Dairy Food Allergy, Nurse No Help

[muttix2]

I think that ds (2) is allergic, or at very least intolerant, to cow's milk. He had bad diaper rash (as did his younger brother, eats pretty much the same diet) a couple days ago. I thought it might've been linked to the up in dairy that he'd had so I cut that out and used Destin, diaper rash disappered. I only applied it once or twice, but cut out dairy entirely. Then yesterday I gave him cheese (in Mac and Cheese, real cheese added) and muffins. He seemed to have a couple problems but nothing major. Today he ate cubed cheese and milk. He woke up from nap screaming his poor little head off, diaper full of diarrhea. When dh was changing his diaper he saw blood which we originally thought was from the stool but it was actually diaper rash so bad that it was like little cuts in his skin. He had no rash before going to sleep and had only slept for a couple hours, tops.

That's when it hit me that he is probably allergic to dairy. He's had other problems: under-eye circles, night wakings (thought it was night terrors), rash on his arms (in Dec doc blew that off as "normal"), rash on legs but not as bad as the rough rash on arms, irritability, and I'm sure that more things will occur to me. Oh, and he and his brother both had severe acid reflux, ds#2's reflux was so bad that he was hospitalized, but I think that that may have been an actual reflux issue, not related to milk.

Of course, writing all these things out it seems obvious but it wasn't at the time. There was an explaination for everything, backed by the ped.

I called the ped today, we have an app next week anyway, and talked to a nurse to see if I should do anything (read in Dr. Sears that I should do an elimination diet and food diary and wanted to see if ped wanted that). She basically blew me off until I mentioned the cuts, even then she said that I shouldn't change my routine (feeding). I was appalled and just said "ok" even though I'm going to. I just can't imagine keeping my "routine" (which is basically feeding him what he'll eat ) when it is hurting him.

So after all that here's my question. What should I do for the remainder of the time before the ped app? I was going to give him some milk tomorrow morning and see what happens (food diary). If he reacted, I was planning on cutting it out. But should I cut it all out, in meals that are made with dairy and everything? I've requested some books from the library and am reading the other threads on this right now but I'd really like some input on my situation (which I may not get even from the ped, she's a new doc and not very sure of herself. But she is a nice person ). Thanks!

[Panserbjorne]

You need to cut it out of everything. The vast majority of people with dairy allergies have problems not with lactose, but casein. Casein is in ALOT. You cannot cook with dairy or feed him anything that contains casein-even in tiny amounts. Beware because it goes by many names (whey is another one, and there are plenty more) This is the only way you will know for sure. I'd have to say though, I'm fairly certain already It's difficult at first, but absolutely doable. Know also that if he's reacting that badly you have some work to do with healing a pretty damaged little gut. There's plenty of us around here that have dealt with or are dealing with that though! If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask.

[ShellyK]

What Elisabeth said. If it were my child, I would cut out all dairy immediately - no milk, no cheese, no yogurt, nothing with a speck of any kind of dairy in it. Even most margarines do have milk protiens in them, and you have to read labels of every single product you use to make sure there are no dairy components, even in trace amounts. Stick with this diet for at least two weeks, better if you do it for a month. It can take that long for the protiens to get out of their bodies.

It sounds to me like your son is very likely allergic or sensitive to dairy, and you'll probably notice a difference in his health and behavior in that trial period. My daughter's main symptom is waking up screaming at night - misdiagnosed as night terrors by at least one doctor that I recall. When we eliminated dairy, they decreased significantly, and we eventually figured out the other allergens as well. By the way, many kids who are allergic to dairy are also allergic to soy. So don't go wild replacing the milk with soy products.

Also, if you do go for allergy testing, be aware that not all allergies/sensitivities show up on either the skin-prick or the blood tests. The only way to know for sure whether your child is allergic is with a trial elimination. If, after several weeks, you don't notice a change, try reintroducing the dairy and pay close attention to what happens. And then it's best if you start with either yogurt or cheese, as the milk protiens are somewhat broken down in those products.

Good luck!

[muttix2]

I didn't think about the things with small amounts of milk in them. I'm going to go google a list of other names for milk and go from there. Just to make sure, we gave him some cheese yesterday morning. He had a rash afterwards and was very cranky (normally what I would've said was him getting tired even though he didn't want to sleep). So, I'm cutting out the milk products. Hopefully some of the books I ordered will get here soon as ds is a very picky eater.

[Panserbjorne]

FWIW it's well documented that kids are generally picky due to food allergies. This journey will likely result in a child who is much happier to eat.