BF 16 wk old ?has skin reaction after I'VE eaten eggs...? Should I be concerned?

[misspollysdolly]

16 wk old DS2 has pretty much always had some eczema-type patches, particularly on his scalp - not simply cradle cap, more like eczema. Never seems to bother him but sometimes he appears to be rubbing his head back and forth when lying down as if it's itchy. Otherwise I've had no great concerns and have used a bit of 1% hydrocortisone plus a homeopathic skin cream on his head and face.

Yesterday however I had scrambled eggs for my lunch and today he has definitely been more patchy and has more eczema-type patches on his chin, cheeks, top lip and temples, all of which he has not normally had.

Does anyone think this could suggest a tendency to be sensitive to eggs? Or full-blown allergy even? Have never been fully convinced about the old theory that your breast milk can 'transfer' what you've eaten to your baby somehow, but now I'm not so sure. The only difference I can think of it my food yesterday and his skin being more blotchy today.

Thoughts gratefully received.

The only way you can find out is to not eat egg or anything wth egg in it for a couple of weeks and then eat it and see what happens. You'll need to log your DCs skin flare-ups. It might be a good idea to do that anyway and include what you eat to see if he's reacting to anything else.

Yes. Food proteins can come through your breastmilk.

My ds's allergies started to show around that age through breastfeeding. It started off as eczema patches and then he started having hives.

He was allergic to eggs, wheat, dairy and peanuts.

I gave up eggs and ds's skin became much better. it wasn't instant though.

DD is allergic to egg and had only had it through my milk. Three weeks after cutting egg from my diet her eczema had made at least a fifty percent improvement. It continued to improve for at least another month after that. She is now 3 and still refuses to eat anything containing egg.

Sorry to hear that you've never really believed those of us whose children have suffered because of something we've eaten. Sadly there are too many people who seem to think like you.

As you are now discovering, it can make a difference, and as others have said, you will need to lay off all egg for a couple of weeks to see if it makes a real difference. Best of luck.

One of the ways that breastmilk protects and prepares babies for 'real' food is by exposure to tiny bits of proteins that come through breastmilk. Unfortunately for some of us this system backfires. I am another one who has experienced this - ds1 was terribly colicky and eventually we found out he was reacting to cow's milk protein in my breastmilk. He also had eczema, and although this wasn't the main concern, it did clear up when I cut out cow's milk.

You will have to be really careful for it to make a difference though - don't just cut out scrambled eggs, cut out everything with egg in. Otherwise you might as well not do it. And if it doesn't make a difference within 2 weeks you can go back to your normal diet.

I know lots of people appear to avoid certain foods without much basis for their avoidance. But if you want to read a good book about food sensitivities I recommend you find one by Jonathan Brostoff and Linda Gamlin. Dr Brostoff is a medical professor and definitely not a 'snake-oil' salesman. He clearly explains the basis for reactions to food, plus the reasons why there is still disagreement in the medical community about the prevalence and importance of food sensitivities.

Thanks for your responses everyone. It's not that I've never BELIEVED that food-milk tranference exists (esp CSWS) it's just that I've never seen solid evidence for myself.

DS1 (and 2 for that matter) have never, for example, seemed more windy if I've had cauliflower/cabbage/beans/onions/etc and all the usual theories you hear, although I have always looked out for this. So it's not a case of belief, just that I've never seen this happen before and for my babies to have signs enough of a problem connected to food.

No offence intended CSWS - just no experience of it previously.

Will cut out egg, try again in a few weeks and see what happens. If it occurs in the same way, is that the time to see my GP or just to mention it to the HV?

If the cutting out gives a clear improvement and the reintroduction gives a clear worsening in symptoms, you could try talking to either your HV or GP about it.

BUT don't expect either of them to believe or understand you. It's not something that most GPs or HVs are up-to-date on.

If you are really really lucky you might be referred to a dietitian or a specialist paediatrician and your ds given skin prick tests to see if it is a classic 'allergy'. What is more likely is that they will spout some stuff about how it's hard to work out cause and effect with infants, and that the skin prick tests might not show anything anyway, or that it's better to wait until your dd is older to do any more investigations.

You'll probably just have to make your own decisions about what to avoid and when to try reintroducing eggs.

Hope this doesn't sound too negative but it is based on my experience.

Sorry if I sounded like I'd taken offence mpd. As you will quite possibly encounter yourself, it can be very frustrating when people, including HCPs, don't take your discovery seriously.

If you are seeing your hv anyway, then I would probably mention it to her first and see if she thinks it's worth seeing the doctor or not. Poss worth getting it on record, but I'm not sure that there's anything he'd actually do.

My own experience is with milk intolerance, where there is naturally more action to be taken, as milk is such a vital part of a baby's diet.

Hopefully someone else will be able to advise whether egg allergy is one that is usually grown out of or not, as I'm not sure.

um..........can add that if your baby has an egg allergy, it could be a contact reaction?
thats to say that its not just the breastmilk, but eating eggs and then handling a baby with eczema.
Thats a way of sensitising a child who has a atopic little body.
peanut/nut oils are in quite a few 'alternative' and traditional prescribed ezcema treatments.

( study by prof Gideon lack)

also early signs of food allergic infant, who is fully breastfed are,
ezcema before three months.
poor weight gain
poor sleep pattern, inability to sleep for solid periods of time.

if this is classic food allergy , egg and peanut do commonly go hand in hand.
hence the LEAP study www.leapstudy.co.uk

Thanks guys. Currently off egg-containing meals and will try again in a feww weeks to see of there's a difference.

The patchy scalp continues pretty much as per 'usual' for DS2 but the extra more widespread 'reaction' (?post-egg) on his face has now gone down.

Thanks for you thoughts, esp Williamsmummy, really appreciate it. Not over concerned about the eczema situation as it's staying fairly stable but will keep an eye out. He's gaining weight brilliantly and sleeps well though has had a few nights when I think the back of his head has been irritating him (so will now watch out for possible food links if/when this next happens). When I'm not on Mat leave partly work in a children's dermatology clinic so have good colleagues fairly much at my fingertips if his skin blows out of control.

Thanks again.