Dairy Allergy Caused by MY Dairy Intake

Should you decide to eliminate milk (and I really hope you don't have to), please, please do your research before switching to soymilk or giving your child soy based formula. It can mess with estrogen levels and there's a theory about soy based formula being linked to peanut allergies in kids. My son was allergic to milk, so we gave him soy based formula, soy milk, soy yogurt, etc. It was SOOO HEALTHY, you know!! He did, in fact, develop a peanut allergy, and now at 13 has developed what look like very small breasts (due to the estrogen issue? they're totally hidden under his shirts, so he's not self-conscious at all...yet). People swear that the Japanese are *so healthy* because of all the soy they eat. No, it's because the *rest* of their traditional diet is healthy, in spite of the soy. Trust me, they don't drink soy milk by the gallon. They eat fermented soy, which is fine. And occasionally eat 4 or 5 edamame as a snack or a small piece of tofu, NOT an entire bowlful like they do here in the US. Ok, done with my rant...I do hope you find a solution for your little guy - allergies can be tough to deal with!

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Yes, if you are breastfeeding, you may want to consider giving up milk and switching to soy milk. I had a son who had life threatening reactions to dairy products as a baby and is still extremely allergic milk 10 years later. Once I eliminated dairy products while I was breastfeeding, the terrible exzema he had on his face seemed to disappear and he stopped screaming after feedings. If your child doesn't seem to be getting hives, constipation or any other symptoms after you're nursing, you may be okay just cutting back on your dairy product consumption even by half. Your child is probably on solids as well so they are not drinking as much milk as they did as an infant--they may be able to tolerate a very small amount of milk protein in your breast milk at this point. Try to eliminate dairy altogether first, then gradually introduce a little bit back in to see if your child can tolerate it.

Just a point of note: Hives CAN be from something you eat. That is an indication of a food allergy.
I personally have not dealt with dairy but we have nut, peanut, egg, shellfish and a big ?? to some spice and or preservative. (Thankfully the ?? one is my husband so he can tell before he gets too bad of a reaction.)

If its just happening now at his introduction of dairy, and hasn't happened in the past, then its HIM digesting it thats the problem. Of course dairy passes through your breastmilk just like any other food, but if he's not had a reaction before now, its probably just his body's reaction to having dairy. Its incredibly hard to digest for humans and almost every human has a hard time digesting it, evne if their body doesn't show outright symptoms.

when I was nursing I loved drinking pear nectar. I would have one to three cans of it a day. Tara was really sick for most of her infancy. She was allergic to rice, which I found out when she had it as her first food. So nice, let me tell you. Well, about 8 1/2 mos old she had a severe allergic reaction at daycare. The only thing she had was a stage 3 jar of pear with oatmeal. I thought perhaps it was the cinnamon in it. She had had pear before. Well, turns out next time I fed her plain ole pear, she reacted immediately. I stopped drinking pear juice, stopped feeding her pear, and she was a healthy little thing all of a sudden. No more lung infections, ear infections or the like.

So, yep, I believe that MY drinking pear juice for all those months is what was making her sick. The day she had a major asthma attack - you could hear her breathing from 10 ft away - I had had 2 pear juices and then nursed her and she had had a jar of pears for breakfast.

The allergy was not caused by your intake. Your child probably had a predisposition to the allergy already, and the exposure through the breast milk just brought it out in her sooner. Almost definitely, she would have had the allergy anywhere.

The question of whether exposure through breast milk affects allergies or not is HIGHLY debated amongst allergists, docs, and researchers right now. No one knows for sure whether or not it actually affects anything. Some docs will tell you to avoid dairy altogether, while other docs will insist that breast feeding is the best way to prevent against allergy. Most will admit that they don't know for sure and that admit that half the docs will say the opposite of whatever your own doc says.

All that said, now that you know she has the allergy, eliminating dairy from your own diet WILL make a difference. However, it will only matter if you eliminate it 100% and not just reduce it. This means no milk, yogurt, cheese, ice cream, or any product at all that contains milk, whey, or casein. You have to learn to read labels very carefully, as dairy ingredients appear in a lot of places you would not expect them to.

I breastfed my son exclusively (no formula ever) for just over a year and consumed dairy every single day. Aside from mild eczema, we had NO IDEA that he a dairy allergy. He can't eat even a single goldfish cracker without having a major reaction. The docs just don't know...

K.

I would talk to a pediatric allergist. The milk you drink can definitely affect her, but typically, a milk allergy presents with digestive symptoms. Hives indicate it's something touching his skin so they are probably related to something else - pet, dust, pollen, etc.

FAAN. Do a little research and go to Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis network

http://www.foodallergy.org/

There are some local charters and listserves too that you can sign up for. Certainly those reactions can transfer through breast milk. But you also know your child best. If he isn't reacting to you when you nurse then don't change anything. It's rare and common that atopic dermatitis is caused by a true food allergy, but if your son is suffering from eczema you may want to cut out your milk as well.

Good luck.

Yes, both my daughters have a digestive reaction to dairy through my breast milk. They get constapated beyond belief. I've had to cut out milk, ice-cream, cheese, yogart, sour cream, etc from my diet. It's not fun but better than my little ones being in pain. On a positive note, it has helped me loose the weight quickly.

~K.

Yes. Dairy proteins are definitely passed through breastmilk. My daughter was so sensitive that even my licking my finger once after making my older daughter some yogurt was enough to cause a reaction.

The reaction that we had included a severe diaper rash that looked like burns, mucousy poops, acid reflux w/ severe spitting up, inability to sleep (probably due to reflux) and acne on her face.

At about 2 yrs old, we started introducing very small amounts of goat milk (if you have a hive reaction that is histamine though, which is very different from an intestinal reaction, and I would work closely with a homeopath and/or allergist on this!) She is now able to tolerate both goat milk and raw milk dairy.

The short answer is that, yes, you should give up dairy entirely if you want your child to not react.

Manda
(my food blog for my daughters' food sensitivities is here if you are interested- www.chickiepea.wordpress.com)

Dear J.:

These people can eliminate the allergies www.ndinutraceuticals.com

Good Luck

Kim