Permanently snotty !

[smk84]

My DS has had a runny nose every day since he was around 16 weeks old. He is now 15 months. It is sometimes worse than others, but I am wondering if he may be allergic to his milk. He was breastfed for 4 weeks but since then has been having Aptamil 1st (I had severe PND and was gutted I had to stop feeding him). Since he was 1 his bottles have been half formula and half cow's milk. Any advice welcome please.

It could be his milk, or something else in his environment, dust for example.

You could talk to your GP about a referral to an allergy specialist. The allergy tests are quite simple and it sounds like it would be useful to know what's causing it.

Same here, it seemed like an eternal cold.
I was thinking along the lines of allergic rhinitis.
An allergy test from the GP should be the best route.

thanks

Watching this with interest as DS1 (now 2.3yrs) is the same. DS2 seems to be going the same way and he's only 5 months.

Try cutting out ALL dairy for a couple of weeks and see if it makes a difference. Dairy is the main culprit for snottiness and it's an easier thing to eliminate as a test than other environmental factors such as pet hair or dust.

Pixie. Elimination diets are quite common to determine food sensitivities and two weeks off dairy is hardly going to damage anyone! OP, discuss it with your GP by all means but you may need to speak to a specialist. It took several miserable years before my dairy intolerance was diagnosed. If you are worried about calcium there are fortified dairy free milks such as oat milk that can be used as a replacement drink.

Rubbish! No one NEEDS dairy in their diet. I know plenty of children without it in their diets - I wasn't allowed it for years and my children hardly eat any. We've spoken to lots of doctors over the years and NONE of them have expressed any concerns about their diets. Calcium is available in so many other foods. How do you think lacto vegetarians and vegans survive? Sorry Op I don't want to take your thread off on a tangent. If you do some reading you will find a lot about removing dairy from your diet and other sources of calcium etc that will hopefully reassure you that removing dairy is not going to do any harm.

DD1 has had a permanently snotty nose (one nostril) mainly since she was small
i thought it was dairy for ages, now i have worked it out to actually be bread. if she has a pizza, or a crusty baguette (which she craves, also a sign of intolerance) then the next day she will be totally bunged up.

i haven't found any doctors very helpful in this. unless you have a clear allergic reaction, or an upset stomach, i doubt they will even consider dairy intolerance.

a homeopathic did work to reduce the mucus when she was small, i didn't keep it up though. the homeopath reckoned it was dairy, but it doesn't seem to be.

also on the no dairy question, outside the west they eat hardly any dairy. you do have to be a good eater though (dark green leafy veg etc) to ensure you get the calcium you need.

Pixie, I did actually say she should discuss it with a specialist. I understand that there could be a risk if dairy was removed long term from a child's diet without substituting which is why I recommended Reading up on substitutes. There are plenty out there and actually some are better sources of calcium than dairy.

OP, if you're worried about trying an exclusion diet you could try keeping a food journal to record what he eats every day and also his level of 'snottiness' . Try to see if there are any patterns with certain foods because as another poster said, it could be anything! Dairy just happens to be the usual culprit. Excess mucus does point to some sort of allergy/ intolerance because mucus production is one of the body's defenses. If you keep the journal for a few weeks you can bring it along to the doctor with you. It might be a good starting point.

my ds is the same - he is 2.4 now. I did take him to the dr and he said to cut all dairy out to start with. It really makes a difference to my ds, but I do have to cut it all out- the odd yoghurt etc is not permitted.

He was on goats milk formula for a while, but now has the dairy free milk in cartons, and dairy free yoghurt. I think he may also have a dust allergy though, and some other things also set him off (like suncream for example). I think we also need to do more formal tests, but it is a bit daunting!

My GP has put DS (as mentioned above) forward for a RAST test today as we now have proof that he is not maintianing his weight as well as lookng truly ghostlike. We're testing for milk/wheat/egg allergy/intolerance at this stage. I seriously hope it's not dust as I would struggle to keep on top of this more than dairy! GP thinks Ds's night coughing (for which is on quite a significant dose of inhalers), continued reflux and constant nasal drip are all linked too.

Hello all. Thank you for all your advice. I have been away for the weekend (camping) and DS seems to have had a beautifully clear nose ! Wondering if it is dust (as he has had similar diet). I will see how things go the next week or so, but plan to discuss all with GP at next visit.