Allergies - eliminated everything, what's next?

[datadrivenmama]

DS is 11 weeks old, EBF and showing intense rashes, mostly on his cheeks, after feeding. For the last 5 weeks, I've been off dairy and progressively eliminated more foods to resolve his issues, but having stopped eggs, soy, wheat, seafood, fish, nuts, peanuts, citrus, oats, maize, onions, tomatoes and chocolate, I'm losing hope that the problem can be resolved through my diet. It seems like anything with fat in it makes his skin flare up.

DS's weight is gently easing down the percentiles from 91% at birth to 50% now, even though he is showing no gastro problems and filling nappies like a champ.

In the time it takes to get referrals for specialist advice, there's plenty of time for soul searching....

Is it possible that he's just allergic to too many things to eliminate all of them? Or maybe it's not a food allergy, even though it is so closely tied to feeds?

I'm expecting to get advice to switch to formula.... Is it crazy to keep BFing a baby who is showing allergic reactions? Will the reactions keep getting worse?

It's awful to see the rash flare during a feed and feel like you are poisoning your baby through ignorance. I'd really appreciate hearing some other experiences of hard-to-diagnose allergies.

Where else does he get the rash? Could it be from coming into contact with you and perhaps a sensitivity to your soap for example?

Do you have a family history of allergies?

does he have any other symptoms?

even though I had eliminated dd's allergen's from my diet, she still had major reactions when I fed her

I did swap to a totally hypoallergenic formula and she was immediately better but she had far more symptoms than just a rash on her face (stomach troubles, rashes all over her, swellings etc.)

if it is just a rash on his face and absolutely nothing else, I'd be tempted not to worry too much tbh. Does it go away once you've fed him?

Does the rash bother him?

also, how long does the rash last? and what does it look like?

Do you use perfumed products for washing / moisturising? Could it be where his face is in contact with your skin?

Have you tried posting on the allergies board?

I agree it may not be food related but it can be so hard to tell. How long have you been on your ED? It can take 6 weeks for your milk to be clear so you may just need to wait a little longer until it has an.effect.

I 100% know how you feel though and they were my words exactly "i'm poisoning my baby!"

DS however had more than just bad skin, bad eyes, runny nose, mucous bloody runny poos, projectile sick, bad misshapen tummy, bad wind, funny breathing.
Turned out he had milk protein allergy, egg allergy, gluten and Lactose intolerances!

Thanks for all your quick replies!

The rash sometimes looks like pinpricks, sometimes like weeping, bubbly hives on his face and hands when it's bad. Also when it's bad, there are often pinpricks all over his neck and body, front and back. Then he'll thrash and fuss until the worst dies down (and/or we manage to distract him with loud music ).

The oozing only lasts for about 15 minutes after feeding, but the crusty redness on his cheeks has not gone away in the since it appeared at around 6 weeks. It did improve at the start no longer on his forehead and eyelids but there's been no improvement in the last 2 weeks or so. It just gets worse and better over days.

I don't think it is contact, since it appears roughly equally on the side that's in contact with my skin/clothing and the side that's up. Still, we've all cut out perfumed soap and detergent, and he's not getting anything but water and epaderm on his skin.

If only it didn't bother him! At its worst, he'll break off feeds in distress, writhing and scrubbing frantically at his face. Even at its best, he scrubs at his face with his mittened hands -- big developmental improvement from 5 weeks ago when he could only vaguely whack his head!

(And before anyone suggests that I just keep eating the things that seem to make it better, it's best in the morning after I've eaten nothing overnight. Despite keeping a food diary, I just can't spot the remaining culprits.)

mawbroon, DD's father was told he was allergic as a baby to dairy, wheat, eggs and chocolate, but as the parents who raised him have passed, more details are unavailable.

Thanks, jesieb. You may be right that it's just a matter of patience. I've been fully off dairy for about 4 weeks (mostly off it for 5, but you know how easy it is to miss an ingredient on a label!) I won't give up quite yet.

foxinsocks, that's interesting what you say about dd reacting even after eliminating her allergens. I would love to just ignore the rashes if only I knew it wouldn't sensitise ds further! Or that his poor weight gain wasn't related....

Have you been to Dr's? What have they said?

Have you been seen at her worst?

How do you feel about feeding her in the waiting room just before you go in?

Sorry, should have been DS above (the perils of typing one-handed in the dark while feeding!).

Two GPs and a paediatrician have agreed it looks like diet-related allergy and bears further investigation. All are being helpful with referrals, it just takes time.

They gave me the impression that allergy with only dermatological symptoms is not that unusual, but maybe that's mistaken? Obviously, I hope we'll get to the bottom of it soon, but if not... I'd still like to hear from from other mums about tracking down particularly elusive allergies. Do you always find an answer? And how much are you willing to trade off baby's comfort for the benefits of BFing?

I thinly the BF Q is personal really. I fought and fought with Dr's etc, then at 11 weeks they finally agreed and prescribed milk. It was only then I found out that actually if I went on an ED he would be ok. However he was now 11 weeks and I couldn't put him through it any longer so he went straight on the formula and I stopped feeding him.

I know of a little boy who had awful excema, I passed on my allergist's number and it turned out he had a milk allergy. But his symptoms was just skin, drs were treating him for excema.

have you seen the GP? could it be something as simple as eczema which is irritated by just being all warm when close to you??

I do think that an allergy would present in other ways too.... tummy upsets, unusual poo (either constipation or mucousy frothy poo), very unsettled behaviour etc etc

oh and to answer your other question, i think a baby with allergies is even more in need of breastmilk than any other baby.

i wouldn't swap breastmilk for a synthetic formula for anything in the world.

I wouldn't swap to formula either - because as well as being probably the best thing for him, he might really hate the taste of amino-acid based formula because it tastes like devil's spit!

Our situation is not as severe as yours but it is similar. My DD, now 11 months, was what I would call a "sicky" baby from about 4 weeks old. I thought that it was reflux, but with hindsight it was probably related to her allergies - at 6 months old we found out that she was allergic to milk and eggs when I gave her some yogurt and she took a terrible reaction (gagging, swelling, rash, hives etc).

We have been seen by a consultant who advised that I should not cut out dairy or eggs from my diet. I find this confusing as so many mums on here speak about cutting the allergen from teir diet ...however, prior to seeing the consultant I had been avoiding consuming large quantities of raw dairy anyway as I noticed that this affected my DD. For example, when I had cereal with milk she would be really sicky the next day.

Despite the consultants advice I have continued to cut out large quantities of raw dairy from my diet. My DD is rarely sick these days, although she does suffer from eczema - creams help though so I am not sure if this is related to my diet or not. I suspect that it is not diet related because there are no other symptoms at the moment. I still eat hidden dairy and the occasional egg and it doesn't seem to upset my DD - it seems that milk is the main culprit.

With regards to swapping to formula, well this is somthing I chose not to do because every health professional I spoke to told me how vile the substitute formula is - alhough they also advised me to use it, which I find bizarre when my milk tastes so much better! We have been prescribed neocate which I keep in the cupboard just in case of emergencies.

Sorry, I havent really offered advice, just wanted to share my experience with you.

I don't have experience of this with my D but do have experience of it myself as a child and I had a skin only allergy to egg whites, cod, beef, wheat and bovine dairy products. I was also allergic to cat and dog hair. With an ED, the easiest route is to start with a very restricted diet and work your way up from there. You can supplement with vitamins and minerals. First you have tonnes of water and brown rice with veg like cauliflower. You then add more and more innocuous food like chicken, bananas, avocado etc and then start to add more lively stuff like tomatoes for a couple of days and see how they work etc etc.

Also, try placing some silk between his cheek and your breast. Its very soothing and he may react well to it, fingers crossed. It must be horrible for him and very frustrating for you.

DD not D!

I feel for all your little ones -- it's just amazing how brave they are, even when we're so worried!

The taste of neocate is a good thing to factor into the feeding decision -- after all, which is worse, yukky food or itchy cheeks? When I was little, I used to get a bum rash from chocolate, but that never stopped me

The doctors we've seen seem to believe that baby eczema is not just eczema, but has some underlying environmental cause. Part of me wonders if they just think they can fix everything, but I'm happy to hope.

harverina, that's interesting you were told not to cut out dairy. Maybe once you've identified the culprit(s), it's good to keep exposing the little ones to low levels to desensitise them?

I'll try your suggestions: heat definitely makes his rash worse, so I can at least keep him cooler. Also, silk sounds like a good thing to try for soothing.

It's great to hear your stories, not just to get my head around what to do, but also to remember that breast or bottle, someday we'll be looking back on all this.

Onwards with the ED!