Reaction to formula - advise needed please

[cece]

DS2 is 6 months old and been eating purees for about 2 weeks now. He has been bf since birth apart from some formula given to him in hospital via a feeding tube for about 2 days. (Had an infection and was on ab).

Anyway yesterday he was given a small amount of SMA gold formula - about half to one ounze - he doesn't like the bottle! Reaction on face and neck almost immediately, went red. Last night he was terribly itchy and slept really badly. He scratched his neck so badly it has been bleeding.

So this morning he has had some babyrice mixed with formula (instead of the normal bm). Same reaction and he has been really itchy again.

Is this an allergy??? Should I see doc? I have an appointment next week to discuss his exzema...

well he has gone to sleep now, poor mite he is exhausted! As is his mummy!

Obviously I don't think I should give him anymore formula... but is this an allergy?

Poor lovey! I don't know enough about allergies to say anything, but personally I would not give him any more formula, of any sort.

I would be inclined to try and see the GP today. He's too young, I think, for you to give him Piriton without a prescrpition. But having sucha swift and severe reaction does not sound good to me.

oh b**r. So no formula... Was hoping to give him the odd bottle so I could get out a bit!

Think I might phone the hv and see what they say - not sure I'd get a GP appt today, think i have missed the emergency appointments now.

The doc will see him in an hour. Hope he is OK. I might post in the allergies section and see what their experiences are. I thought you got anaphalactic shock if you were allergic...

Hi, noticed your post, I usually lurk around the allergies section - I would definitely go and see a doctor, it does sound like an allergic reaction (DS has severe milk allergy too). At the very least you'll need a prescription for an antihistamine (piriton is good as it works quickly), you'll also want to be careful in introducing new foods in case any other allergies show up (unlikely but possible).

Don't panic, come on over to the allergies board if you need help, there's lots of us here and plenty of helpful advice!

You can have allergic reactions without going into anaphylaxis - that is the most etreme reaction.

Don't panic, but just think - your GP will see him in an hour, despite you missing the deadline for same day appointments...they clearly think it is serious.

Allergies, even minor ones, are not to be trivialised.

Hope this passes easily, and things are all right for the future.

I did give him a jar of baby porrridge the other day and he reacted with red face and itching to that. It contained milk so been only giving him things to eat without milk since.

The redness has gone down now but he is itching himself like mad! Poor thing.

Thanks for the advice. Been to docs and have some anti-histamine for him. She wasn't sure if it was an intolerance or an allergy and said to try him again in a few months and see what happens then!

Do you yourself drink milk or eat dairy products? I can't help wondering whether there is a connection between your ds's eczema and his reaction to the formula.

My dd and ds2 were dairy-intolerant, but mildly enough that it was not immediately obvious. They reacted badly to drinking cowsmilk, but no apparent reaction to formula (bf with the occasional ff) or other dairy foods. But they both had eczema on their faces. When I cut out dairy from their diets, and from mine because I was still bfing ds2, the eczema cleared up. When I tried eating dairy, ds2's face started flaring up again.

Worth considering?

It is worth considering. What did you have in your coffee/tea if you didn't have cows milk? I could give up most things but not sure about my coffee! There is lactofree milk in Tesco, would that do the job I wonder?

It's generally the milk protein, casein, that causes the problems in allergies. Lactofree has had the lactose removed or predigested, so it would not solve the problem.

I generally replace milk with Oatly, the calcium-fortified version. Butter replaced by Pure. Cheese is the bummer - nothing really hits the mark. As long as you cook from scratch, it's not really a big deal going df. But anything bought made has to be carefully checked - even things you woudn't think to have milk in them do. Sausages, for example, often have whey protein powder.

Be carefull if you go on any sort of restricted diet while bfing. You need to make sure that your calcium intake is still good.

It can take a few weeks of being strictly df to see an improvement, so doing this needs preparation.

OMG a whole new world to find out about!

"She wasn't sure if it was an intolerance or an allergy "

Really? A GP doesn't know the difference?

Blimey.

It's an allergy. An intolerance would have made him sick. If the reaction was that quick I would think it's quite a bad allergy as well.

I think you should ask for a referral to an allergy clinic.

And if you do take her advice and try him with formula in a few months time, be very careful. When I did that I had to call an ambulance for my DS. Would suggest if you do try it you do the parking in the A&E car park bit.

Sorry to worry you . . . but this is the voice of bitter experience!

Oh dear, now I am worried... So he might not grow out of it in a few months?

Cece - you need to post on the Allergies board. You're right, this is a whole new world to learn about, and it's not to be taken lightly, either. You will learn alot more a nd a lot more easily from the MN there than from your GP.

(BalloonSlayer - I was somewhat , or even , about the GP's response, but never having been in a serious allergy situation, I wasn't sure about responding to that.)

cece anything like the pic in my profile?

i would go in and ask to be referred to allergy clinic and dietician.

dd4 had a similar reaction when i was weaning her at 6months old.

since cutting milk out of my diet her eczema has cleared up. blood tests revealed she is also allergic to eggs and nuts.

Misdee thanks for the photo. It went red like that, if not redder, but no raised hives like I think I can see on your DD.