Questions about eliminating foods

[strmis]

I'm nursing my 2 month old whos got what looks like eczema on her cheeks. Here are my elimination diet questions:

How long does it take to see results?

Do some things take longer to leave the body (ex. dairy vs soy vs gluten)?

How long do I wait to determine that the  elimination is NOT working? 

[ksbell315]

I've read that dairy can take 2 weeks to get out of your system. The last time I tried reintroducing dairy, after being off of it for 5 months, it took about 3 weeks for DD's symptoms to go away.

Does your LO have any other symptoms? DD had eczema on the face, silent reflux, vomiting, gas pain, sleep disturbances and runny BMs.

Also, to really go off dairy, make sure you eliminate hidden sources. Ingredients like whey and casein are from milk and are in many prepared foods. Check out this link for more info: http://www.godairyfree.org/Food-to-Eat/Food-Label-Info/Hidden-Dairy.html

[txtarheel]

When I took out dairy with DS1, we saw results in just a few days.  We continued to see improvements in him for up to two weeks and it took about a month for me to see the full effects in myself.

Gluten seems to vary widely in reports.  I have removed it several times, once for myself and once for each of my DSs.  We never saw any change and went three months each time.  However, when I talked to an acupunturist and nutritional counselor about it recently, she tried to encourage me to do it again and do it for six months.  I'm not seeing symptoms that make me think that is worthwhile, but she seemed convinced it would take that long to clear your system.

[strmis]

six months??! What? hmmm... we'll have to see how this round goes before i consider that. a definite lifestyle change.

as far as dairy goes, i'm seeing improvement and notice even more improvement on the days i make "power juice"... that is, sticking kale and or collard greens in a blender w/ OJ and drinking it down. maybe it pushes more stuff outta my system. i'll have to keep doing that on top of the dairy free, which i'm going on 2 weeks.

[strmis]

OH! one more question! if dairy is off limits, than should i not take my probiotics (lifestart for infants).  its a lactose base.  same goes with homeopathics with lactose in it.  I havent used any since i've eliminated and just wondering if i should use them.

[ASusan]

My breastfeeding, dairy-sensitive son reacted to me taking homeopathics.

[txtarheel]

It depends on whether lactose is part of the sensitivity.  One of my dairy-sensitive sons is fine with it, the other (and myself) are not.  There are a multitude of proteins and other molecules to be sensitive to in milk.  Whey is fine for both of my boys, but again, not for me.  Casein is the most common protein to cause dairy issues and all three of us must avoid it.

[dot1]

Originally Posted by strmis 

OH! one more question! if dairy is off limits, than should i not take my probiotics (lifestart for infants).  its a lactose base.  same goes with homeopathics with lactose in it.  I havent used any since i've eliminated and just wondering if i should use them.

My understanding is that lactose"might" be okay, but my friend who's dd has severe dairy allergy avoids it due to risk of cross contamination
 

[strmis]

Getting frustrated! URgh.... seems like everytime something gets triggered, her skin breaks out worse and for longer! (i think i may have had a tiny bit of lactose the other day (about 5 days ago) in some soup that my mom made (afterwards, i looked at the ingredients in the packet she used and sure enough, lactose). i feel like i'm starting all over again!!

i'm almost debating putting steroids on her face to relieve some of her itching :(

am i jumping the gun to relieve some of her symptoms. is there anything i can put on her besides drugs to relieve he itch???

[Koalamom]

Yup there is dairy in everything. I would stop taking the probiotics if you are doing a serious elimination of dairy. That was an issue for us. We were fine with homeopathic remedies but we didn't take them very often anyway.

If my kids had rash, I would hope to see it start to clear up within a few days to 2 weeks. I eventlually had to cut out eggs, corn, gluten, dairy and bananas.
If exposed, I would start up on SA type vitamin C, vit D, magnesium, and perhaps b vitamins if I were low. I also have inositol on hand and molybdenum.

[strmis]

Originally Posted by Koalamom 

If exposed, I would start up on SA type vitamin C, vit D, magnesium, and perhaps b vitamins if I were low. I also have inositol on hand and molybdenum.

whats SA?

[heatherdeg]

Originally Posted by strmis 

whats SA?

I believe she's talking about Sodium Ascorbate, but she can confirm.  I'm not sure why, though.  Would love to learn!

There are different kinds of dairy allergies:  ALL dairy, just the protein (casein--which is used in MANY products as a type of binding agent/glue), and lactose (which is the milk sugar and usually found in the homeopathic remedies).

Something to keep in mind is that roughly 80-85% of people who react to dairy are likely going to also react to soy.  It's best to remove both for 2 weeks and if you see improvement, reintroduce soy to see if things continue to plummet or not.

Also, there are kids that actually grow out of this as their immune system stabilizes (allergies are a function of the immune system).  Many grow out of it at 1yo, but still others may grow out of it by 2yo.  So don't lose hope.

You MAY actually see results of gluten-free longer than 6mo down the road.  

My major piece of advice is not to change more than one thing simultaneously.  If you do, you won't know which thing cause a reaction (whether the reaction is good or bad doesn't matter--you want to know what caused it).  In my suggestion above to remove dairy & soy at the same time, you'll note that I only suggest doing that until it's out of the system and then testing before going onward.  The last thing you want to do is 1) prolong the process by not being able to identify the true causes/sources; and 2) eliminate stuff you don't HAVE to eliminate.

Hugs, mama... it can be a frustrating thing!

[mambera]

Hello, mind if I jump in the thread?  I am also trialing a dairy elimination diet for my 2-month-old.  What are your experiences with prepared foods with no dairy-derived ingredients but which are processed on shared equipment with dairy?  OK or not?  I don't mind subbing almond milk for most things but am rather attached to my dark chocolate...

[Koalamom]

Yes SA is sodium ascorbate, a high concentrated, buffered form of vitamin c. None other work the same. If we have any exposure to allergens, it helps fast to flush it out of the system. If we felt like it, we would also use clay.

[strmis]

So far im daiey, soy gluten free. I ate the rest of one of my daughters snack bae a few days ago and then realized it had soy... urgh! Now my daughters face is SOOO red and itchy ... not sure if that's surely what caused it thoto it doesto seem thatto henever she breaks out it gets worse. Im so desparate at this point to at least stop her itching. She was screaming this morning because she was swaddled and coudnt scratch

Is there a brand of sodium ascorbate? Is that (SA) literally the words I am looking for when searching for a product? I don't mean tovbe naive, but is the clay topical or ingested?

Is there anything that will stop the itch????? Ii feel sobetter bad forthat her ppoor skin and thethe many products ive used onfor it, but i've searched here and done the following
burts bees apricot oil
Albas unpetroleum
Some organic eczema salve
Aquaphor
baking soda paste (total bust. She screamed in pain)
face towel w cool water
face towel w warm water
face towel w colloidal oatmeal and water

I've done everything I know except steroids. I don't want to commpletely eliminate he symptoms either, just help her feel better.
SOS!! HELP!!!!!

[strmis]

Oops, just noticed all the typos. On my phone. Hope it all makes sense still..

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by mambera 

Hello, mind if I jump in the thread?  I am also trialing a dairy elimination diet for my 2-month-old.  What are your experiences with prepared foods with no dairy-derived ingredients but which are processed on shared equipment with dairy?  OK or not?  I don't mind subbing almond milk for most things but am rather attached to my dark chocolate...

I haven't noticed any reaction with my daughter to dairy-free chocolate "made on shared equipment".  But she doesn't eat much chocolate, aside from ice cream etc.  Her skin is super sensitive to all dairy-derived products, so I think I would notice if it was a problem.  With the brands I've tried there has been no trouble so far.

I'd give it a go!

[dot1]

dd2 (6 weeks) had an eczema rash on face, ears, eyebrows (the parts that got scaly and then crusty).  have been off dairy strictly for one week (kept soy in my diet).  had one slip-up 3 days in and ate a sauce containing "lactic acid" and "butter flavour" (Patak's)...and she was a tiny bit more rashy the next day  Her rash also extended down on her chest and few small patches of rash (not crusty) on her arms and legs.  I have been wiping down her face with a warm wet washcloth, then immediately applying a thick layer of "Keys Tortuga" lotion (all natural, vegan)...3 or 4 times per day....plus running a warm mist humidifier in the bedroom.   her face is now soft and the clearest it's been since birth!  she still has reflux, often silent and mucousy bm's...but i'm suspecting that her LES is simply immature and the nucousy bm could be from all the saliva, etc being swallowed back down.  Last night we attended a Christmas party and i accidentally ate something with butter....so then i said "forget it" and indulged in some brownies which would have had butter in them also.  i guess that will be a bit of a test.

I don't know yet if it was dairy or just co-incidence and dry skin....but i'm going to give it a few more days of clear skin and then have a lot of fun indulging in dairy to test!

I HIGHLY recommend the Keys lotion - very emollient and natural.  a little goes a long way.  In Canada a source is www.hornetmountain.com  It's an American product, so I'm sure you can find a local source online easily enough.  Oh - had been using olive oil....but is wasn't thick enough to seal in moisture so it didn't work at all.

[dot1]

Oh I wanted to add that I've been eating lots of chocolate (no milk ingredients but no guarantee of no cross contamination)...but I'm also not convinced it's a dairy allergy or just dry air that caused her to break out (still testing)

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by strmis 

Getting frustrated! URgh.... seems like everytime something gets triggered, her skin breaks out worse and for longer! (i think i may have had a tiny bit of lactose the other day (about 5 days ago) in some soup that my mom made (afterwards, i looked at the ingredients in the packet she used and sure enough, lactose). i feel like i'm starting all over again!!

i'm almost debating putting steroids on her face to relieve some of her itching :(

am i jumping the gun to relieve some of her symptoms. is there anything i can put on her besides drugs to relieve he itch???

Steroids are a short-term solution.  If she is in that much pain from the itch, I might use them temporarily.  You have to be careful with hydrocortisone or other steroids on the face, though, especially with a baby, as they could get into the eyes or nose.  Consult with your ped or NP first.  But I would be all for a palliative approach while looking for a long-term solution, especially in extreme cases.
 

Originally Posted by strmis 


Is there anything that will stop the itch????? Ii feel sobetter bad forthat her ppoor skin and thethe many products ive used onfor it, but i've searched here and done the following
burts bees apricot oil
Albas unpetroleum
Some organic eczema salve
Aquaphor
baking soda paste (total bust. She screamed in pain)
face towel w cool water
face towel w warm water
face towel w colloidal oatmeal and water
I've done everything I know except steroids. I don't want to commpletely eliminate he symptoms either, just help her feel better.
SOS!! HELP!!!!!

Food-allergy-based skin irritation comes from inside.  I've helped relieve my daughter's dermographism with Aquaphor , and helped her poor red bum when she was in diapers, but (and I know this from first-hand experience) constant, low-level itching never stops entirely for us.  It was terrible before I eliminated oats, but even once I got rid of oats the itch goes on somewhat. The itch never totally goes away (no eczema for me, though, thankfully).  For me and dd it is triggered by simple contact with anything.  

Anyhow, I don't know that my comments were very helpful.  Two more products you can try are lard and cocoa butter.  I buy the tub of c.butter and chip some out into a little metal container that can be set in a small pan of hot water to melt it and use like oil.  For any barriers to work, they need to be applied often.  But I suspect the triggers are coming from inside.  I would seriously think about another, different trigger if problems are continuing.  Maybe it takes 6 months to get out of the system entirely, but personally I might suspect something different long before.  Just me, though.

For temporary relief of flare-ups caused by a known trigger (like your soy-goof) I can't think of anything that will stop that kind of reaction in its tracks aside from hydrocortisone and allergy meds.  Herb books have lots of suggestions for palliative relief of eczema.

So frustrating....... I wish you all the luck in the world!