BF and Eczema

[alux]

Has anyone traced eczema to their breastmilk?

I took dd to gp today to try to find out the source of her eczema.

I am wondering if there is something I am eating that makes dd's eczema real bad. My likely suspect is dairy products as many in my family, myself included is either milk or lactose intolerant.

GP dismissed my theory out of hand but at my insistence, agreed to make an appt to see a paediatrician about it.

i have no experience of this... but have you tried cutting out dairy to see if it makes a difference?

Hi Alux - my 8 wk old son seems to be starting with eczema (my DH and I both have it quite badly). Since he is exclusively breastfed my GP said that it can't really be caused by my breastmilk - as he's not been exposed to any 'unnatural' allergens. Not sure if this is true or not...

Good for you for insisting on a referral.

I have eczema and I was given a hard time about not wanting to breastfeed by several midwives (they seemed to have been taught that it would minimise the risk of passing it on or the degree to which he would suffer from eczema and that I would not bond properly with baby either). I personally find that stress is the major factor in triggering my eczema and took comfort in the fact that since I really wasn't mentally getting to grips with the idea of getting my H cup( or larger at times) norks out to feed junior I could potentially see a very uncomfortable and stressed mummy/baby situation. I was however open minded to a rush of baby love hormones changing my mind (and also bought breast feeding accessories to be prepared) but it never happened.

IMO, formed from reading up on eczema/allergies and a survey of my friends'family with children the hereditary nature of eczema/asthma is very strong and is eczema is triggered by such a huge range of possible allergens that breastfeeding is unlikely to make a negligible difference one way or the other. (heresy to breastfeeding devotees I know, it is the cure all for everything)

From our antenatal group the child now suffering with the worst problems (and not as bad as I did when I was very young) was exclusively breast fed for months longer than most others. My eczema was probably the worse out of all the mothers who did have it but ds is OK to date. Perhaps he has inherited my dh's lovely skin.

IME family history is much stronger in determining whether children suffer even if it skips a generation as sometimes happens.

If breastfeeding mothers have to be careful about the effects of certain foods being passed on to baby in breastmilk, why couldn't this be a "food" intolerance ?

I know very little about eczema, but my personal experience is that my ds was bottle fed and has not allergy/eczema problems, and my dd was breastfed for 18 months and has moderate eczema.

monstarter - as far as I know, you only have to worry about the effects of alcohol being passed on in breastmilk, not "certain foods".

alux - don't know, but if you're lactose/milk intolerant surely you're not eating that much dairy anyway?

also just to balance the evidence (for want of a better word) ds's eczema has got much worse since I stopped breastfeeding, and I have lately suspected him of being lactose intolerant - we'll try cutting out dairy and see.

We have little family history of eczema. DD had it quite badly at 5 months, I was doing mixed feeding and the only things she was eating were apple, pear and carrot. My doctor recommended that she went onto a soy formula and thought it was important that I also went completely dairy free. I didn't really test this long enough to see if it was true, as I was just about to stop breastfeeding anyway and return to work, so there probably only was a 10 day period when I was breastfeeding and dairy free. Milk certainly was one of the culprits in DD's case - unfortunately her eczema didn't get better when she stopped having milk but it did flare up if she had any dairy. She could tolerate goats milk a bit better, particularly in the form of cheese or when cooked: the "rawer" the milk the more it affected her, so cream was always the worst trigger. I believe this is common.

If it is any consolation, having had a fairly hefty dose of eczema from birth, DD was 2 last week and is (as of the last 4-6 weeks) now pretty much eczema free (just as the doctor predicted!)

Nonstarter - I'm inclined to agree. I have been told that since my DH and I both have bad eczema and both have allergies (I also have asthma), the chances of our children getting eczema are more than 80%. Apparently, exclusive breastfeeding will only reduce chances by a few percent at most.

I also agree with the stress thing. My eczema is unbearable at the moment - my DS is taking all my 'goodness' I think and stressing me too. I do wonder whether my stress hormones get through to him in my milk? Not sure if they'd make him more vulnerable or not...

My story is that a combination of eliminating things from my diet that ds had a positive skin prick test to, combined with probiotics to strengthen the gut, and flax seed oil to help the probiotics work - made a huge difference to ds's eczema. You have to be really committed to it - read every label every time, and do it for at least a month. I wouldn't have had the motivation without seeing the huge welts after the skin prick tests.

Bb thanks for reassuring me that changing my diet can improve things. the gp seemed to think I was a bit mad.

SnaB. i don't do milk, yoghurt & icecream v. well at all but can handle cheese which i am v. fond of. since wondering if milk/lactose allergy may be present, i now realise it is v. difficult to avoid milk ptoducts - its in margerine to make it taste like butter, lots of biccies, and on wednesday had mash at work - guess what i thought afterwards.

oh, forgot to say that dh suffered eczema severely as a child - right into primary. he still gets patches but only in hot weather.

My ds had an anaphylactic reaction to formula the first time he had any (at 5 months)... paediatric allergy consultant thought his eczema was probably related to his milk/egg allergy. I went completely dairy & egg free and within 2 weeks his skin was much clearer.

Over the next 3 months I stayed strictly dairy free and he gradually transferred to Neocate (hypoallergenic amino-acid-based formula) and the skin stayed good.

Now he is on Wysoy and still no dairy/eggs (skin prick at 13 months showed increased reaction) and his skin is mostly OK - just a few patches which flare up where he scratches when anxious.

I really felt that what was passed through the breastmilk made a difference, so would say it's certainly worth you cutting out all dairy, eggs & nuts for starters, to see what happens. But if you intend to restrict your diet for any period of time, you should see a dietician to ensure you get all the nutrients you need, particularly calcium, which I had to take a supplement for.

SenoraBruja

Perhaps my breastfeeding SIL has misquoted to me on the advice from her HV. I stand corrected, as I confessed, I didn't breastfeed despite the guilt trip from the midwives

Advice varies so much. In this country we are advised not to eat peanuts when pregnant but in the USA they are not apparently advised against eating them whilst pregnant.

Personally even a 0.1% chance that breastfeeding (or eliminating stuff from my diet) would have been enough for me - and it's really much higher.

It would be impossible to do a double blind trial - you know if you are breastfeeding! The probiotics trial have shown that there is a difference (because this can be trialled properly) so it's probably worth taking those as well. You may find your own gut problems improve.

Also eczema is on a scale, so whilst breastfeeding may not be very effective in avoiding it, it is impossible to know how much worse it could have been.

The theory is that the baby gut is so permeable that even proteins in the mothers milk can cross through into the blood stream.