Cows milk alternative??

[shinyhappypeople]

Hi, my dd (18mnths) has eczema, she has been prescribed creams from the docs but it seems to be getting worse. After reading up on eczema Im wondering about trying her with an alternative type of milk, she currently has full fat cows milk, but not sure which one to change to, does anyone have any advise please? Im thinking maybe goats milk, or what about the follow on milk. Would dd get the correct nutrients from an alternative milk, especially the follow on milk.

Thanks

If the eczema is caused by an allergy to cows milk protein, then neither goats nor follow on milk would be appropriate.

You could try rice or oat milk (with added calcium).

If she's eating a varied diet then she really doesn't need milk for all that much.

Both my ds1 & ds2 had goats milk from birth- it's brilliant- I used the brand-Nanny, they now do a follow on milk too- However at 18months you could use pasteurised stuff from the supermarket. It would be much cheaper than the formula.
My ds2 age 5 still has goats milk & much prefers it- I used it because my Naturopath recommended it because of reflux & it really helped, it's much easier to digest & is less likely to cause allergies.
I hope this helps, not sure I'm making sense as I'm so tired!

Be careful with rice milk as it can be very sweet & bad for the teeth. I agree with CSWS- at 18 months she won't need much anyway.

Goats milk formula actually illegal to sell in UK now, because it isn't much less likely to cause allergies.

Rice milk doesn't contain any sugar! It's soya milk that's really bad for teeth.

(both mine milk intolerant)

dd3 loves rice milk. Was the only milk alternative that she liked. The only worry I would have with it is the lack of fat content, especially with your little one being so young. Can you speak to your HV or ask to be referred to a nutritionist?

Thats strange, they still sell the Nanny formula in Waitrose & in my local chemist!

The rice milk can cause tooth decay as it has a high natural sugar content. I know what you mean about the soya milk, a friends child's front teeth were ruined with the stuff!

Hi, I have started a new group which is for parents dealing with allergies, Reflux, colic and skin problems such as eczema.

I read your post and think it may be of interest to you to have a look and hopefully join. It is a new site and open to make better so any input you have on the site will help others too. We have a few mentor members who are ready to help you settle in and welcome you and have files and links to intresting topics and items.

It has a recipe page where we can upload great things we have tried and the more people we encourage to use the site the better it will become.Links and files to relivent topic and photo of helpful items as well as great support

I hope this is of some use to you please use this link and to join click on the purple button and I will aprove you membership when I get it through.

Hope to speak soon Michelle
groups.yahoo.com/group/reflux-baby-you-are-not-alone/

Hi, my son is intolerant of all animal milks, so i put him onto rice milk, now the scottich food agency have adived that children under 5 dont get this,as its not safe? was going to try almond milk, has anyone tried this??

thanks, G

We give rice milk to ds1 (aged 4) because ds2 has a severe dairy allergy and we don't want ds1 splashing milk around. I noticed though the other day that the Provamel rice milk have started putting little stickers on their cartons saying "not suitable as a main milk drink for children below aged 3".

tbh though, I think simply changing the milk she drinks rather than eliminating all dairy is unlikely to make a difference. The problem with eliminating all dairy is that she is at risk of a seriously deficient diet (both calorifically and nutrients), so unless you have good evidence to think it might be a milk problem I'd leave well alone and just keep on giving her cows milk.

My dd has a cows milk allergy and we used neocate, on prescription though.

AcademicMum - this may shed some light
" On the 21 May 2009 the Food Standards Agency announced the results of a survey of total and inorganic arsenic levels in 60 samples of rice drinks available in the UK. Rice drink (also known as rice milk) is a blend of filtered water and rice and is usually marketed as either a ?dairy free-alternative to cows? milk? or a ?low-fat drink? and are usually often consumed by those who wish to avoid dairy foods. Some toddlers and young children who are allergic to cows? milk and soya drink are currently advised to use calcium fortified rice drinks.

Arsenic occurs naturally at low levels as organic and inorganic forms in a wide range of foods. Most arsenic in the diet is present in the less harmful organic form but the inorganic form is known to cause cancer. Low levels of inorganic arsenic were detected in rice drinks (12 μg/kg of rice drink). The Committee on Toxicity has not been able to set specific thresholds of exposure (tolerable intakes) for inorganic arsenic, and has advised that exposure to arsenic should be as low as reasonably practicable.

Toddlers/young children may be particularly vulnerable, because of their proportionally higher milk intake and are likely to have higher dietary exposure to inorganic arsenic per kilogram of body weight. A toddler/young child consuming about half a pint of rice drink a day, (instead of cows? milk) is likely to double his total dietary exposure to inorganic arsenic. In response, as a precaution, the Scottish Government advises against the substitution of breast milk, infant formula, cows? milk or soya drink with rice drinks for toddlers and young children aged 1-5 years.

The Scottish Government specifically advises that

o All toddlers and young children should avoid the consumption of rice drinks in order to minimise their exposure to inorganic arsenic.
o Toddlers and young children with diagnosed allergy to cows? milk and soya drink who are currently consuming rice drinks should be advised of suitable alternatives such as fully hydrolysed infant formula or oat or almond drinks. Growth and development of these children should be monitored and parents should receive specific dietary advice to ensure that their nutritional needs particularly of calcium are met through a diversified diet.
o Toddlers and young children who are lactose-intolerant or who have galactosaemia should be advised to use lactose-free formula.

Further details of the FSA survey of rice and rice products is available on www.food.gov.uk"

following on from poppins, was going to link to this article. My mum told me about it.

TheOtherMaryPoppinsDiets, I think I rememeber seeing a thread about this before. In our case, as ds1 only has 1 glass per day I think it's not sufficient for us to get concerned about (he has loads of yoghurt, cheese etc anyway, its really just his bedtime milk we swapped to avoid the typical 4-year old waving glass of milk around with dairy allergic younger brother), but could become an issue with ds2 as he gets older.

Oh, I'm so glad you are discussing this here, as I have been in a right old lather over this. DS (2.10) practically lives off the stuff. He cannot tolerate milk or gluten and we have been advised to keep him off soya, as dd could not tolerate soya until recently. Not a lot of options left there, really! He could try almond or quinoa milk but I don't think they are calcium-fortified.

I spoke to the dietitian yesterday and she advised that we bring forward his dairy challenge, to see if he is OK with dairy products yet. She's also going to send me some neocate to try if the dairy challenge doesn't go so well.

Thanks for giving me a space to vent, among people who know what it's like.

would oat milk be a possibility, ruby?

We're having a bit of a panic about the rice milk thing as well as DS (2) drinks loads as well. I had heard of concerns over the arsenic levels but thought that had been disproved.

I think we are going to switch to Oatly with calcium. God knows what we would do if he was allergic to gluten, it must be a bit of a nightmare for you Ruby .

You're right, Trixy, ds can't have oat milk, due to gluten intolerance. Thanks though, Pointydog - 'tis a good idea.

DS is now down to 2 cups a day (rice milk). Dairy challenge starts on Monday, so maybe we'll have outgrown the problem anyway (highly unlikely, but where's there's hope...).The dietitian is going to send me some Neocate to try.

Shinyhappypeople, sorry to hijack your thread. What does your GP reckon on the milk and eczema?

Ruby xx

hi eveyone, my son L who is 2 and a half has now been prescribed a milk from the doc SMA LF, but i feel that i'm fighting against a brick wall for a diagnosis.

When L was 1, i indroduced cows milk as i was advised to, but he became really ill. We have been to the health visitor, doctor then the hospital for help, but have been told its toddlers diarrehea. Then i decided to try soya, but this didnt agree so i went onto rice milk and now SMA lf.

I found a nutritionist to help who done a food tolerance test, and found all animal products to be the problem.

i then went back to the Health visitor with this and we decided to take L off of all animal products.

since taking L off of all these animal products he's been great, got colour in his cheeks, his mood is great, sleeping at night and his poo doesnt come through to his clothes!!!

I went back to the doctor and asked for a blood test to be done to confirm what i think but the doc says no, as this may confuse the matter!

Has anyone had this problem?? can i go private for this??

thanks, x

ruby, have you tried C&G Pepti or Pepti Junior? They still taste pretty "milky". Otherwise, Neocate Advance and Neocate Active come in flavoured versions which are quite nice actually.

Can we distinguish between true allergy and intolerance again. The OP has a problem with eczema so more likely to be intolerance than allergy. Goats milk is more readily digested than cows milk and also has slightly different proteins. It helps a minority of those who have problems with cows milk but a big enough minority to be worth trying where the problem is not a severe allergic reaction to milk.

Where that doesn't help there are other dairy derived milks that have been formulated to provide a good diet for young children but to cause fewer problems for those with allergy/intolerance. These include Pepti or Pepti junior, Nutramigen and Neocate.

Goats milk has a good range of nutrients, for an 18 month old it is better than being dairy free. Probiotics might also allow her to stay on milk. Goats milk formula isn't licensed for very young babies because of a lack of evidence that it is nutritionally adequate (note not the same thing as saying it isn't adequate).

Government advice here www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Children/Maternity/Maternalandinfantnutrition/index.htm