Milk allergy?

[caseysmummy11]

Hello ladies. My little girl is 6 months old. She was born 7 weeks early and started on breastmilk I struggled to keep up with expressing due to her being tube fed and she's struggled to latch when discharged from nicu so we put her onto formula. We tried sma but it made her violently sick and awful diarrhoea. We then put her on aptamil but she wasn't gaining enough weight so was put on to nutri prem 2. She was then diagnosed with reflux a couple of weeks later and put on gaviscon this seemed to help for a while. Her poo is always very watery when she goes but she gets quite constipated also. She's still sick quite alot and she is not really a happy baby. It's been quite hard going at times. She also suffers with chronic eczema which can only be controlled with regular use of hydrocortisone. Ive been back and forth to the Dr's trying to get these issues sorted. She barely drinks a full bottle and mostly takes them in 2 sittings. Last night after her last bottle her face went red and blotchy ( pic below ) it had started around her eye on the morning so I assumed she had just rubbed her eye when tired which she does alot. I toon her to the Dr's today where I saw a locum Dr who thinks it could be a cow milk allergy ( my sister had mentioned it a while back) he's also not happy that she's gaining weight as she should on a high calorie formula. What I wondering is is it possible for it to take 5 and a half months for it to react like this on her face? We've been referred to children's outpatients on Saturday but I'm worrying about giving her milk as it keeps happening within half hour of a bottle. Has anyone experienced anything like this? I'm a little concerned for her

Her face without blotches for comparison

Thanks for reading xxx

 

[tinselcat]

Poor little girl! (she's beautiful, by the way & what lovely blue eyes)

I have a lot of allergies in my family (my brothers are anaphlaptic) and that really looks like an allergic reaction to me. Can you try calling your health visitor for urgent advice tomorrow?

I would add that my experience of allergies is that they seem to fluctuate, e.g. my mum was telling me that my youngest brother's favourite food when a baby was peanut butter however after eating a brazil nut at about age 3 that triggered his immune system and he is now allergic to peanuts too. So perhaps something in one of the new formulas set this off?

Hope you can get some good help very quickly xx

 

[Browneyed Girl]

A few things you've mentioned have struck a chord with me. My lo is 13 weeks old and has similar issues - slow to regain birth weight, diagnosed with silent reflux at 3 days old and put on Gaviscon which caused trapped wind/constipation so I took him off it, has recently been diagnosed with eczema on his scalp, usually takes 1-2 hours to drink a bottle in 2/3 sittings and cries during and after feeding. He also has red patches on his forehead but I'm pretty sure this is from him rubbing his face on things rather than a reaction to milk. I've asked the health visitor who wasn't too much help to be honest but she did say she didn't think it was a milk allergy because he is pooing normally. From what I have read though ezcema can be linked to milk allergy as well and the rash your lo has certainly looks like it could be an allergic reaction. I would call your health visitor and see what she says xx

 

[Lilmisshopeful]

Hi hun what a beautiful little thing. My little boy is allergic to milk and it does sound very simular to me. He had severe runny poos right after a feed and sometimes during. Then where it took a while for a diagnosis it got worse and he had a face like your little ones and a swollen eye. He also looks like he has measles all over when given dairy. I went to the docs and demanded a trial of milk from them and from the very first bottle he was a changed baby. Allergies can change and come and go. My little one has now become allergic to fresh tomatoes only lol. Good luck home your little one is feeling better soon xxx

 

[Aimee84]

Hiya my daughter was diagnosed at seven weeks old with a dairy allergy or intolerance. She was super sick, had a facial rash which came and went. Her main thing was she pooped a big poo every feed which turns out is too much. She was also really colicky. She was drinking way too much possibly to get enough other nutrients. She also had bad reflux. She was put on nutramigen formula then two days later an acid suppressant as gaviscon made her constipated. She was a different baby after the first feed, by the following day we got smiles and we've not looked back. Now the weaning journey is a bit different but a dietician is helping and all going well. Keep going back if u think things aren't right.

 

[caseysmummy11]

Thanks ladies. Will let you know how she gets on
Hopefully will get the results on Saturday so that if she is we can start on something better for her asap. I hate to think of her suffering. I love her eyes they make me melt xxx

 

[JD.Deedee]

I'm in the exact same boat, we've always been made to belief it was colic and a bit refluxy.. When the health visitor come and I've explained everything she first thought reflux but then as I mentioned further reactions to milk products and cows milk itself, we now have a referral to the paediatrician where he'll be checked for lactose intolerance and allergies.. I would advise you to go back to the docs or hv's and ask for a referral, it's a specialist matter.. It can be checked, don't get fobbed off by trying out more medicines.

 

[caseysmummy11]

I've been referred for tests Saturday at our local children's a and e so we will hopefully have a definate answer soon xxx

 

[CARNAT22]

That is exactly the reaction Beatrice has to milk products - although not as serious. The 'nettle' rash is a classic reaction with a milk allergy though. Bee also gets bloodshot eyes. Her reaction is immediate and happens with anything heavily milk based - oddly not butter!!

As this didn't start until weaning we have been told it cannot be a proper allergy. Although Bee was such a sicky baby I wonder if her 'sickiness' was due to a milk intolerance? I have thus far been fobbed off by HV and GP. Bee is gaining weight - albeit slowly, she is 9th centile - and she is otherwise happy and healthy.

I hope you get answers and I hope they can help your wee girl.

X

 

[CARNAT22]

This is one of Bee's reactions and it's nowhere near as bad but it's still a definite reaction.



I suspect she has eczema too so I'm back at the GP tomorrow.

X

 

[caseysmummy11]

It definately look similar to lily's reaction. I hope you get some answers too. My sisters friends daughter was diagnosed with reflux as a baby but by 1 they found out she was actually milk and soy allergy. My sister says it's happening alot recently xxxx

 

[BunnyN]

Everything you say sounds like a pretty classic case of milk protein allergy.

Carnat- I think formula has been processed enough that the milk is somewhat broken down and some babies don't react as badly to it as straight milk but it sounds like she always had some symptoms. Also an allergy can appear or get worse any time.

 

[CARNAT22]

Bee is breastfed Bunny. Always has been and other than the sickness (and being a bit of a nightmare until she was 12 weeks) she hasn't exhibited any classic symptoms.

The skin reaction only occurred after weaning.

Sorry to hijack your thread by the way Casey.

X

 

[caseysmummy11]

It's fine hun. Ive read babies can have delayed reactions such as diarrhoea, vomiting, eczema and slow weight gain which wouldn't pin point straight to an allergy. That's what I thinks happened with lily and then the rash is more of an immediate one. I also read today that babies can be fine and get one once weaning starts. Xxx

 

[Emmajaine]

Is the reaction raised in any way? It looks similar to what happens to Alexis while she is feeding, but it goes as soon as she has finished feeding.

If I'm honest I just assumed it was her sucking hard on the teat, and as she has very fair skin (like me) I assumed she just flushed easily (as I do

She has no other issues (weight gain is fine etc) but that blotchy -ness is really similar so I'm wondering now if it is something...

Xx

 

[CARNAT22]

It's fine hun. Ive read babies can have delayed reactions such as diarrhoea, vomiting, eczema and slow weight gain which wouldn't pin point straight to an allergy. That's what I thinks happened with lily and then the rash is more of an immediate one. I also read today that babies can be fine and get one once weaning starts. Xxx

Bee used to poo a lot? But but it was "baby poo" so hard to know if it was a reaction. Same with her sickiness. I have seen gp a few times and HV too and they always put it down to her being a sicky baby.... but now I wonder.

Weight gain has been slow, she is not even 16lb at 9 months (she is 9th centile and was 25th at birth so not a big enough dip to concern anyone). She def has sensitive skin as I can't use products and we use Surcare washing powder. I use an emollient cream on her already but she has had a rash for weeks now that needs assessment. I've put it off as we've been Dr so much <sigh>

Despite all this she is the most lively and energetic little creature. She is cruising already and is in to everything. I guess the fact she has been developing so well has put me off pushing for further investigation.

X

 

[Lilmisshopeful]

You can have an immediate reaction or delayed. The delayed one cant be confirmed by a test so is a case of going dairy free and seeing. Oliver reacts instantly that's why he was better from the first bottle on the new milk. You can developed an allergy you don't have to have it at birth. Oliver is suddenly out of nowhere allergic to tomatoes and looked like he had burns all over his face but last week could eat them xxx

 

[caseysmummy11]

My son also had that reaction to tomatoes on his face. His skin reacted funny when he got it round his mouth at 6 months old and he's grown out of it now he love tomatoes. Babies are so funny with how they can react to different things.

Lily's weight is also on the 9th and has dipped a few times then gone up and then back down again. The hv put it down to her reflux though. She's on high calorie formula but still struggles to out much weight on bless her. She's a tiny little thing. I feel so bad that she's has so many issues already in her short 6 months xxx

 

[CARNAT22]

I've not actually given Bee tomato (or strawberry) as I know they are common allergens.

X

 

[BunnyN]

Bee is breastfed Bunny. Always has been and other than the sickness (and being a bit of a nightmare until she was 12 weeks) she hasn't exhibited any classic symptoms.

The skin reaction only occurred after weaning.

Sorry to hijack your thread by the way Casey.

X

I was thinking you fed her formula a few times? I assumed thats what the doctor was talking about? How else would you know about the allergy before weaning? I think docs can be a bit slow . Admitedly we have had problems from my eating dairy and breastfeeding with my two. I had to cut dairy out of my diet. Not all babies will react through breast milk though. It partly has to do with how well the mums body deals with breaking down dairy before it gets into her milk.

We had the tests for DD and she tested negative but she never had the immediate symptoms anyway. As Lilmisshopeful says there is no test for the delayed reaction. Mainly she had runny poos with mucus (and eventually spots of blood) in them and had trouble gaining weight. She went from the 95th percentile at birth to under the 3rd at 3 months which was scary before we worked out what was going on. She was also generally demanding and unsettled and had hiccups constantly. I knew I was on to the right thing when 3 days after cutting out dairy from my diet she woke up smiling and the hiccups had gone.