testing stools for milk protien allergy?

[LadyCatherine185]

DS2 is 3 weeks old, and we just did a test on his stools to see if he has a milk protien allergy. (he has been having screaming jags every night, among other symptoms, so we wanted to see if it was dairy before looking into reflux).. it was called a hemo-something test.. does anyone know what this is? and how accurate? it came back negative, which doesn't surprise me because he has no other real allergy symptoms (poops are fine, no rashes, etc). Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this test (we had to smear his poop on these little cards for the samples and they tested it in the lab). Thanks!

[kittywitty]

Of my three kids that had dairy allergies, none of our doctors or allergist ever even recommended this. Is this new?

[changingseasons]

I haven't heard of it either. Would love to know more. Was this through a MD or a ND?

[scsigrl]

Was it a Hemoccult test?  That would test for hidden blood but is NOT a test for an allergy. 

[LadyCatherine185]

yes, hemocult sounds right..

[scsigrl]

Yeah, that is NOT an allergy test.  It only looks for hidden blood.  At 3 weeks old, allergy testing is pretty rare and inaccurate.  Not until about 2 is it worth anything and even at 2 can be questionable.  If you think it is dairy, your best bet is to go off ALL dairy for a minimum of 2 weeks (maybe more like 4, someone here can correct me if I am wrong :) )  Keep a detailed food log and baby log as well during that time as well as they can really help pinpoint things.

Good Luck and :hug

[changingseasons]

No- you're right. 2 weeks should be plenty.

[tanyalynn]

Originally Posted by LadyCatherine185 

DS2 is 3 weeks old, and we just did a test on his stools to see if he has a milk protien allergy. (he has been having screaming jags every night, among other symptoms, so we wanted to see if it was dairy before looking into reflux).. it was called a hemo-something test.. does anyone know what this is? and how accurate? it came back negative, which doesn't surprise me because he has no other real allergy symptoms (poops are fine, no rashes, etc). Just wondering if anyone has any experience with this test (we had to smear his poop on these little cards for the samples and they tested it in the lab). Thanks!

I just wanted to comment on that part.  Food intolerances seem to manifest in a wide variety of ways.  For my kids, all I saw when they were little was excess spit-up (kid #1), too many blow-out diapers (kid #1) and fussiness/crying jags (both kids).  Some kids don't tend toward rashes, both my kids' poop was the right color and consistency--and, well, it took me ages to "get" that foods were an issue.  Maybe it's not, and if you're concerned about reflux you may want to consider structural work (chiropractor or someone who does cranial-sacral) in addition to food elimination, but I just wanted to share that food intolerances can show up in a wide variety of ways.