Will probiotics help with skin issues?

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

I read several threads about probiotics for infants...my 8 week old baby has severly dry skin...it was on the lines of excema for a few weeks...i eliminated dairy and it's gotten much better...but his skin is still so dry and flaky..all over his little body. I changed our detergant to All free and clear and dont use soap on him...only use coconut oil on his skin...but it's not really helping with the dryness of his skin...i was wondering if a probiotic would help...i have Udo's infant probiotic...is that any good for infants who may have a dairy allergy?

[changingseasons]

NO- Udo's has dairy in it. There are very few probiotics that don't... Kirkman Labs makes a Bifido Complex that is dairy (and other allergen) free, and is the correct strain for babies guts.

Probiotics will help the skin by helping to improve gut health. But if the skin issues are being caused by a food, nothing will 'fix' them until you figure out the food triggers and take them out of your diet. I know you said that you removed most dairy, right? I would be really strict, take it out 100%, including hidden ingredients (check my blog for hidden ingredient names). And I would probably take out soy and eggs too, just because they are such common triggers. And gluten after that, but that's a REALLY big commitment (much harder to completely avoid than dairy), so I wouldn't cut that out right away.

Also- the "free & clear" detergents really aren't all that great for allergies, even though they advertise that way... they leave residues on clothing, which can actually irritate the skin. We use Planet or CountrySave, and they work pretty good for us. You want to find something with no enzymes, brighteners, added scents, etc. Sometimes the cheapest, most generic detergents are the best because they have the shortest ingredient lists.

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

The kirkmans bifido complex comes in capsules...how do i give it to an ebf baby?

[changingseasons]

I open the capsules, dip my finger in and get some of the powder on my fingertip, then put it in babe's mouth.

[Mamato3wild ponnie]

Thanks for the fast reply...you rock:

[springmum]

Originally Posted by Mamato3wild ponnie

The kirkmans bifido complex comes in capsules...how do i give it to an ebf baby?

What I did is open the cap, but a little on a spoon, squirt a little breastmilk on it to mix it and "feed" it to babe.

I also wanted to mention that you may want to work your way up to a full dose.

With my little guy he could only tolerate less than 1/2 a cap, as it would make him very gassy if he had more. We've since learned he may be intolerant to this brand anyway, but just wanted to share in case that helps.

Good luck!