Dairy free for baby's face... if results happen, are they gradual or sudden?

[Harmony96]

Many of you probably remember my other thread where I was wondering what was causing DS's acne and/or eczema. I am trying to enjoy my baby now rather than dwelling on his appearance, but a tiny part of me kept wondering "what if it is a dairy sensitivity" and so I've been completely dairy-free since Tuesday.

I know that it could take several weeks to get the dairy out of our systems, but I was curious what would happen next if this was what was causing his issues. Would his skin slowly start to clear up over a week or to? Or would it clear up over a few days? Or would it seem to disappear overnight? I guess I just want to know what to "look" for before I decide that dairy isn't/wasn't the cause.

[changingseasons]

I didn't see your other thread, but you should at least start seeing improvements within days. Are you watching for hidden sources of dairy as well? Are you keeping a food journal? If you suspect food allergy, but you're not seeing improvements by going dairy free, it doesn't necessarily mean that dairy is ok. It could also mean that there are multiple foods causing symptoms- for example, many kids that are allergic to dairy also react to soy- so if you replace your milk with soy milk in that scenario, obviously the symptoms aren't going to get any better. Eggs are another common eczema trigger, as are gluten and corn.

[Biscuits & Gravy]

My DS had a horrible case of baby acne, then bad eczema. Within a few days of me cutting out dairy I started to see improvements. It did take a couple of weeks for it to get a ton better, and he still had/has flare ups just from being a sensitive kid. But cutting out dairy definitely helped him a great deal. He wasn't miserable before I stopped eating dairy, but by looking at his skin you could tell that something was not right with his system.

[texaspeach]

for us it was gradual. his skin took time to heal. by 2 weeks out it was *much* better. I didn't even connect going dairy free with his skin getting better until we had a follow up with our ped 2 weeks later.

[ThankfulMama]

Originally Posted by changingseasons

I didn't see your other thread, but you should at least start seeing improvements within days. Are you watching for hidden sources of dairy as well? Are you keeping a food journal? If you suspect food allergy, but you're not seeing improvements by going dairy free, it doesn't necessarily mean that dairy is ok. It could also mean that there are multiple foods causing symptoms- for example, many kids that are allergic to dairy also react to soy- so if you replace your milk with soy milk in that scenario, obviously the symptoms aren't going to get any better. Eggs are another common eczema trigger, as are gluten and corn.

[ErinYay]

I'll be the voice of pseudo-distension and say that some babies just have terrible skin for a while, and that, for some babies, the clearing of skin when momma drops a high-allergen food, is coincidental.

IMO, severe facial acne alone isn't enough to warrant an elimination diet. When it's overnight awful, with fussing and pain, diaper rashes, bumps on the whole body, etc, then yeah, but just bad skin on the head, neck, even scalp and ears, then probably not.

[kdtmom2be]

DD is allergic to dairy. when I quit eating dairy (especially actual milk) her skin took 3-4 days to start to clear. I did read through your other thread and I would say that since it has been going on for so long that it will take longer to get better. I was always suspicious and wasn't big on dairy when DD was born. Cheese seemed to be ok but MILK was not and I hardly ever drank/drink milk. When I did it was obvious and she reacted within hours and I knew what it was so I cut it out immediately (at about 3 months). I'd give it two weeks before I said yes/no to dairy being the issue for your kid.

[Harmony96]

Well I'm now on day 9 of no dairy, day 2 of adding back in lotion, and about day 2 of no chocolate, lol. And he seems to be looking some better, but now I don't know if it's from the lotion or the no dairy or the no chocolate. I do remember back when I first put some lotion on him, that it got some better but then got worse again, w/o me stopping the lotion. (Eucerin, and I've tried a natural blend of oils too, which had even less effect than the Eucerin did.)

[Harmony96]

Here's a picture of him today. I think I am going to eat some cheese tomorrow and see how he does with it early next week.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...rly4months.jpg

I hope I can resume consuming dairy (or at least cheese) b/c chocolate will be much easier for me to give up, lol.

[changingseasons]

Originally Posted by Harmony96

Here's a picture of him today. I think I am going to eat some cheese tomorrow and see how he does with it early next week.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c1...rly4months.jpg

I hope I can resume consuming dairy (or at least cheese) b/c chocolate will be much easier for me to give up, lol.

To do an official food "trial", it's best to consume the whole version of the food- like a full glass of milk for example- rather than a processed version. Eat/drink the food every day for at least 5 days before giving it a pass (or obviously, stop when you see symptoms.)

[kismetbaby]

Just wanted to say, he's a cutie!!!

[Harmony96]

Well I'm 99% sure that it is dairy now. I had some cheese and some sour cream yesterday evening, and nursed him last night, and now this morning his face is splotchy bright red again.

[Harmony96]

Or maybe it could still be chocolate. I forgot that I also had a brownie last night too.

[Harmony96]

OK, I should know by Tuesday or so the answer to the dairy versus chocolate question. His next WCC is on Monday so I might casually mention it to her then.

His skin seems to be slowly getting better, and I'm right at the point now where it had gotten better after stopping the chocolate the other time (like the same # of days has passed). I was tempted to have some dairy last night to see what he would do, but I skipped it, and I'm glad I did b/c he woke up this morning w/ briefly red skin and I would have thought it was the dairy for SURE if I'd eaten it.

Just a few more days. I can do this. But boy, is it hard. When I pour DD a glass of milk and it drips a little onto my hand, it's very tempting to lick it off. And we're having a big huge pancake breakfast to go to this Saturday, so of course I pretty much won't get to eat there, lol. And I couldn't find a single brand of Ranch dressing that didn't have at least some buttermilk in it. And most of my marinara and pasta sauces have a little bit of cheese in them.

*sigh*

[Harmony96]

His poor face seems a little worse today. I am now leaning towards it being dairy rather than chocolate.

[changingseasons]

Dairy is THE #1 allergy in babes. Sorry.

[ShwarmaQueen]

We have dairy issues too. It took almost 2 weeks for us to see a difference in his face, but his gas pains were less almost immediately.

One other thing to consider, when DS sleeps in the Moby, the side of his face that he's been sleeping on always breaks out. It's maybe Contact dermatitis or prickly heat rash or something like that. And we've even switched laundry soap from Tide to A&H to homemade to Charlies to Country Save- makes no difference. Just throwing that out there if you wear him often...

[ShwarmaQueen]

Originally Posted by Harmony96

Just a few more days. I can do this. But boy, is it hard. When I pour DD a glass of milk and it drips a little onto my hand, it's very tempting to lick it off.

I had to buy Rice milk (the fortified version) to feel normal.

Also wanted to throw in that for some babes (like mine) taking out the major dairy does the trick, like obvious sources- milk, cheese, yogert, etc. It may not be as bad as you think if it is a dairy allergy.

[texaspeach]

it totally was dairy for us. it really sucks at first, but then you get used to it. I really miss being able to eat pizza but this is only temporary. when I am tempted I just remind myself that the excema is only an outward manifestation of the damage being done, who knows what it is doing to his insides (in our case, ds had blood in his stool so I know it can hurt him even if we can't see it)

Hang in there.

[Laur318]

i dont know enough about eczema, but when i cut out dairy, i went thru a detox and my pores had tons of blackheads for a few weeks. it was the 'toxins' coming out IMO like a real detox.
what i mean is, it might get worse before it gets better. you need to read up on milk "trade names" in ingredients.... because they aren't all as common or as easily noticed as "whey" for example. read vegan websites, that should really help.