Sudden onset of eczema - suspect dairy

[L'sMommy]

DS developed eczema shortly after he started organic whole milk at 12 months. So far, we have just been using aquaphor twice a day and switched to Aveeno bath soap (from Johnson and Johnson). I took him to ped. around 14-months. It looks better but DS is still itchy. After doing lots of reserach on this I am wondering if we should cut out dairy just to see if that was the trigger (since the onset of it coincides with when we switched to whole milk - although DS has been eating eggs since he was 9 months). Prior to this, he was on Similac Sensitive formula (which is milk-based). If I am going to cut out dairy, what kind of milk can I give him? Do I have to give lactaid? he goes for 15-mo checkup soon so I am definitely going to discuss with pedi and will get a referral for ped. dermatologist. I am reading there may be a link to asthama and food allergies (DH has both, but does not have eczema).

[crl]

If you are concerned about a milk allergy, lactaid won't help. The allergy is a systemic reaction to the proteins in milk. Lactose intolerance (which is what lactaid is aimed at) is a digestive system response to the sugars (lactose) in milk. Lactaid milk is still milk from a cow. If you want to try eliminating milk to see if that eliminates the eczema, you'll want to eliminate all sources. For example, a lot of crackers have whey, which is a milk product. Substitutes for milk include soy milk, rice milk, whole grain milk, and almond milk. I use soy for drinking because that's DS' preference. I use whole grain for cooking because I worry about his total consumption of soy, as it is a hormone disruptor.

(BTW, eggs are a totally separate allergy. I know some people get confused about a "dairy" allergy and eggs being in the "dairy" case, but they are completely separate from an allergy point of view.)

DS' eczema is much improved but not totally gone since we found his milk allergy and eliminated milk entirely from his diet.

Catherine

[L'sMommy]

Cathrine - thanks for the clarification about eggs (I had no idea it was a completely different allergy) and the information on milk.

Is it possible that an infant can be totally fine with a milk-based formula and then be allergic to cow's milk? I haven't been keen on soy milk because of the hormone issue, but admittedly, i haven't done a lot of research on it.

I've never had food allergies or skin issues so I'm starting at square one when it comes to becoming educated about this stuff.

[crl]

I don't know about the milk-based formula vs actual milk. DS always had eczema, but we never linked it a food allergy. He's also adopted, at 13.5 months, so I didn't introduce any foods to him which made teasing out food allergies more challenging. We found his milk allergy at age 3 because he was complaining of stomache pain with no obvious cause. At my request his ped ran a gazillion tests, including a blood test for the most common food allergies. It came back postive for milk and we eliminated it from his diet, his symptoms got better; reintroduced it and his symptoms immediately got worse. The elimination followed by trial confirmed the allergy.

I will say that people can develop food allergies at any time, even as adults. So it is possible that your child developed a milk allergy. I don't know the odds on that at all, but it is possible. I honestly don't know if DS was always allergic to milk and no one caught it or if he became allergic somewhere along the way.

Catherine