Will Neocate cure my ebf 5 month old's eczema ? Let me know your experience before I reluctantly ditch Bfing

[thegrandsophy]

We have a strong family history of food allergies/atopy. dc2 has suffered from all over body eczema since 3 months and been treated by gp with steroids to marginal effect. Has always been exclusively bf. I decided to cut out dairy 10 days ago but saw dermatologist yesterday who said I should stop breast feeding and start her on neocate formula. I am happy to live on a very restricted diet for the next few months rather than give up bfing completely ie increase restrictions above simply dairy but she said I could never restrict my diet sufficiently and better just to give her formula which was completely clean. Am a bit upset and am worried that I could go through all the trauma of stopping breast feeding immediately and then find out it doesn't make that much difference but obviously want to do what is best for her. Any stories of miracle cures would be appreciated and how long does it take?

Okie Cokie - how did you get to your list of intolerences? Was it by exclusion and re introduction or did if testing, what method did you use?

That is really interesting OkieCokie and very much appreciate your post. It is actually quite a relief to hear from someone whose eczema has improved with Neocate only. As I said, the Consultant obviously knows what she is talking about wrt eczema and the scientist in me recognizes that it must be a quicker way to exclude potential causative food allergens than dietary trial and error. Am very glad that your son's skin has cleared up and congratulations on your pregnancy. When you mention the other foods he is allergic too, is this because he develops an immediate rash/reaction or because it causes his eczema to flare?

His eczema was pretty bad to be honest. At five months I started mix feeding doing about 4 breast feeds per day and 2 formula (the 2pm feed and the 10pm feed) and it was around this time I saw a slight improvement in his skin. We got a referal to a pead allergy specialist who we saw when he was 6 months and it was then they did the skin prick tests and RAST blood tests and we got the list of intolerances.

At this point I had not started weaning so all traces of the foods he was intolerant to he was getting via breastmilk which the specialist believed was causing the eczema. We came straight off Aptamil and tried Nutramigen but that made him sick and then went swiftly onto Neocate.

I gradually stopped the breast feeding and over a couple of weeks I saw a great improvement in the skin (I could have contolled my diet but we had a fairly hefty list!!). I then started weaning and have controled LO's diet accordingly and no flare ups so far. You could argue that he has grown out of the eczema but we have been back for further skin and blood tests and the results suggest the intolerances/allergies are still there. We don't know if we are dealing with true allergies as I have never given any of the offending items to eat directly.

We have had a few instant rashes around the mouth when he has come into close contact with egg and wheat things (either on my hands or picking up pita and nearly eating!)and we have given priiton but we have had no need for an epipen yet. Wheat and Egg gave very high results on the skin and RAST tests.

I has been hard cuting out so many things (diary, egg and wheat have been the hardest) but it can be done and MN has been a great source of info.

I hope this helps. For me stopping bf was OK as he was 6 months and that was kind of how long I wanted to carry of for, I am not sure what decision I would have made if he had been younger! Also, every situation is different but in our case there seems to be a clear a link between food and eczema.

Thanks for sharing Okie Cokie - really glad it's all worked really well.

I haven't read the whole thread above, but from what I read it seems my experience is somewhat different. My son has multiple food allergies and it was only when I followed my dermatologist advice to move him completely to Neocate that his eczema cleared and with no more need to use any strong creams on his skin. My son's eczema was clearly linked to his food allergies and although I took all of the things I knew he was allergic to from my diet it did not help him much (he got somewhat better, specially when I moved to bf only twice a day, but eczema was still there and his skin was always itchy). It was the best I could have done although it was difficult for both, but we did it progressively and when he turned 9 months I stopped bf and he improved dramatically. I also learnt that there is no thing as allergy free breast milk as you can never know for sure to what your child is allergic to and to what degree and specially as new allergies can appear over time (e.g., my son tested negative to egg and a few months later had a very severe allergic reaction to egg...). I am pregnant again and plan to bf baby. But I will not hesitate to progressively move baby to Neocate if the same symptoms appear.

OkieCokie, just read your message. I understand your case is very similar to mine and that you are also pregnant. Have you been given any advice as to what to try to do during pregnancy in order to try and minimize the risk of allergies to the baby you are expecting? The advice I was given was to take probiotics. Are you doing anything differently or having a slight different diet? I am still so puzzled by my son's extensive list of allergies...He is allergic to cow's milk protein, wheat (and other cereals to a lesser extent), egg, nuts, pea, sesame and some other seeds.

csqm sounds very similar doesn't it? I have asked if there is anything I can do and the paed specialist and dietitian said there wasn't much really. They also said 2nd baby may not suffer at all so fingers crossed. I am taking these. I read somewhere it is most important during the last 3 months but I have been taking as soon as I concieved!

Hello, lots of info already on here, but just to say my 19 month daughter had terrible eczema at birth and is allergic to egg and cow's milk, intolerant to soya. I found out when she was 9 months old, but cut out all allergens, and carried on bf. Her skin did improve massively, but I think that was mainly due to good treatment from the dermatologist - we use creams and steriods regularly for flares. She's still generally itchy though.

At 14 months, she was seriously failing to gain weight. I was told by an allergy consultant that this was because I was still bf and that I had to switch immediately to neocate. I duly obeyed and tried and tried to get her to drink it, but she was literally sick after each try, she hated it so much. So in the end I gave up, and now she only has oat milk, with some calorie supplements to help with weight, which is still a problem.

If I have another baby who shows the same problems, despite being really pro-bf, I'll probably be tempted to start introducing neocate, as I really don't want the same weight problems again and feel like the earlier you do it the more chance they'll have of drinking it. Although I still don't know if the link between continuing bf and poor weight gain is valid, have met so many people who disagree!

OkieCokie, just found out that the probiotic formula you mentioned has been discontinued due to poor sales! ;(

I contacted the maker directly and that was what they told me. Have you heard of any alternative? I have asked my son's consultant but still waiting to hear from him. He had also recommended the one you are having when we saw him earlier in the year.

No way csqm I only have 2 months left and 5 more months of pregnancy. Will save them for the last months as this is when they are supposed to be most effective.

I will have to hunt about for an alternative!
Let me know what you discover too!

OkieCokie, I am now just starting taking Culturelle, following consultant's indication. Hope it works!

csqm thanks for this. I went out and bought a probiotic from Whole Foods plus I am now taking separate pregnancy vits for the folic acid etc.