So it seems dd2 also has food allergies - Some positivity needed!

[whelk]

DD1 (2.8) is allergic to eggs, lentils and several other things. She also has chronic eczema.

DD2's (6mo) eczema is a lot less widespread than DD1s so I had let myself believe that she might not have food allergies. Have exclusively bf to 6 mo which has been tough.

I tried her with her first taste of formula milk - and lo her poor little eyes swelled up and she had a bright red rash and hives all over her neck and chin.

Part of me feels philosophical - the other part thinks how the hell am I going to cope with a different allergy and also the likelihood she may have others (isn't soya allergy likely too with milk??)

Does anyone have any positive experience of growing out of milk allergies/ coping?? PLease help Im having a low day about it all today!

No experience of growing out of allergies but my DS is allergic to gluten, milk, and egg, and intolerant of the preservative used in ham, etc. - this all developed when he was 14. It's amazing what substitutions you can do for cakes and other things - result is slightly different but still delicious. It's just what we do now, it seems normal for us. There are masses of unusual recipes on the internet (vegan ones are particularly useful for those with milk and egg allergies). I'm sure you will cope beautifully once you are over the initial shock! Good luck!

Sorry to hear about your DD . DS has been allergic to milk all his life, he's 8 now. No help on the growing out of it front, sorry, but he's had anaphylactic reactions and he's still here, and we do cope. He's also allergic to eggs, nuts and lentils, but don't assume your DD is also multi-allergic, they can be different - my DD only has hayfever, no food allergies.

Soya is not necessarily a problem for milk-allergic children, so don't panic yet. There's lots of us here to help you out with recipes and the like, I know it's scary at first but you'll manage just fine! Just ask, we'll try to help.

Thank you for your replies Flaming and Lulu. It does help to hear how others cope. Sorry to hear about your dcs though. Feeling a little more positive today. Have dealt fine with dd1's allergies so guess we need to take a deep breath and get on with it again.......DD1 has been a little star telling everyibe milk hurtss dd2's tummy!

sorry whelk. is your dd2 rash like my dd4 reaction (see my profile)

dd4 is now 11months old and has tested positive for reactions to milk, eggs and nuts. its been a bit of a rolleroaster but we have adapted well.

she was negative for soya, which makes it easier on me, as can have soya milk in my tea.

have had loads of lown days, and sometimes i feel sorry for dd4 as its quite limiting, but am sure she'll be fine.

Yes Misdee the rash was almost identical to your dd4s and in the same place.
It was similar to the reaction that DD1 had to eggs so I knew what it was.
DD1 copes well but eggs are easier to avoid than dairy. Need to get myself organised!

Both of mine have had problems with dairy. Dd outgrew her intolerance around 20 months. Ds is 12 months and still allergic, but I'm hoping that he'll outgrow it too.
I breastfeed so have to be dairy free too, as dairy in my milk affects them. You do get used to it. We use a lot of coconut milk, and oat milk for making batter (pancakes/toad in the hole), and alpro have just brought out a fresh soya cream which is also handy if she's ok with a bit of soya. It's about 30-40% of milk intolerant babies who also have a problem with soy, but both of mine have been ok with it (although I only use in small quantities, as too much soya is not good for under 2s anyway).

Sorry whelk, I only know nuts but wanted you to know I am here to support you. I think it milk proteins can be v hard for little ones.

I just read a really interesting post about milk and ezcema, it's at the top of allergies section today. Ha you considered trying them both on nondairy? Have a read, it sounds amazing that the little boys skin has cleared up totally.

Good luck, can you get dd2 checked soonest? We are off for the dreaded tests tomorrow, will repost on my thread. Would seriously consider switching your dd1 to soya (or is she allergic?) to see if it helps her ezcema?xxxx

Hi Blue and Can't Sleep thank you for responding and your supportive comments. Sorry to hear about your dcs. I find it hard in RL as unless your own dc has allergies its very hard to understand all the implications so I really do appreciate all the support I have had on mn.

Blue - I had seriously considered taking dairy out of dd1's diet on several ocasions and read the thread with much interest. Her eczema has always been very strongly associated with temperature, improving enormously in winter and then returning with the first hot spell of the year. However, she is always very sniffy so it might be worth a try. It might make sense to be a dairy free house in the light of dd2's issues!

So far dd2 hasn't reacted to dairy in my diet - should I cut it out of my diet while bf-ing?

The allergy specilaist we are under didn't advise me to eliminate eggs from my diet when dd1 was diagnosed but intuitively I feel I should. any thoughts/ evidence to suggest I should?

Good luck Blue for tomorrow - will keep all digits crossed!
I have got a referal to dd1's specialist and an appointment 4 weeks away!

Whelk - you say that your dd2 hasn't reacted to dairy in your diet, but you also say that she has eczema. This may be her reaction to the dairy that you are consuming. The only way to find out would be to go dairy free for a minimum of 2 weeks (it takes that long to clear from both of your systems fully) and see if her eczema improves.

Re removing eggs from your diet. As I understand it, there is positive proof that cows milk protein passes through in breastmilk, but other foods, whilst sometimes suspected to pass through, haven't been proven to do so. On that basis, and since your dd2 hasn't been shown to have an egg allergy (as yet), I wouldn't cut them out, but would prob avoid an excess of them.

If you are going to be a dairy free household for a while, then other products that you need to know about are:

Butter substitute: Pure sunflower spread, vitalite, M&S sunflower spread. Almost all other marg still contains dairy.

Milk: Oatly (with calcium - not the organic one, which doesn't have any). If you want soya milk for you (I prefer this on my cereal to oatly) then I like the fresh blue alpro.

Cakes & treats: Mrs Crimble range - lots of lovely stuff here, esp coconut macaroons and bakewell slices. Respect organic carrot cake or banana cake (made with oil rather than butter). Dark choc - Divine or Green & Blacks (there's a big saga about a change to their food labelling over the last year or so, but even though it says 'contains milk' it actually doesn't in the dark, the maya gold and a couple of others). You can also have Elizabeth shaw dark choc mint crisps.
Biscuits - asda smart price digestives or waitrose own brand digestives, Waitrose almond biscuits, fruit shortcake, bourbons (surprisingly) are all dairy free, but always label check because recipes do change all too often. It's a bugger finding a biscuit to eat at a toddler group though!

You will need to label check everything I'm afraid though - even some ham contains milk!

Any other specifics you need to know re food alternatives then just ask.

Oh, and I can recommend a good cake recipe book for dairy (and gluten) free cakes too if you like to bake (they do still contain egg, but is there an egg replacer that you can use?) - it's this.

Whelk - if your BF diet has not affected her before then I would stay the same. If you do ever try more/other formula then I would (v carefully) mix it half and half with expressed breast milk, it helps to break down the proteins apparently. I did that for the first 10 weeks that DD went onto formula as she had colic.

SDD (nut allergic) is not allergic to dairy but I used to watch her become more and more sniffy and bunged up after a yogurt. She has outgrown that now and can eat diary no probs. She was intolerant to eggs and is now fine, she was intolerant to soya and is now fine. So, that is all good news.

I know DD has too much milk than is good for her but as she is such a small eater she has always supplemented with milk. As she has no other dairy (her choice, no cheese which is practically currency in our house, no other milk products, yogurt etc.) I know she needs calcium from somewhere. I do think it constipates her though. I had always put her eczema flair ups down to too much concentrated wheat but I am going to get the allergist to test for milk again tomorrow, just to be sure.

We waited ages for our appointment too, I wonder what they think we do in the meantime apart from worry ourselves silly.

Hey ho, will post tomorrow back on my thread to let you know how it goes. xx

Can'tSleep - god its so obvious now you pointed it out (eczema being her reacting). Im embarrassed not to have thought of that myself. Thank you.

I'm going to try us all dairy free and see what happens. Thank you so so much for your suggestions. I'm truly bowled over by your support and practical help. Partoicularly good news about Maya gold! Im pretty thorough checking labels because of dd1.
Does soya go into breast milk?

BlueBumed - I did try a tiny bit of formula with about 90% breast milk and that was what she reacted to.

Thanks again to all of you!

I'm totally confused to be honest as dd1's specialist advised thatI should eat as many peanuts and other allergens as possibly during pregnancy and bfing to avoid allergies. Anyone else heard this?

I had peanut butter on toast everyday during both pregnancies.

DS 14 was allergic to peanuts from the age of 4 and grew out of that allergy by the age of 12, but still allergic to treenuts and seseme seeds and various other non food allergies

DD 12 has no allergies

Bruffin - thank you! One of the things I struggle with is the guilt, did I do something wrong? Should I have done x, or y? I drive myself (and dh)nuts (pardon the pun!)

Whelk (hello!) I know what you mean. Dh does this to himself about SDD. He has psoriasis and is always stressing it is this that may have lead to her allergy.

You cannot blame yourself though. Lets face it, our parents ate what on earth they liked and I am sure we are more healthy than our kids! I know there are exceptions but I am a true believer that fate has the last throw of the dice. You did nothing wrong, you are a special Mum for coping so well with the allergies, it is hard and testing at the best of times. xx

BlueBumedFly - now you are making me cry!!

whlk fir dd's 1,2 and 3 i voided peanuts. that was the advice given. they all have allergies, but not to nuts.

dd4 i ate peanuts, peanut butter, honey roasted peanuts at xmas when breastfeeding her. and she has a peanut allergy.

so i dont know if its my fault, or just sods law tbh.

Misdee, I would go on sods law. Saves your sanity and they love you just the same. x

Hi Whelk
Just wanted to add my support too
My ds has suspected allergies to wheat gluten and a severe lactose intolerance.

It is hard especially in the beginning and their are times when I wish he didnt have to go through all that, but I have been really open with him since we found out and he copes well

It is do-able and now it is a way of life for me and him but in the beginning I found it hard. It is definately a roller-coaster ride.

Thanks LittleMarshmallow- with dd1 I felt as though I would never feel relaxed around food again. Guess its a little easier with dd2 even if the allergy (so far) is harder. With the two of them, no-one will ever invite us for a meal again!!

I would whelk if I knew you in RL!

On the nut thing, new advice is now out.

This is a key quote from there:
'This review has shown that there is no clear evidence that eating or not eating peanuts (or foods containing peanuts) during pregnancy, whilst breastfeeding or during early infant life influences the chances of a child developing a peanut allergy.'

No one really knows whether soya passes through into breastmilk or not, so you may wish to try going both soya and dairy free for 2 or 3 weeks, and then if her eczema improves significantly, reintroduce soya but not dairy, and see what happens. Avoiding soya is really hard though - I did it just for a few weeks when I first eliminated stuff for dd. The Pure spread and vitalite that I mentioned earlier are both soya free too though. Bread is hard to get soya free these days - might be worth investing in a bread maker if you don't already have one.

Whelk, that does sound like good advice. I am sure somewhere at the back of a cupboard I might have a breadmaker, where are you in the country. If I cam find it amd you want it it's yours !!

Ah thank you so much Blue and Can't. You have both been so kind.

I think one of the things about food allergy is how much you blame yourself so its nice to read some research like that. Its all so confusing with HVs saying one thing and our specialist saying the exact opposite.

I've been feeling a bit more positive over the past few days partly because dd1 has tested negative for lentils and didn't react (yet) to the bit of poppadom she had earlier today. She has also outgrown allergies to strawberries and pineapple and can now eat egg baked in cakes etc so life is improving for her! We have been advised to try her on nuts (terrifying!) and she seems ok with the very small amounts so far.

Thank you so much for the offer of the breadmaker. I actually do have one which i dusted off earlier today.

I am going to go dairy free myself and see if it affects dd2's eczema. I am unsure whether to with dd1 although her eczema is considerably worse than dd2s - I wonder about the pros and cons of modifying her diet and making her even more 'different' at nursery/ with grandparents/ friends etc iyswim versus improved skin. She is very aware of the egg allergy and the need for her to avoid things and I don't want to burden her any more than necessary - she is quite a little worrier. Hmmmmmm (I'm not getting enough sleep to make these judgements at the mo!)

Thanks again!!