advised to try an elimination diet

[JackJacksmummy]

I posted the other day about my sons unusual rash, which is still there and came up even worse this morning when he woke up so took him back to the doctors and saw my usual doctor.

He says it is definitely an allergic reaction, not fungal (i.e ringworm) and not insect bites (i.e. bed bugs).

He has given us some antihistimines, special soya bean bath oil and some cream to put on him.

Also in the mean time we have to try to eliminate what is causing it, starting off by stopping his milk which he has before he goes to bed (as its the last thing he has the night before he wakes up with the rash) so...shall i just take milk off the menu or all dairy products like yoghurt and cheese?

If the rash then goes and doesn't come back for a few days then to let him have it again and see what happens, if the rash comes back then milk/dairy is the problem, if not then we have to eliminate something else - food colourings in juice and sweets etc.

He had scrambled egg on toast for tea and a cup of milk at bedtime on sunday and woke up with the rash on monday. so what about egg?

any advice on what else could be the trigger?
i dont know where to start.

If you're eliminating milk, it makes sense to eliminate all dairy products for the specified time. Then try reintroducing yoghurt first.

Egg, wheat, or some random environmental factor could cause an allergy. Have you changed your washing detergent, used new cleaning products in the house, or bought new furniture? Anything like that could be the culprit.

I didn't see your original post. My nephew came up in a strange rash about a year ago. He was put on a total exclusion diet (ie no dairy, wheat, soya, egg, meat, food with colourings/flavourings/preservatives, etc) and things were reintroduced at a rate of one thing per week. However, that was done under close medical supervision. At the end of the process, nothing conclusive was observed, and the medics decided that stress was probably the cause (db's new partner and her dcs had just moved in, issues at school). The rash eventually disappeared.

In your situation I think I would be pushing for referral to a pediatrician.

no new washing powders - he's been having this rash on and off for a year now, starting last summer, but he's always had sensitive skin so have always used fairy liquid and softner, never anything else.

We have an urgent appointment on the 13th with a general pediatrician to see where we go from there.

Thanks for the advice about the dairy stuff - i'll definitely avoid all i can with dairy stuff in, i bought some soya stuff today so we'll see where we go from here.

If it's cow's milk that's the problem I was told beef could trigger it too. Also a fairly large % (about 40% iirc) of dairy allergic people have problems with soya too.

Is there any pattern to when the rash occurs? Has it followed anything from eating out, to visiting a friend/relative, something that you only do/eat only occasionally? Ok, I'm just racking my brains out loud here.

At least you have a referral soon, so hopefully that will help shed some light on things.

like i say the only thing i've been able to put it down to is the milk, last summer (even now too) we had him at the doctors for his poo still being quite diarreah looking whereas my younger one who is not quite 2 has solid poos 90% of the time, alexs is very rarely solid and pretty vile smelling too.

He only has milk at bedtime, with cheese and yoghurt in his lunchbox at nursery so could be that - or as the doctor also said - a wheat intolerance. i hope we get a quick referral for allergy testing though, because if not i am thinking about getting it done privately.

I'm surprised you've been given soya products as they are common allergens and exposure to soya is common in those with nut allergy. May not cause the allergy but the bath oil in particular best avoided in a child with an allergic rash.

Personally I'd drop the softener from the wash first then try another washing liquid. We use persil but I believe boots sell one that is supposed to be less allergenic. I assume you do use non-biological liquid because biological washing liquids often cause problems.

If he has milk at other times of day with no rash its unlikely to be milk. I'd try giving him milk during the day to see if the rash develops then. If it does try goats milk before soy.

Wheat intolerance doesn't usually cause rashes, could cause digestive problems.

Good luck with the paediatrician.

Sorry, realised you probably need more help. Get a book by Jonathan Brostoff - your library may have one - for the best advice on exclusion diets.

Probiotics help with many digestive problems and posibly allergy. So make sure you give live yoghurt unless you give up dairy completely. I would not personally do that until I'd tried other things like probiotics and maybe lactase drops or lactose reduced milk at bedtime.

So my suggested plan -

1. Make sure yoghurt is live yoghurt.

1. Give milk in day to see if rash appears. If not drop fabric conditioner first and if there is stil a bedtime rash change soap powder. If rash persists try an air filter in the bedroom.

1. If rash appears in day switch to lactose reduced milk or goats milk. Continue with live yoghurt.

1. If rash still present at night with lactose reduced milk and goats milk give up milk completely. Use calcium enriched rice milk and use blackstrap molassess in cooking to get extra calcium. Cheese and yoghurt may still be OK as processsing changes the proteins/lactose content but you can drop those as the next stage, if you get that far.

sorry i was going to post the other day to say thanks for the suggestions, (i'm sure i did actually but must have pressed the wrong button or something)

so thank you all

thats meant to be thank you all