Breastfed Baby & Allergies

[Jinga]

Ethan has been having terrible issues with Eczema the past several weeks. It'll go away with medicated ointment, just to come back anywhere from one day to a week later. As directed by the doctor, we're also using lotion (Aquaphor or Eucerin) twice a day. If we forgot just once, his skin flares up. I've already cut out the obvious culprits like soaps, fabric softener, supplemental formula, etc. Since I'm breastfeeding, I'm afraid he may be allergic to something I'm eating. Today, Ethan was terrible, going from very happy to suddenly screaming and wanted to nurse constantly. He's usually a very easy going kid. This weekend, his poop also turned green and coincidentally or not his Eczema got really bad. We have a doctor's appointment this week, but in the meantime I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this sort of thing.

[hoodedclawjen]

have you tried keeping a food diary and trying to match it to his symptoms? what did you eat this weekend?

[Wolfie]

I have read it's sometimes related to dairy intake. Maybe look into that? My youngest nephew has it and my sister and brother had it when they were kids. They outgrew it eventually, though I know that's not much help to you now.

[rabid_child]

I've known several babies who had dairy allergies with green poop and their mom's stopped eating dairy until they were done breastfeeding, which alleviated the symptoms in the baby. You could try it for a while and see if it helps?

[Jinga]

I started a food diary yesterday. Based on a few prior observations, I've been wondering if he was sensitive to either nuts or dairy (hopefully not both). I did not eat any nuts yesterday, but I did eat cheese several times over the weekend. My poor little guy was so miserable. I hope I can pinpoint what's causing this ... will start with cutting out dairy.

[animallover7249]

I don't have any advice but just wanted to give you some hugs!! :hug: :hug: I hope you can figure out what's causing this, soon. :)

[IamJen]

I was going to suggest dairy too, but I see that others have beaten me to it. One of Karl's mates has two kiddos who both had this problem. The mama says that even a little bit of something can set them off. Good luck at the doc!

[chunky chicken]

i too am breastfeeding. i cut out dairy, for tummy issues, but that didn't seem to help. i cut it out for three weeks and nothing changed. lucky for us we found that he has acid reflux so now he is on meds. but i no first hand how hard it is to be a new mom and trying to figure out yer new baby.
just hang in there. i'm sure you will get it figured out. my friend down the streets little girl has skin rashes too. and i know she is on a special diet. i should check to see what food she avoids.

[Tofu-N-Sprouts]

Definitely try eliminating dairy, though many doctors will poo-poo (sorry, not meant to be a pun!) this idea and say your baby doesn't have a dairy allergy; as they are worried about nursing Mom's getting their nutrients (and Lord knows, we would all STARVE if we didn't have dairy in our diets). Just be aware that even if you are very sure this is what it is, your Dr. may disagree simply because they don't know any better... stick to your guns if you find something that works!!

Little ones have very sensitive systems and often starting supplimental formula can trigger allergies that were not known before, and they may have stronger reactions until that allergen is entirely eliminated for a VERY long time... which sucks, and makes it really hard, especially if the allergen is something very common... but eventually their systems grow and they become less sensitive. It will get better.

[veggielove]

Cutting out dairy (and possibly soy) are the best culprits right now. When you cut out dairy – it has to be EVERYTHING for it to be a fair trial. That means, butter, even used in cooking a loaf of bread, yogurt, cheese, milk, casein, etc….. And it can take up to 2 weeks for it to be completely out of your system, so have patience if it doesn’t seem to work right away. Soy is another culprit, and hard to avoid cause its in everything, too.

As for his skin, how often do you bathe him? It could be related or not. I think at that age, I bathed my daughter twice a week if that. The natural oils in their skin are best for them, and excessive washing can dry them out and cause the need to replentish with lotions. What do you use to bathe him, now that you’ve cut out soaps?

((HUGE HUGS)) to you, mama! it will be ok!!!

[zoebird]

the top three culprits are generally dairy, wheat, and nuts. wheat is the most rare actually. and, some fruits and some veg sometimes have an affect as well.

but, i would start with dairy first. eliminate the dairy for 15-30 days and see how it goes. if there is no change in a week or two, then go back to dairy and try nuts. if there is no change after a week or two, try wheat. if there is no change, then you might want to have him tested or try nightshade elimination first.

a lot of my online friends have had to go through pretty extensive elimination diets with their little ones, but once the foods were introduced (after age 1), the allergies were not a problem. it seemed to be just a sensitivity to it in the breastmilk (probably just too young to process it and therefore getting an immune response), and then later they were fine.

it will work out, no problems. but it's much better to deal with this from the inside out, rather than the skin itself. it's a lot for a little body!

(how is day care going? has this been going on since before day care? because it could be a chemical sensitivity to a cleanser or product that they use there as well).

[whisper]

Do you have hard water? Children seem to have it a lot more often in homes with hard water. There is a study going on right now (in the UK) to see if hard water actually causes it or just makes it worse in children who already have it.

[Jinga]

Unfortunately, Ethan was exposed to both dairy and soy formula within his first week of life. My tiny guy was getting sick and skinny waiting for my milk to come in. I stuck to a bottle once in awhile for convenience sake (that extra hour of sleep helped me keep my sanity some days). It's now been 3-4 weeks 100% breastmilk. Just before that, he started having his eczema issues, so it's not new to being in daycare.

He gets two baths a week. One is with mild soap. The other is simply a water bath. We do have hard water, but his break outs don't always coincide with bathtime.

My gut tells me he is having a reaction to dairy, soy, or nuts. I don't eat dairy everyday, but some of his breakouts definately seem to come around the time I consume something cheesy. When we supplemented with formula he actually had issues with the soy stuff. I can't remember what they were now, but I do clearly remember it was something that made me never give it to him again. My husband was allergic to nuts as a kid, so Ethan may have issues with those as well.

This evening my poor guy's skin was absolutely horrible, worse than I'd ever seen. We slathered him up before bed. If he's not looking any better tomorrow, I may have to try to get him to the doctor earlier. Ive already stopped with the dairy, but I'm thinking I should go ahead with soy and nuts, as well. It's going to take quite the adjustment, but I want to help Ethan get some relief ASAP. Thank you to everyone for the concern and advice.

[zoebird]

you're going to be fine. it takes a while for everything to get out of your system and then out of his. but it will work out. you're doing everything right!

[veggielove]

You're doing all the right things. its so hard not to doubt yourself when things are tough. You are doing great, hang in there, mama!!!

[Jinga]

Ethan's skin is definately better than it was the beginning of the week in terms of redness/rawness, but the eczema has now spread to everywhere but his diaper area. He's even red on his inner elbows and back of his knees, which the doctor said is common for older people with the issue, but uncommon for babies. The last time we were at the doctor his doc wasn't there and we saw someone else, so at today's appointment we got some slightly different advice. She suggested we switch to plain white Dove soap for bathtime and use Vaseline rather than Aquaphor, the idea being to cut out all fragrances and other extras. I've heard from other sources not to use Vaseline, so now I'm more confused. We're also supposed to use hydrocorizone 1-2 times a day, but I'm a little concerned using it that often since it's a steroid cream. We had only been using it when his skin was super bad (like early in the week). She did also say that what I'm eating could trigger the rash, but thought I'd go crazy trying to cut out everything it could possible be. Honestly, I think I'll go more crazy watching Ethan suffer with all the discomfort. I talked to my husband more about his allergies as a kid and he was allergic to everything (cats, grass, wheat, dairy, nuts, etc.) and had hay fever, eczema, and asthma. We were so hoping Ethan would luck out, but it seems allergy genetics may have won out. My husband did outgrow almost everything, so hopefully if Ethan develops allergies he'll outgrow them as well.

Some good news from the visit, Ethan has moved from less than the 3rd percentile for height and weight at birth (born 4 weeks early) to now the 30th percentile at 3.5 months (over 13lbs and 23.75" tall) :)

[IamJen]

:up: Sounds like there is much improvement! Vaseline can be very soothing, but it also works to prevent oxygen from reaching the skin well, so I'm not sure about that. :worried:

[rabid_child]

Odd that they'd say Vaseline over aquaphor since they're both fragrance free.. I wouldn't worry terribly about the steroid cream right now. For my eczema, sometimes it takes a week or so on steroid cream twice a day to get it under control, and once the flair up is over, going back to the lotions/aquaphor maintains it under control for weeks to months. You may just need to get over this hump, then go back to milder treatment.

[zoebird]

i think that i would go soapless myself. i mean, we hardly used any soap on hawk (and still really don't). also have you considered calendula oil? weleda has a nice cream and oil that are great...it's made from marigolds.

i don't know how you feel about using it as an alternative, but i thought i'd put it out there.

how is your own elimination diet going? are you doing well? a friend of mine eliminated dairy, soy, nuts, wheat, nightshades, and something rather "random" that i can't remember. it was a tough 1.5 years for her because of how strict she had to be. but today, her nearly 2 yr old is *allergy free* so it is possible.

much love to you all; it's not at all fun having an unhappy Ethan, i'm sure! poor baby!

[Jinga]

Ethan is surprisingly happy considering he not only has itchy eczema, but he had 2 shots yesterday. This morning, every time I looked at him he gave me a huge smile. He just melts my heart, he such a sweetie.

Jen, I think we need to find a balance between having his skin constantly slathered and having nothing. His skin needs to be moisturized to keep it from drying out and being itchy, but obviously being wet all the time will also make him itchy and uncomfortable. Two times a day isn't quite enough to keep him from drying out, so we may go with 3-4 times a day.

RabidChild, the only difference I saw between the two products was the number of ingredients. I think you are right about the steriod cream, though. If we can get the redness completely gone with extra hydrocortizone, it will be easier to just keep his skin moisturized after that.

Zoebird, Ethan's head gets really stinky from both the skin issue and all the stuff slathered on him. We do soap once a week, and the other bath is just water. I'd never even heard of calendula oil. I'm not too up on those things :p

I'm doing ok. I haven't yet cut out soy and still am having a confusing time figuring out what I'm eating vs Ethan's break outs. His face was looking much better today.

I took these photos yesterday morning before the worst of his flare-up. The size of the photos makes the eczema harder to see, but obviously his eyes are red. He's so easy going. I was thinking this would be beyond horrible with a 'difficult' baby.

http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/_jenny_r/Ethan/9-18-09_EthanSmiles.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/_jenny_r/Ethan/9-18-09_EthanLaughs.jpg
http://i55.photobucket.com/albums/g148/_jenny_r/Ethan/9-18-09_EthanFunnyFace.jpg

[veggielove]

Awwwww, what a cutie patootie!!!!!

Great job on the weight gain!!! Have you cut out nuts and soy too? It can be tough but it will be worth it!!! Make sure you are taking some sort of omega 3 supplement when you cut out nuts and soy.

[KellyBon]

My daughter had horrible skin problems as a baby and she was breast fed. When she was around a year old we took her to the allergy clinic and had her tested. She was allergic to Dairy, eggs, strawberries, and peanuts. I thought she had eczema as a baby because her dad also suffers from it. After finding out about her allergies I totally think they were from what I was eating. She out grew all of her allergies except the peanut one. Cut out the dairy and see if it clears up.

[KellyBon]

Ethan's skin is definately better than it was the beginning of the week in terms of redness/rawness, but the eczema has now spread to everywhere but his diaper area. He's even red on his inner elbows and back of his knees, which the doctor said is common for older people with the issue, but uncommon for babies. The last time we were at the doctor his doc wasn't there and we saw someone else, so at today's appointment we got some slightly different advice. She suggested we switch to plain white Dove soap for bathtime and use Vaseline rather than Aquaphor, the idea being to cut out all fragrances and other extras. I've heard from other sources not to use Vaseline, so now I'm more confused. We're also supposed to use hydrocorizone 1-2 times a day, but I'm a little concerned using it that often since it's a steroid cream. We had only been using it when his skin was super bad (like early in the week). She did also say that what I'm eating could trigger the rash, but thought I'd go crazy trying to cut out everything it could possible be. Honestly, I think I'll go more crazy watching Ethan suffer with all the discomfort. I talked to my husband more about his allergies as a kid and he was allergic to everything (cats, grass, wheat, dairy, nuts, etc.) and had hay fever, eczema, and asthma. We were so hoping Ethan would luck out, but it seems allergy genetics may have won out. My husband did outgrow almost everything, so hopefully if Ethan develops allergies he'll outgrow them as well.

Some good news from the visit, Ethan has moved from less than the 3rd percentile for height and weight at birth (born 4 weeks early) to now the 30th percentile at 3.5 months (over 13lbs and 23.75" tall) :)
Your husband sounds just like mine. Mine didn't outgrow them though. When my daughter started crawling she had to always be wearing pants because she was so allergic to dust mites and cat hair. She would break out into hives all over. She was also allergic to aquafor and most sunscreens. She would get itchy hives all over. Her eczema was bad, they prescribed a stronger steroid cream for her then hydrocortisone. She would scratch herself in her sleep, it was so sad.

[Jinga]

Eek. I hope Ethan doesn't have to deal with all that, KellyBon. We don't have any carpet in our house, so that should help a little with the indoor allergies ... but of course that might be offset by our three big dogs shedding all over the place.

Veggielove, I had cut out nuts and dairy, but not yet soy. I was planning to cut all three at the same time, but was finding myself eating next to nothing. If it turns out he's having issues with all three I'll learn to readjust my eating. I actually had some cheese pizza last night/this morning to see if I notice a flare-up within the next 24hours.

[IamJen]

Oh, poor guy. He looks mighty perky in those pics, though!