Allergies or Constant illness??

[Marnica]

I have a 13 month old son. He is unvaccinated and is in daycare. He has been in daycare since he was 3 months old. He was EBF until 6 months when solids were introduced and is still Breastfeeding.

He had skin problems from the start: exzema type rashes that would come and go: cracked skin under his neck, behind his ears and in his "folds". Sometimes they are worse than others. He has dark circles under his eyes (allergic shiners I think) and sneezes and rubs his nose/eyes alot.

He seems to have constant upper and lower respiratory issues and now has his first ear infection. He has never been on antibiotics and takes probiotcs everyday. I have always assumed that he has been "sick" alot, but the more I think about it, the more I think most if not all of his problems are related to allergies to foods, envirmonment or a combination of both.

There was a period of time that I was on a restrictive diet (and so was he) no cow's dairy, no wheat/gluten. I was consuming goat milk products however. In looking back I'm not sure he was better, but I think his respiratory issues may have been better but I can't be sure

Has anyone had similar issues with their LO??

[kjbrown92]

I would try it again without the goat's milk since many kids with dairy intolerances, can't handle goat milk either (though some can). There's also soy and corn (and a plethora of other foods) which could be the culprit. But I'd do dairy first, taking out all of it, then see about the others. Make sure you're tracking it all (food journal recording everything eaten/drank and all symptoms), and take it out of both your diets.

[dannic]

It really sounds like allergies/sensitivities/intolerances to me. I'd also focus on gut healing and immune support, as well as trying out Kathy's suggestions...

[tanyalynn]

It could be both. A little girl in the old city we lived in had a very noticeable cow's milk intolerance, and every time she got some (butter, a little bit of someone else's food) she'd end up sick. Kid was sick a lot. A lot of the symptoms you've described sound like food intolerances, but that stress weakens us, and oftentimes kids get sick less frequently when all their problematic foods are cut out. Just because that didn't happen to my sick kid (getting sick less after removing food allergens) doesn't mean it's a bad idea.

Gluten and dairy are two of the biggest, and re-cutting them out, entirely, until you get to a good point, and then figuring out which it is, or both, is a reasonable approach.

[dannic]

DD was totally sick all the time at home with me, and the difference between her and DS was totally telling...she is much healthier since we've lessoned her immune system's burden by getting her off the foods that were problematic for her!
For her, there was a marked difference in her ability to ward off illness (or shorten it's duration)
We're going on two yrs now, GF/CF/SF...hth!