Baby acne or Cows Milk Allergy? Photos inc.

[MrsM2021]

Before I begin I have sought medical advice but no doctor seems to know what they’re doing.

We thought my 6wo daughter had reflux but over time she’s had more symptoms than just vomiting feeds/watery painful vomit after feeds, she’s gassy, constipated (currently 48 hours with no poop and she’s in pain), constantly searching, chews on dummies for relief, constantly upset etc.

She broke out in what I thought was baby acne about two weeks ago but it’s steadily got worse and now is everywhere! Is it baby acne or does it look like a potential cows milk allergy? She’s formula fed.

TIA

My little one had baby acne and it looked exactly the same as the first picture. This is just my experience though, I have no medical qualifications. There were no other symptoms such as gas or constipation associated with this in our case. Sorry, probably not helpful.

No that is helpful thank you!

My two had baby acne. It was only on their faces and a lot of the spots looked liked white-heads.
I can't recall the age it started and went though.

Looks like dds eczema when she was small. Hers is made worse by dairy (mild allergy) so I wouldn't rule out a milk protein allergy.

She is absolutely gorgeous though

Could it possibly be eczema or some form of contact dermatitis? My DD has eczema and it started out looking a bit like the first pic under her neck and jawline and then got progressively worse.

In your case maybe it is triggered by cmpa given the other symptoms you've described? My daughter has an allergy to cows milk & I have found the doctors to be fairly useless with the whole process!

What are you currently using on her skin? Might be worth trying an emollient cream to see if it improves things. I use Aveeno baby emollient cream and night balm and this has cleared up my daughters skin perfectly.

Before this I did oat baths - wrapped oats in muslin cloth and soaked in the bath which soothed the skin.

Yeah it could be rash from CMPA.

Agree with PP about emollient, we tried Dermol 500 lotion as a replacement for soap and it completely cleared in a couple of days.

Thank you so much for replies.

She’s currently on goats milk formula but the animal protein, although reduced is the same. For those of you who had ff babies with allergies, what formula did you use?

I’ll get some Aveeno now and order some oat bath stuff.
I’ve been using oilatum junior on her body but nothing on her face and we only wash her with water.

That looks like a milk allergy to me. Dds skin was the same and then had big hives right after a feed. It went from her face, scalp, neck, chest and back but wasn't on her legs. She had horrifi nappies and nappy rash and had silent reflux along with it

Skip the goats milk, it's the same protein. Same with soya when you start weaning.

Dd was on aptimil pepti. They were going to swap her to neocate but because she was settled and her skin wasn't horrendous on it and the screaming had calmed down, they kept her on it so she didn't refuse to drink it.

Get hydromol from the pharmacy or the GP for baths, it can be used in the bath, as a moisturiser after the bath, a shower gel.

Sounds like it could be what my ds had, a cows milk allergy. We were sent to see a specialist at a walk in clinic and she prescribed a special milk powder, Nutramigen, and we would pick about ten tins of it up from the chemist at a time.
Ten years later he is still allergic. I’d ask your dr for her to be seen by someone ASAP so she can get some relief.

@YouCantBeSadHoldingACupcake

Looks like dds eczema when she was small. Hers is made worse by dairy (mild allergy) so I wouldn't rule out a milk protein allergy.

I think the same as this x

I think it looks like a viral rash.

The Dr at the allergy clinic gave me a tin of formula powder called "Similac Alimentum" - haven't used it as I was EBF and only came across her allergy when weaning and introducing cows milk.

She advised me that it can smell and taste a bit metallic due to the fact that it is fortified with iron. But she stressed the fact that nutritionally it is meant to be really good rather than using alternatives such as oat/soy milk - obviously this wouldn't be advised in your case anyway as bubba is so young and needs the nutrients from milk rather than being on a weaning journey.

Given her review of the powder I would probably try someone else's suggestion first!

I'd go back and demand answers in all honesty. Bless her not being able to poo . She's gorgeous though.

@PrettyBlunt I have done, twice. I even took her to hospital and got given a leaflet on infant crying and some gaviscon. Not before they asked me basically if I had a history of being neurotic!
We employed an infant feeding specialist who helped us when the problems started about a month ago but they’re now fully booked and the rash is now here/symptoms have worsened.
I’ve demanded a private referral and we’ll just pay but that appointment won’t be for a couple of weeks and I cannot leave her like she is, I’m one desperate Mama! Xx

That's the exact rash my lo had and it was CMPA. We were prescribed Neocate. She had a lot of other symptoms but the rash got worse and spread down her trunk and body (had been on her face about 3 weeks) and she even had it on soles of hands and palms of her feet. Then the face started getting crusty and they were thinking impertigo.

Once the milk as prescribed it all cleared up after 2 weeks

See a different doctor. Sit there until they at least do some tests. Tell them to stop making out you're a neurotic mother. You're perfectly sane and want the best for your child x

I also had to push for appts as they dismissed the symptoms. Silent reflux, blood in stools, stomach noises, screaming during feeds, rash, discomfort, we tried gaviscon, ranitidine etc but nothing worked until they changed the milk to neocate

The symptoms in your first post are pretty much of my lo few months ago. And constant throwing up, full feed. Ended up in children's A&E and saw an amazing pedestrian. We had to change his formula twice due to the first one only working for couple of weeks. He's now on neocate and really settled. I'd go straight to your nearest children's A&E with her and not bother with the GP's. I got called neurotic new mum by my GP's as well lol. Hope you get it sorted xx

We were fobbed off with gaviscon to start with too.
Ask to see a different dr ASAP who will take you seriously.

It looks exactly like my DDs baby acne. At the time I was worried sick as I was convinced it was more than that, and it lasted ages, from aged 4wks to about 8wks but it did eventually go away itself with no ill effects.

She did go on to develop reflux which was diagnosed about 4 months old but I've never linked the two things.

OP I might have misunderstood but have you said you've noticed this rash when introducing cows milk? At 6wo I didn't think babies should be having cows milk yet? Not until weaning time at the earliest. With my son who was ff we used formula milk until he was about 12 months, then he switched to cows milk.

Sorry OP, you probably mean cows milk formula. My son got these, I was told they were just baby acne and we bathed him in just water and used aveeno moisturiser as he also suffers from eczema. Cleared up fine. I had baby acne and childhood acne when younger so wondered if he would suffer the same but not so far other than about 6 weeks at the same age as your baby.

@MrsM2021

Before I begin I have sought medical advice but no doctor seems to know what they’re doing.

We thought my 6wo daughter had reflux but over time she’s had more symptoms than just vomiting feeds/watery painful vomit after feeds, she’s gassy, constipated (currently 48 hours with no poop and she’s in pain), constantly searching, chews on dummies for relief, constantly upset etc.

She broke out in what I thought was baby acne about two weeks ago but it’s steadily got worse and now is everywhere! Is it baby acne or does it look like a potential cows milk allergy? She’s formula fed.

TIA

Sounds more like eczema. The gas and constipation issues aren't necessarily related. My baby had this exact rash. Coconut oil really sorted it out (brand was Kokoso baby) and you can get it in boots.