Talk to me about eczema and dairy

[BloodyGhosts]

My nearly 3 year old DS has had a few symptoms of allergies since he was a baby - eczema prone skin, frequent loose poos, pale complexion and dark circles under his eyes. GPs have never been particularly interested, although he had a blood test last year to look for basic markers of coeliac disease (came back normal, but low-ish on iron, for which he now has a supplement). He's very small for his age (born 75th centile, now 25th). My daughter is very tall for her age, so I'd have expected DS to follow a similar growth pattern. Again, GP seems unconcerned.

I'm at my wits end with his eczema - steroids and emollient barely manage it, he looks awful and so unwell with dry, red skin around his eyes and big patches on his cheeks. His itching is disturbing his sleep, so he's waking regularly.

I'm now attempting a dairy-free trial (apparently it cleared up my brother's eczema when he was a toddler) but it feels so overwhelming! DS won't drink any milk-alternatives, and dairy seems to be a component of all his favourite meals. Does anyone have any good tips for replacements, or links to helpful blogs or websites?

Also - for anyone with experience or expertise here - any advice on how to manage this more generally?! Worth pushing with a new GP?

Probably of no help, but this is what my youngest went through. It was horrific.

It wasn't until he went to South Africa on holiday when he was 20, was given a steroid injection which cleared his eczema and they diagnosed him with an auto immune disorder.

I'd taken him to dermatologists, hospital, appointment after appointment since he was 3m old. They'd never suggested that and he'd had every cream known to mankind under the NHS.

Get your DC checked for that, OP.

My elder son had horrendous eczema as a baby and the dermatologist insisted that it was nothing to do with diet. It was never ending cycle of creams, lotions, bandages etc. Then he started showing other signs of CMPA and the paediatric consultant recommended a trial of a dairy free diet. His skin was almost completely clear within a month. The dermatologist said it was a coincidence- I'm not convinced! I'd say it is worth persevering. I know it's probably a difficult age to change diet because your son is old enough to have developed preferences but too young to really understand the benefits of a different diet, but I'd stick with it if you can, at least for a few weeks til you can see if it does help.
A lot of meals are naturally dairy free, you don't need to rely on substitutes too much. Things like spaghetti bolognese, various casseroles, stir fries, roast dinners and so on are all dairy free or easily made so. For treats there are some good alternatives now. Nomo is our favourite for chocolate and Swedish glacé is quite nice ice cream.
What kind of foods does your DS like? Maybe we can suggest some alternatives to his favourites?

@MrsAvocet I can't imagine how frustrating that must have been to hear from your dermatologist! I've similarly been told by a GP that diet doesn't make a difference, but looking at research and advice online, and hearing anecdotal stories like yours, it sounds pretty clear that there is a connection and that dairy is often the culprit.

He just loves cheese and yoghurt really! They're my go-to foods when he's fussy with other stuff, and I can often get him to eat meals by sprinking loads of cheese on top! We've found some good coconut-based yoghurt, but I need decent cheese (cheddar and soft cheese) alternatives, as well as recommendations for other plant-based milks he might like. He won't even drink the creamy barista-style oat milk, which I think is the mildest of all of them?

I'll persevere and try a few things - it's really helpful to hear that it worked for your son!

Oh my gosh, that must have been such a breakthrough for him! But how awful for you to not have answers in all that time.

Did he manage to get anywhere with the NHS after he returned from South Africa? I'm in the process of moving to a different GP practice so I'll start the process of trying to get him referred once we've been switched over.

My DD has eczema which isn't horrendous but can flare up - when it does it's more like hives. Lots of red itchy bumps. I took her for allergy testing as NHS not interested and although it might be a bit woo they said she has sensitivity to dairy products and some e-numbers. I was recommended goat products and goats milk tastes just like cows milk, nicer actually. So maybe start with goats products first? I've only just started so no idea if this will work yet

Violife for the cheese and soft cheese alternatives!
DD is CMPA and she eats these - I've also tasted them (and eaten) and they're the most cheese tasting alternatives we've found!

I'd tread carefully. I was taken off dairy as a baby/toddler due to having bad eczema so was dairy free until I was 10. I had soya products instead. It turns out I was actually allergic to soya but I didn't work this out until my 20s. Minute I stopped eating soya my eczema improved immensely.

The other issue is that dairy replacement products are often full of utter crap instead of real food. My DD had a dairy allergy but we've done the milk ladder as I was determined to get to a place where she could have dairy because dairy fat is useful nutritionally whereas pretend cheese made of oils, gums and salt has little value apart from to make the eater feel like they're not missing out. The gums used to bind a lot of these products have been linked to gut damage.

As an adult I have thin bones and ulcerative colitis and I can't help but suspect my childhood diet might have contributed.

You could remove dairy from your child's diet but after giving them a few weeks' recovery I'd start the milk ladder in earnest. You might find you can get to the point where yoghurt, butter and cheese are all tolerated without flaring symptoms.

You need to give him supplements if he's not having fortified dairy replacement drinks/milk. Calcium and vitamin D together will be essential.

@INeedNewShoes thank you, this is really sensible advice. I've made a huge effort to move away the family away from UPFs over the last year or so, and knowing how many additives are in a lot of dairy alternatives is one of the reasons I've been quite averse to trying dairy-free. I'm going to do strict exclusion for 6 weeks and then yes, I'll do the milk ladder as soon as possible!

He has a daily supplement already but I'll double check the calcium in it.

@notvsure thanks for the tip! I found Violife grated stuff in Morrisons tonight to go on top of the spag bol. DS was unimpressed but I didn't think it was so bad!

I can't get over the eye-watering cost though?! I'm actually going to see if I experiment with tofu, beans and nut butters. I can't afford to replace all the dairy in his diet with processed vegan alternatives 🫠

Ooh that's interesting - I thought a CMPA would also mean a reaction to goat milk, but I'll look into it. I've never actually had goats milk - I can't stand goats cheese, and I think I just assumed the milk would be similarly goaty flavoured?!

Not excema but acne. Cut out dairy, it started to clear within days, all scarring and redness gone within a year- it was bad.

she won’t have dairy substitute either, except hot chocolate with almond milk. Her diet is pretty much based around Japanese/chinese/korean/thai/vietnamese style dishes as they are naturally dairy free.

coconut milk is useful as well- rice pudding with coconut milk is 👍, it’s very versatile and can be used in curries, savoury dishes, puddings, and everything in between.

she seems to have a natural aversion to dairy, never liked cheese or yoghurt etc. in hindsight probably because it made her nauseous.