Does my son have allergies?

[LissieD]

My 5 month old ds has eczema from head to toe, he always has a snotty nose and he's quite sicky. He probably brings up a whole feed two or three times a week and mouthfuls of sick constantly throughout the day. I have been treating his eczema with hydrocortisone ointment 1% and it's not shifting. I've also been using aveeno cream which works really well for me and dd. The doctor just suggests a stronger steroid cream and when I mentioned the possibilities of allergies he said his stuffy nose was because of the English weather. He is ebf. Is it something I'm eating?! I'm feeling horrible and guilty that I can't make it better and it's starting to affect his sleep.
I use non bio washing powder and give all washing an extra rinse. He only has a bath 2-3 times a week and I don't put anything in the bath, no soap etc. He only wears cotton clothes and I try not to let him get too hot.

What else can I do? Should I cut out dairy from my diet?

It's definitely worth trying as that does sound consistent with some of the stuff my boy has and he is allergic to pretty much everything. How are his bowels?

You could try cutting out dairy from your diet, you should see an improvement within 4 wks. For me that improved things by about 50% which was enough to get the referral to the paeds, then we worked out the rest of the allergies. The worst that could happen is that nothing changes and at least you would then have ruled out your suspicions,

It's horrible. Good luck...

Sounds similar to mine too. I figured there was nothing to lose so cut out dairy (and then soya) and there was a big improvement. The paediatrician was happy to take my word for it that he was worse with dairy and diagnosed CMPA.