To be upset by Dr saying stopping bf caused eczema??

[lindsell]

This morning I took ds (18mo) to dr as he's started developing eczema and it's really flared up in last few weeks.

I was asking him about possible allergies etc (I have eczema so know what it's like) and also mentioned that I'd stopped bf a few weeks ago (after v v gradually cutting down feeds from about 12mo, was on 1bf a day for last couple mths) so was wondering of cows milk related etc

Dr immediately said oh well it'll be the stress he's suffering as a result of you stopping bf

I was (and am) really upset by that and considering re-starting even though stopping went well and he hasn't been asking for it.

Am I overreacting? Has anyone else heard of this?

oh for goodness sake your Dr is either a loon or having a very bad day!

Ds's mild eczema started when I stopped bf (14 months) and I always assumed there was some link between the two.

Not stress though . Ds was supremely unstressed by it.

Probably coincidence tbh.

That's madness. I bf DD, she's never had formula. She is nine months old. She has eczema. So.... wonder where your Dr would think I'm going wrong?!

Bf'ing to 18 months is unusual in the UK, you would have thought from his comments that you had stopped feeding particularly early.

Just ignore him. Roll your eyes at such a nonsense comment. Tosser. [hangry]

My dd was fed until well past the age of two, and was exclusively breastfed until the age of six months. Her eczema started at around four months and she had grown out of it by around three.

Your doctor is being an idiot.

Ahem, should have said that dd was breastfed until well past the age of two. She is now five and I continue to feed her with other food!

Loony doctor alert.
I would be pretty annoyed at that. Allergies are far more complex than that. It's a ridiculous thing for him to say.

I think if you've breastfed for over a year then you've done your best re breastfeeding and allergies.
My son developed eczema whilst still being breast fed.
Eczema is common, lots of small kids get it. Breast feeding for a year does protect against it to an extent.
Allergies rarely cause eczema, but it might be worth trying no dairy for a couple of weeks as dairy products can occasionally flare eczema.
Doctor sounds a bit strange, a more understandable comment if you'd stopped at 2 months.

Children get eczema. DS sometimes has awful eczema in the winter. I think it gets worse with central heating and some washing powders.

I find Cetraben or E45 help and I always use a Non Bio washing powder. DS and I still sometimes get patches of it but there's not much you can do.

For the record, I breastfed DS until 14 months, and also gave him the odd formula bottle and later cowsmilk. He had patches of eczema when he was being breastfed.

I think it was a bit too simplistic a view from your doctor.

From the OP's post the doctor said stress as a result of stopping bf was the cause of the eczema, not just the stopping bf. Which I think may be a valid point, it's a big change for a baby and will take time to get used to.

Stress can cause an eczema flare up, my DH suffers with it terribly and it's much worse when he's stressed.

I know with my head that he was just being stupid and what you all say is right but my heart of course feels guilty for stopping esp if it's caused ds to suffer

Interesting suzikettles that you think stopping bf was the trigger for your ds's eczema but then for others it seems that it started while bf so who knows!

I don't think ds is stressed at all and he's seemed fine with stopping but who knows, I guess it's just hard when a doctor says it to just
completely ignore!

Themeow - I know stress can cause eczema flare ups (it does for me sometimes) but it's not something I've come across being associated with stopping bf esp when stopping really gradually and ds really doesn't seem bothered by it so how can you measure stress in a baby/toddler? I can understand if you were bfing all feeds and suddenly stopped that could cause stress/upset but stopping from only 1 feed a day? If I'd known I'd have continued but it felt like the right time for both of us to stop. Oh I don't know

My DD developed eczema around the 3mth age and she was exclusively breastfed. She self weaned at 14mths and i didn't notice any change to her skin and she abrubtly stopped. Your Dr is an idiot as you said you had weaned him gradually and was only on one by the last 2mths. You know in your heart of hearts what he said was wrong so don't give it another thought hon.

It sounds like he would have developed it anyway as you say it is hereditory (sp) and what were you supposed to do - breastfeed him forever .

My DD finds in Winter she has flare ups with cold outside and falseheat inside so it seems like the cold weather we have had is more likely the reason.

Please don't give that dr's advice any more thought, you know your child and you would know if he was stressed - breastfed or not!

Actually he should be giving you a pat on the back for bf'ing so long not a lecture to guilt trip you!

Doctor is a nutjob! Kids get eczema fact. I ff both my dds. DD1 has never had eczema, dd2 is covered in it. Just luck of the draw.

My DS developed eczema around this time of year but he was still bf at the time (I bf to 16 months). I did wean him a few weeks early so I beat myself up about that of course.

His is pretty mild and only flares up if we use traditional bubble baths etc. We use this now and he has no eczema at all.

Like you I cut the feeds down very gradually so DS barely noticed stopping so was not a stressful process.

that's bizarre. I've read so many threads about doctors who are critical of BFing past 6 months (and that attitude is also unacceptable IMO)

anyway, my 13mo is still a boob monster and is suffering badly with his eczema.it's just bad luck - DD was mix fed from birth and she's never had it! he's had it for ages but a cream called diprobase seems to be helping.

My DD didndt have eczema until I stopped breastfeeding. There is a strong family history of eczema though, so I think that it might have affected the timing of it, but that it would probably have happened eventually anyway.

If you dont think that your DS is stressed then he probably isnt, and he is old enough to ask for it if he wants it.

My friends DD had excema and was told it was down to stopping BF, although the excema came first so don't know how they worked that one out. There was also a family history there too.

DS has it and had it from a few weeks. He was FF but DH has it too and I have asthma. My sister and brother both had excema and many of my family have asthma too. There is a strong family history and I think DS would have got it however I fed him.

If both parents have eczema and/or asthma or even allergies there is a one in two chance your DC will also have some form of it. If only one parent has it there is a one in four chance. These were the statistic's when DD was a baby a few years back. I have eczema and allergies and DH has asthma so our DD had a very high chance of having one or other. So far though it is only the eczema.

Our Dr said that 3rd world countries never have eczema as they are battling more severe problems like malaria etc but over here where parents are so careful what they give their child to eat and sterylising etc there is more chance of developing allergies. I am allergic to some nuts but ate the ones i could eat whilst pregnant and DD has no such allergy at all. I was also very allergic to egg and cows milk, citrus fruits but again tried to introduce her to them very slowly as quick as i felt right so she wasn't too wrapped in cotton wool. I'm not saying that would work for everyone but it did for us and touch wood our DD has no allergies at all thankfully. i realise we were very lucky!
My sil who sterylised everything her DT's used til well over one year got everything under the sun as they had no immunity at all.
Every parent must parent as they see fit for their own child and if you have a family history of eczema then you know why your DS has it and you couldn't have prevented it.

I've had eczema all my life and I guarantee I know far more about it than almost every Doctor I have seen about it.

The best one was the cow who refused to refer me to the Dermatology clinic as I wasn't using the moisturiser she has prescribed (it made things 20 times worse and I lived alone, making wet wraps extremely bloody difficult)

Her parting shot, as she opened the door to lead me out was "well, if you don't follow the regime, how can you expect me to help you?"

I was too young to complain, still wish I had given her more of a fight.

Don't listen to him, total bollocks.

Oh, and try Burt's Bees stuff for your son - ~I use it and my skin has been almost perfect for years now.

I stopped bfing ds1 and ds2 at a year each and I really thing they were far less stressed about me stopping then, than ds3 and ds4 who were both over 2.
Now, ds2 DID get an eczema-like rash when he got his very first bottle of formula at four months. I never gave it to him again ( had to express like MAD when I wasn't with him!) and put him onto goats milk when he was one. It never did flare up again, even though we eventually switched from goats to cows milk.

My ds2 had eczema from 2 weeks old, despite being exclusively bf. Turned out he had a severe allergy to cows milk (which he was experiencing via my milk).

Thanks all for your thoughts

Ladyinpink - interesting statistics, I'd guessed he had increased chance because I have it but haven't come across any stats on it before.

Maybe I should think of it as he was v likely to get anyway and maybe bfing has postponed it which is a positive and I would have had to stop at some point anyway.

I think I'll try him on goats milk and see if that is any good and thanks for various recommendations.

Foxyrevenger - I sympathise, as a child the drs would not believe that I was allergic to e45 which they insisted I had put on me all the time despite it making me red raw and screaming, then I had patch tests done and they used e45 as a control, guess what I
was allergic to it!

I should know better than to listen to the dr, guess I'm still feeling a bit and guilty for stopping bf.

I should listen to wise mners instead!

I bf my ds for 3 months and the week after I stopped he developed eczema. He is now nearly 6 and still has a mild form of eczema. Bf dd for longer, no eczema. Ds also has mild asthma. Don't know if there is a link but even if there was, what are you supposed to do? Bf forever? You have done your best.