Milk allergy/intolerance - referral to dietician - what can I expect?

[nappydappy]

DD (almost 8 months) has a suspected milk allergy/intolerance and has been referred to the children's hospital to see a paediatric dietician. It could take up to 2 months to get an appointment though so can anyone tell me what's likely to happen and what they will recommend?

The background to this is that DD has had widespread eczema from about 8 weeks. She was 100% bf up to 6 months and has still never had formula, but when she's had food with milk in it (porridge, weetabix soaked in milk, mozzarella) she's come up in nettle rash around her mouth and under her chin within about 5 minutes, and not just where it's actually touched her skin.

She seems OK with mature cheddar although I'm wondering if I should cut that out too, and whether I should cut out dairy from my own diet. Incidentally I also have eczema and allergies, although not to dairy. I'm due to go back to work part time when she's 11 months old and am happy to breastfeed up until then.

I would be very grateful for other people's experiences and advice!

I had similar with ds, cutting out milk was easy and effective the only trouble was substitution. Milk products are high fat and he lost weight. 8 years on he eats normally but is still quite skinny.

My son has had a blood test which resulted in us finding out he has an allergy to milk,and an intolerance to a few other foods.Although,like your child,he was breastfed for six months,it seems if they have even a tiny amount of cows milk before their first birthday they can easily get this allergy,wish I hadnt given him that little bit of milk I remember him having!He also used to get a terriblr rash around his mouth and chin after having even a croissant(we lived in france)However,hes fine with croissants and cakes now,eventually as all the health officials will tell you,they usually grow out of the allergy by the time they are five upwards(DS is only three)The thing to watch out for is products that contain milk powder,like crisps,we had to rush DS to the doctors after he had a cheddar cheese flavoured crisp,his eye was swelling up and it looked pretty scary.Cakes with milk in them are probably a better introduction to milk,but youll find out how bad the problem is with a dietician,whether its an intolerance or an actual allergy.

hi we see a dietion for this my dd is now 11m old, shes on soya now, she gets sweet breath, smelly runs, and a rash round her mouth, they gave us alist of lactose with diffrent names to watch out for and gave us a list of what she can and carnt have you will be surprised what its in (i was)

trace2 - were you advised to use soya without exploring other options first, as you shouldn't have been? There are other health risks associated with it.

nappydappy - you will probably be given a prescription for a hypoallergenic formula (neocate, nutramigen, pepti) which you can use both in cooking and as a main milk drink. You will get a list of what milk can be described as in ingredients (but the allergy sections will always say if it contains milk anyway).

You may be advised when and how to try re-introducing milk to her diet.

You may then get a follow up appointment, or you may be told to make another one only if the allergy is still present at age 2, as it is common to outgrow it by then.

In the meantime, don't give her any food containing milk. You can use rice or oat milk as a cooking substitute at this age, but it isn't nutritious enough to be her main milk drink. Make sure you get the one with added calcium.

I personally would be inclined to give up dairy totally from your own diet for a couple of weeks (it takes this long to clear from your system), and see if the eczema improves significantly. If it does, then it is then your choice as to whether to stay off it, or re-introduce and let the eczema worsen again. If giving it up makes no difference after a couple of weeks then obviously you can re-introduce.

carntsleep yes, that was her gasro pead, when we went to deition she wanted dd on neocate, but as dd was waiting for biopsy we could not change her milk,but she had them done on monday so now waiting for deition to phone as she wants her on neocate, with added fatterner, and yes my ds had same problem buy he grew out of his by one, but his teeth are paining for it hes got no enamel on them

Thanks for all the replies. I've decided to cut out dairy from my own diet for 2 weeks starting today, and just wondered if you think I should use soya milk instead (for myself, not DD) or if she shouldn't really be getting soya through my breastmilk even? I just want to make sure my diet is still OK and not really low in fat/calcium/protein as a result of cutting out milk and cheese (presumably important while breastfeeding?).

Also do you think it sounds like an allergy or an intolerance, or is it impossible to say at this point? thanks again

My 11mo DD has a diagnosed milk allergy and I have cut dairy completely out of my diet (BF obviously). The difference it has made to her eczema is amazing. She still gets odd flare ups but it is nothing like it was for a few months before we found out about the allergy.

It is fine for you to have soya milk yourself. It doesn't pass through the breastmilk in the same way that the proteins in milk can (as far as I was told anyway!) You will need to make sure that you are getting enough calcium for your own health. You can make sure that you eat things like Ready Brek, soya yoghurts etc which have added calcium. Sardines are also good. But, if like me, you find you don't much like soya milk and get a bit sick of worrying how much calcium you're getting, just ask your doctor for calcium supplements.

As others have said, you find milk in the strangest of places, and if you are going to cut dairy out, you need to do it properly, so time to start checking the labels on everything and being the most annoying person in restaurants. You get used to it, but I must admit, when I stop breastfeeding (or even better, DD grows out of her allergy), I will be guzzling down pizza and chocolate...