Reflux and eczema OR Cows milk allergy - Help!

[Cherry85]

Bit of a long story - apologies in advance.

6 month old has been bottlefed and had reflux from the start. It was manageable with anti reflux formula so we used that all the way to 4.5 months. During this time we had him checked for cows milk allergy and doc basically said it wasnt that cos he wasn't sh*tting up his back.

We weaned at 4 months to help at reflux which went well and at about 4.5 months we took him off anti reflux milk to see if it had helped with reflux. He was a bit more sicky so we put him back on anti reflux formula.

This is when it went weird..... having gone back on to the anti reflux he went PROJECTILE?!

Back to docs at 4.5 months who put us on regular formula with gaviscon which helped but he was still a bit sick.

6 months hit, 3 meals a day plus 4x7oz bottles and 4 doses of gaviscon each day. Start adding cows milk to porridge, unsalted butter to toast etc.

1 week later baby starts getting a rash on his chest.... now 6.5 months (1 week after rash first appeared) and he his full torso is covered in bumpy rash and its continuing to spread up neck to face and down legs.

Having now looked at cows milk allergy, we have realised that over the past few weeks we have discussed the following symptoms but never made the connection:
Slight wheeze/stuffy nose
Hay-fever
Constipation
Itchy eyes
Gas/colic to the point we give gripe water cos he is in pain.

Doc has asked us to try eczema cream for 2 weeks but I am sort of thinking we should push for coming off dairy ASAP?

Thoughts please!

My baby had bad rashes and reflux from 4 weeks old and I just kept being told it was baby eczema. Things got worse and worse and it took until he was 9 weeks old before CMPA was suggested to me.

During those 9 weeks he didn’t have any diarrhoea.

Dairy was removed from my diet (breast feeding) and within a month he was like a different baby.

Just remember that you do not need a doctors permission to remove dairy from your son’s diet. You don’t have to “push” for anything - you are his mother and everything is your choice.

Speak to your HV about milk alternatives you can use for the next month. If during/after that time you see an improvement you can then go back to your GP, explain what you’ve done, state your son is much better for it, and ask for some dairy-free prescription milk.

My daughter has CMPA.
She didn't have diarrhoea she actually went the other way and suffered with constipation instead.

What they suggest is cutting dairy out of the diet for four weeks and then putting it back in for one week to see if the symptoms come back. If they do you know it was the dairy.

Hope your little ones better soon xx

My little boy had:
Constant snotty/blocked nose
Terrible skin, especially on cheeks
Silent reflux symptoms
Mucus in poop
Pooping multiple times a day
Gassy, irritable

He switched to a lactose free formula and it instantly helped.
Had to keep persisting with HV and doctor, but worth it. I think they are reluctant to offer prescription milk because many babies get reflux symptoms and grow out of it. I was going bonkers as I knew something wasn't right. My baby was miserable!

If it is CMPA they normally suggest waiting around a year old to introduce dairy slowly (from what dietician has explained to me)

Keep a food diary and any reactions. If it continues you could be referred to a dietician. My little boy has not been seen but we've had telephone conversations.