New here, MSPI Allergy ???
Sandy8168
member
Hi, all! I have been devouring as much information from previous posts as I can but my son is asleep so I figured I better post before he wakes up from his nap. I'm not sure where to begin but it seems like a lot of you have similar experiences and I need some advice! My poor husband is tired of hearing about it.
About two months ago my 4 month old son started spitting up, became incredibly fussy, congested and eventually had small amounts of blood in green mucusy poop. Before all of this there had been no signs of difficulty (other than forceful letdown) in our EBF relationship. I of course took him to pedi for blood in his poop and she thought it might be a milk allergy. At that appointment he also had a small bumpy rash starting on his cheeks and she advised us to put aquafor on it and said that it was most likely from saliva. Ok, great. I take dairy out of my diet for a week (because that's the length of time she said to) his poops turned back to normal the day after the bloody poop so I started to reintroduce dairy after a week. Two days later more blood in his poop and his rash is getting worse on his face. A couple of days after that he had a horrible reaction to chili that I ate and I said ok, that's it. I'm eliminating all main allergens (dairy, soy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, and I don't eat much wheat) and we'll go from there. We were continuing to put aquafor on his face and it wasn't really getting better. Fast forward ten or so days into my elimination diet and I cheated with vanilla coated popcorn (I know, mom fail) and the next day we woke up to a HORRIBLE eczema reaction, spit up, etc. I decided we needed to try something different for his skin and went and bought Aveeno eczema therapy. Well, this made his eczema ten times worse and it ended up looking like this: 
By this time he also had a similar rash forming on his chest. So, I took him to the pedi and she diagnosed him with a MSPI and eczema and gave us a corticosteroid because he was just SO inflamed. Steroid cleared him up immediately. We have since started using cetaphil and CeraVe lotion. I obviously only want to use the steroid when absolutely necessary. So, I am not eating dairy, soy, including all hidden and peanuts because she said soy can be hidden in some peanut butter, etc. I have never looked at so many labels and done so much research in my life. All of this would be great if it was actually helping his skin, but it's not. We went to the pedi this past Monday and he has had another flare up since Friday on his face legs, hands and stomach. So, we wake up this morning and his back looks like this: 
It turns out that my brillant husband used the Dreft detergent that someone gave us instead of our Ecos organic detergent that I use on our clothes and his cloth diapers. Could this have caused this reaction? Does this look like anything your babies have had? It is completely calmed down now and just looks like little small bumps all over his back and belly.
I am so lost, depressed, frustrated, committed, unsure, every feeling you have all probably felt. I feel like a failure that is causing my son harm because I won't give up BF. It's not making for a very pleasant household right now.
I guess I just need some direction for where to go from here. Should I do a TED? Should I take him to an allergist? The LAST thing I want to do is give up BF. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks ladies.
Re: New here, MSPI Allergy ???
Poor guy
And just know, you are not a failure. Having an LO with an intolerance/allergy is scary and since a lot of us have never dealt with it before it is a lot of trial and error.
I would see a pediatric GI stat. I got m referral from my pedi and they are out of our local Children's Hospital. I'm not 100% about allergist for babies under 1. I believe that most babies just see GIs. They handle diets, testing, etc.
As for the detergent, I'm not really sure what could have caused that. If he is really sensitive then yes, maybe.
Also, make sure you check any supplements or vitamins you are taking. Some are coated in soy or dairy. Before you try the TED, I would see the pedi GI and an LC/nutritionist for yourself. You want to make sure you are getting proper calories and protein.
GL!
I'm sorry you and your LO are having such a rough time. DD2 developed eczema after I was dairy and soy free. I decided to cut out all nuts too, and her eczema was gone a week later. We took her to a pedi allergist for testing at 5 months and she tested positive for cashews. Some allergists won't do testing before age 1 because the younger a baby is, the less accurate the test results are. It's up to you whether you want to go that route yet, or wait till LO is a little older, but I would see a pedi allergist at some point. Allergies and eczema often go together.
In the meantime, I'd continue to experiment with your diet and see if you can find a connection. If you're still eating tree nuts, you might cut those for a couple weeks. I've also heard of tomato and citrus causing eczema flares. You might try keeping a food diary to see if you notice a pattern. Good luck!
DD1: allergic to eggs & dairy
c/p 4/1/11
DD2: milk and soy protein intolerant, allergic to eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, bananas
MSPI Moms Check-In Blog
I feel foor you and I know your frustration. I had a horrible breastfeeding experience and I felt so guilty when I stopped at 6 months but I was so stressed with school, the allergies, and my husband being gone that my supply dried up. We have battled with allergies from day 1 and her allergies were always worse after immunizations. Turns out prevnar, the pneumonia vaccine, has a milk protein in it!
I can say from your sons 2nd rash my hb used tide boost in our laundry instead of our free and clear kind and the switch gave me such horrible hives it looked like I was wearing a red sweater!
Food shopping definitely stinks because there aren't always a lot of options but someone gave me this link www.mspimama.com and the recipes are great! I also use www.foodfacts.com to look up whats in my food and you can narrow down your allergen list. I hope this helps! Hang in there and enjoy the time with your LO it goes by so fast:)