BF ds has eczema; dr prescribed Nutramigen AA

[sambo303]

DS is 15 months and developed eczema at 1 following a virus. We have cut out dairy, soya, egg, lentils (mainly what we eat as we are veggie)

So dr prescribed Nutramigen AA - had to cough up £34.50 for it but when I got it home I found it has soya oil in it so we cant use it any way.

my question is, why did he prescribe this when ds is bfing (about 6 times through the night and twice in the day when I'm not working) - it's the only way to comfort him when he is itchy. Is breastmilk lacking in nutrients by this stage?

I think it is because breast milk contains lactose and this can be a cause of eczema in some children (dairy). Ds was diagnosed anaphylatic to milk protein at 8 wks and whilst i breast fed him I had to be completely dairy free in my diet. We used nutramigen.

Does your doctor know that he is not recieving the soya etc. It might be worth trying to be milk free in your diet (takes a good few days to clear your system - possibly even a week) and see if he improves by that. I would go back and talk to the doctor about the reason for this. Why formula for a breat fed baby and why a formula with soya for a soya free baby? These would be my questions.

good luck.

No.

Would have thought BM the best thing for him (especially if you have gone dairy-free).

Did you tell the dr you were BF? (clutching at straws)

Would have thought referral (if this was your own GP) if you have tried lots of treatments (ie presume you have gone down the wet-wrap route etc already)?

Our dd is also on Nutramigen AA and has been since she was about 7mo (now 15mo).

She is allergic to cows milk protein which is all dairy and soya. The Nutramigen AA is one of the 'safe' formulas for your dc to have even though it has soya in it.

If the doctor told you to give it to your ds why did you have to pay?

We have had it on presciption and don't pay and will do until she's at least 18mo.

I know naff all about breastfeeding but I know about the comfort when they're itchy. Our dd2 ended up with a dummy because of that
constant itching and she was at her worst before age 1 so we could put socks on her hands/use specialist babygros. I think the only thing that stopped her when she was around 11mo was wet wraps.

See my profile if you want before/after pics the main change to cause it was the formula.

why did you have to pay if it was on prescription??

breastfeeding is certainly nto lacking in nutrients at all at this stage, and is still the best thing for your baby

have you cut dairy/egg/soya etc out of your own diet?
has cutting these things out improved his eczema at all?

i have cut out all those things from my diet, seems to have stopped the constant flare ups but it's hard to tell as we now use eumovate regularly. We had to pay because it was a private prescription (gave up on nhs in desperation after gp gave us diprobase and said "good luck!")

You have to push a bit with the GP. I think we went to the GP about ten times before getting a referral.

It's possible that he has a temporary lactose intolerance, and ALL milk contains lactose.

Or he could have a cow's milk protein allergy, in which case human breast milk is fine because it's not from a cow, but some mothers find that they have to cut out dairy products from their own diet, but I didn't have to.

How annoying that you had to buy the Nutramigan that you couldn't give any way.

Please carry on breastfeeding - it's the best thing for your child in terms of nurtients and the comfort it brings, and please get a proper referral to a paediatric dermatolgist.