C.S. asks from Racine, WI on February 15, 2009
Milk Allergy Symptoms in Toddlers
Can diarrhea be a symptom of a milk allergt? My one year old was on milk-based formula and did fine. He is now 14 months and I'm wondering if his recent diarrhea could be a sign of a milk allergy, (he's been on cows milk exclusively for about 2.5 months). Until now we have noticed no problems with him taking milk, but he has had diarrhea for the last 7 days-sometimes it is running, (you know a 'blow out"), other times it is best described as gray cottage cheese and the smell is undescribable, (and not pleasant). My husband and I both are getting over the flu so initially we thought that is what was the issue with our son. However, he continues to have the D..BUT no other symptoms. No fever, he's not becoming dehydrated and he's eating/drinking. Generally he has been his usual self-which is what got me thinking maybe this is an allergy symptom?
I also noticed today he has developed a slight rash on his stomache...kind of like a heat rash, but not blistery.
So What Happened?™
Hi there-
Sunday night we switched B to soy milk and he had a solid poop in the am! Spoke to the dr yesterday and she advised that the virus going around-which is likely what he has can last up to two weeks-remove all dairy for 48 hours and slowly re-introduce. Probably not an allergy, but the milk is aggravating his tummy and probably causing cramping. We are into day two of no dairy and he is back to his shiny, happy self! We'll stay off for a few more days and as long as he doesn't get more diarrhea, or a fever etc...we'll reintroduce slowly and go from there.
Thanks everyone!
Featured Answers
K.B. answers from Milwaukee on February 15, 2009
Morethelikely it is a virus, it is that time of season (still) and may take awhile to work out of his system... the rash could also be from this.
Give it a few days to work out of his system... keep an eye on it and if it does not 'clear' up in a week then look into possiblity of allergy/intolerant to milk or something else.
More Answers
C.D. answers from Omaha on February 16, 2009
If your son hasn't had any issues with Milk products in the past I don't believe that there is an issue. You say he has a rash on his tummy. A rash and diaherra could be signs of an infection. My oldest son had the same symptoms and it turned out to be the beginning of scarlet fever. I would recommend that you take your son to the Dr as soon possible. The lack of fever does not mean that he doesnn't have an infection. Neither one of my kids ever ran a fever other then when they got the DPT or MMR shot.
G.E. answers from Milwaukee on February 16, 2009
yes, I think could be milk allergy. But just to be sure, why you don't ask a doctor about it.
Is any body in your family have no tolerance for milk???
Because is also genetic.
If I have this problem, I'll go to the doctor.
good luck.
C.S. answers from Minneapolis on February 16, 2009
Hi, my son has the same symptoms when he drinks milk but never when he eats it (in cakes, ice cream, yogurts, etc). It has something to do with the way our cow's milk is processed in the US that causes him problems when he drinks it but never when he "eats" it in foods.
K.B. answers from Milwaukee on February 15, 2009
Morethelikely it is a virus, it is that time of season (still) and may take awhile to work out of his system... the rash could also be from this.
Give it a few days to work out of his system... keep an eye on it and if it does not 'clear' up in a week then look into possiblity of allergy/intolerant to milk or something else.
L.S. answers from Wausau on February 16, 2009
Just another thought - I never agreed with my MIL when she said that teething caused diarrhea. I thought it was an old wives' tale. It never happened for my son until he was older (like around your son's age). Then his diapers when teething were very similar to what you're describing. The smell was unlike anything I ever smelled before.
He also had a rash develop on his stomach, but that turned out to be eczema. Check with your doctor to be sure. But it is winter and eczema tends to flare up with dry weather. Check for red, dry patches behind his knees.
Good luck figuring out what it is!
K.S. answers from Minneapolis on February 16, 2009
I would suggest taking him into the doctor. If the stinky diahhrea is beyond the normal stinkiness, he could have Rotovirus. There is really no special treatment for it, but it's nice to know as far as contagiousness.
He could be developing a temporary lactose intolerance. Whenever my son had diahhrea, he would develop this. He needed to go off dairy for several days and we would slowly reintroduce it. Meanwhile he would be on the BRAT diet.
It is possible that a lactose intolerance could be developing. Babies do not usually have it, but kids can develop it as they get older. This was the case with my son. He was on regular formula just fine. There are different degrees of the problem. Milk and ice cream are the most diffiult for them. We substitued his milk for Lactaid milk and he does very well. Yogurt, cheese, and cottage cheese do not seem to bother him unless he has a ton of it. Another child/person may not be able to tolerate any of it though. Whatever may be going on with your son, it's good to see the doctor and get the discussions rolling. Hopefully it's just a little bug that he'll recover from shortly. Good luck.
B.W. answers from Minneapolis on February 16, 2009
I highly doubt its a milk allergy, it sounds like he has rotovirus, the abusurdly smelling diarrhea, rash. Take him to the doctor.
A.P. answers from Milwaukee on February 16, 2009
It totally could be. The rash on his belly could be eczema. My son (who has a milk allergy) had a rash on his back and belly when it all first started...and he was only getting dairy through my breast milk. I showed it to the doctor...assuming she'd say, 'oh, that's heat rash'...because that is exactly how it looked...and she said that it was eczema. Evidentally, it looks very, very similar in the beginning. It takes a while for eczema to get crusty looking. You could try going off dairy for him for a few weeks (it takes a little while to be completely out of the system) and see how he does. The asthma and allergy clinic at Children's hospital has been a great resource for us. Good luck!
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