why so many breastfed babies w/eczema?

[virgomama]

Hey all! My son and I are dealing with eczema right now. I had food allergy testing, and as a result I have cut out dairy, soy, corn, peanuts, chocolate, cocoa, lemon, and orange. All this in the hopes that it will improve his eczema too, assuming that he probably has the same food sensitivities that I do. (He's 11mo, still nursing a LOT!)

My question is: breastfed babies are supposed to be much less likely to suffer from allergies and their consequences, such as eczema, asthma, etc., right? So why do I see so many postings on MDC about families dealing with these health issues? It seems to me that our babies should be largely allergy-free, but maybe this is naive. I know that allergies are a threshold issue, that the body gets stressed by many factors and any one of them can push the body into an allergic response. Maybe I should focus on eliminating environmental allergens. Anyway, does anybody have any wisdom to offer in this area?

Thanks!

[BusyMommy]

My son had it, too, and I wondered the same question. I guess it's just statistics. Just as w/ear infections, bf babies will still get them but are just LESS likely to. For us, I think it's genetics.

But, we have pretty much gotten rid of it so it's no longer an issue for us. I tell myself it could have been much worse if he'd been formula fed.

[PumpkinSeeds]

My guess is that there is some genetic predispostion for it.

[virgomama]

For us, I'm guessing it's genetics. Allergies run in my family. I just never thought I would be dealing with such an overt allergy problem in my ds at such a young age. I'm just thankful that I have an idea what's causing it, so we can address it now.

[STACEY IANNESSA]

ALLERGY AND ECZEMA

I understand that allergies have a direct link to eczema. There is an allergy elimination technique that gets rid of the allergy for good. It is called Nambudripad Allergy Elimination Technique (NAET).

My son was scheduled to have his tonsils and adnoids out as they were so enlarged that he was having apnea (stop breathing for more then 20 seconds). He is currently undergoing this treatment and has had great progress. Surgery is off. The procedure is non invasive and is normally done by DO's and DC'S.

A detailed book about the technique is "Winning the War against Immune Disorders & Allergies" by Ellen W. Cutler, D.C.

[virgomama]

thanks for the info--i'll try to find the book!

[Clarity]

Don't feel alone, I see a lot of FF babies in public with eczema all the time...and talked to one mom whose doc never even suggested it could have an allergy base! So they never even tried eliminating diary (the cause) until quite late. So pity all the FF babies who might have avoided it, and the poor BF babies who might have been SO much worse!

[Xenogenesis]

I was under the impression that eczema could be triggered by inoculations and that it is also a contraindication to receiving any shots... hth.

[lilyka]

I am reading a book right now called "Is this your child" and while it really desn't give BF the credit it deserves it does go on at leangth about eczema and allergies and ways to help them. I think it is intresting how almost all the case studies start with "He atarted having trouble with his formula on day one. . . "

[virgomama]

lailasarmite--

i think you're right, that vaccinations can trigger allergy symptoms. luckily, my ds hasn't had any vaccinations, so i like to think that we're better off than we could be!

[PumpkinSeeds]

My ds had full body eczema before he had any vaccinations.

Our ped said that while elimination diet can help infants with eczema, he doesn't usually reccommend it to parents because he doesn't think they will follow up with it or "see it through."

Huh?

One doctor actually told me that food allergies couldn't be the culprit to exacerbated eczema. I nicknamed her "Dr. H--- with the Harvard degree." "Oh yeah, we had a visit with Dr. H with the Harvard degree. She told us to shut up and use cortisone, with a script for 18 refills of 60g hydrocortisone"

That's why I rely on my own investigation and research.

[Luma]

Ds had eczema too and got much much better with homeopathy and calendula cream until it was gone

[sonia24]

I am still nursing my 3.5 y.o. who had mild eczema at 6 mos. old, then developed environmental allergies, and finally asthma last fall. I was shocked Neither my dh or I have allergies or asthma, we eat REALLY well and so does my daughter, and once we found out about the allergies, we were extremely proactive in reducing her exposure. We removed all the food items from both her and my diet, we ripped out carpeting and replaced it with wood, got rid of the cat, etc., etc., That was before we developed the asthma too.:

I have read everything there is out there including stuff written in Europe. What I have concluded is that there is an exploding epidemic of allergies/asthma/eczema everywhere esp. in developed countries among breastfed babies and non breastfed babies. There is a slightly lower incidence in breastfed babies. However, what they are discovering is that nursing moms are contributing to passing the allergic proteins thru the breastmilk (i.e. peanut products, milk, wheat, corn, etc.) thinking we aren't doing any harm. Formula fed babies don't get exposure to these except from the the soy or dairy in the formula until they start to eat solids. Then they also think that during pregnancy what we were eating was being passed thru to the baby during development.

Now, and finally now, doctors are just starting to advice pregnant moms to avoid common food allergens in their diets if there has been any history of allergies, eczema or asthma in your family. BTW, my father-in-law has bad seasonal allergies, asthma and some food allergies. I never knew any of this until AFTER my dd was diagnosed with all of it too. If only I had known...

Not much we can do about it now, but for any of you pregnant now or planning on it, this is the best thing you can do to prevent it: Don't eat peanut butter, milk products, corn, soy or eggs as much as possible while pregnant and really avoid these while nursing. I know it sounds impossible to have a balanced diet for both you and your babe, but I've been doing it for over one year now and it has been a challenge but workable and has made a great improvement in my dd.

[virgomama]

Luma--what homeopathic remedy did you use?

[Xenogenesis]

Apparently if there are any allergies, eczema, asthma or nightblindness anywhere in the family, you shouldn't "vaccinate" according to one of the "pro-vaccine" sites I've studied. For all that's worth ~

Laila.

PS quite an interesting thread. I am also curious what homeopathic remedies may have worked for some of you'se. Maybe just understanding that there is an answer to these common woes intrigues me as I am pretty ignorant beyond the Marcus Welby MD Mentality I was raised by.

[Luma]

Hi! Let me see if I can put this right, the homeopahic remedy has to match your childs symptoms, there is not a h. remedy for ezcema, because each child will have different symptoms. For example one child will have a very dry and itching ezcema and be lets say restless at night while another one wont be itchy but will be red and could be having loose stools... and there is one remedy that will match all your childs symptoms! the homeopath will prescribe the remedy for the person, this is why (among many other things) homeopathy is very different from allopathic med. The classical homeopath will prescribe a single dose of one remedy and that should be enough. Its amazing medicine!!
Besides it doesnt suppress, but helps the body in its own process to get rid or to work with whatever the body is doing.
I hope i made myself clear!

[BusyMommy]

Check Janet Zand's book "Smart Medicine for a Healthier Child" or words to that effect. She's pretty thorough about each med or remedy.

Also, you may want to ask a ND about nutritional supplements. That's how ds got over his.

AND, last but not least, don't forget some sun exposure is good.

[Xenogenesis]

However, what they are discovering is that nursing moms are contributing to passing the allergic proteins thru the breastmilk (i.e. peanut products, milk, wheat, corn, etc.) thinking we aren't doing any harm. Formula fed babies don't get exposure to these except from the the soy or dairy in the formula until they start to eat solids. Then they also think that during pregnancy what we were eating was being passed thru to the baby during development.


I also have read studies saying these things. The ones I'm familiar with were done by formula companies. I feel this is another way they are trying to undermine our natural abilities to breastfeed our children.

I really think the stats concerning exploding epidemic of allergies/asthma/eczema everywhere esp. in developed countries among breastfed babies and non breastfed babies don't always take into consideration that some of these babes have been supplemented with formula, or breastfed only briefly, and possibly exposed to potential allergens before their gut was ready.

my opinion,
Laila.

[sonia24]

Laila,

I don't remember reading any specific articles by formula companies, but you may have something there.

I have obsessed extensively over this issue and can't come up with anything conclusive about this "epidemic." I certainly don't understand how it happened to my baby. I did, however, get all the stupid vaccinations though. It would be interesting to take a poll among the members regarding those who vaccinated and those who didn't and whose baby developed asthma/allergies/eczema and whose did not.

All I know is that I have nursed my dd for 3+ years now and she developed all of these things without any formula introduced to her body I am always looking, thinking and reading about answers to this. I would love to discuss this topic more as it is so dear to my confused heart.

Sonia

[sonia24]

I forgot about an interesting article I read about in Switzerland. They found that children raised in farming communities in the Alps somewhere who were actively involved in caring for the dairy cows had some of the lowest most non-existent scores for developing these problems. I believe it had something to do with a type of bacteria that lives on the cows that sets the immune system "for life" in these children so that they did not go on to have "hyper-sensitive" immune systems and lungs.

Has anyone heard any more on that study?