing it, and so other children I know who have it. One of my cousins outgrown it when she by the time she was 12, so there's hope

but Williamsmummy is right that the OP should be talking to their gp before reintroducing egg. We all agree they need to be avoided now.

Crotchty, my nephew outgrew his egg allergy eventually aged 8 which I believe is older than average. I am not expecting my ds to outgrow his before then and if he does then it will be a bonus

Thanks - hope they are eventually able to eat pancakes!

But you can do pancakes! get an egg replacer from a health shop

I'll have a look!