Milk allergy/ lactose intolerance

Lil Kate

DS is allergic to soy, eggs, and peanut.  We are avoiding milk because in the past he has not been able to tolerate it.  He got super gassy, abdominal pain, reflux.  When the allergy testing was done he was not allergic to milk so our allergist wanted us to start lactaid to see if he is lactose intolerant.  We are on day 2 and he had diarrhea 6x today and alot yesterday....all watery (had a little mucus) and he has a horrible diaper rash. He was in the hospital Wednesday and Thursday (unrelated) but had diarrhea then too.  It seemed like he was better before we started the lactaid (otherwise I would not have started it) 

 

My question is...could the allergy testing be a false negative and he is actually allergic to milk?  What symptoms did your child have and what are they allergic/intolerant of?  Should I call the alllergist? Should I stop it and see if he gets better and then start it again?

TIA

loveemandle2

That is hard.. yes he could have tested negative and still be allergic, what kind of testing did they do? Have you noticed any kind of rash, eczema along w/stomach issues? I still think there is a good chance that he just may have a intolerance, b/c alot of people who are lactose intolerant describe symptoms like your ds.. diahrrea, gas, and pain.  I think calling the allergist might be a good idea.  I am not sure if they will test him again, or maybe suggest a different type of milk.  GL, it is super hard to watch our kiddos go through this kind of stuff ((hugs))

blue33

Maybe. My doctor told me that allergy tests done before a year old may render inconclusive results. She told me to take clues from my son. For example, he tested positive (very low) to wheat and soy, but NEVER had a reaction to it. On the other hand one drop of egg or milk ingredient sends him into a horrible eczema flare. So regardless of the tests, I know that even as a newborn cow's milk did not agree with him. He was super gassy and fussy. He never spit up, but had constant diarrhea. We switched him to soy and the symptoms disappeared.

magdusia

IMO i would stop.  My son was tested negative for soy the first time and when i finally introduced it to him he was having major watery BM..  and some eczema.. we stopped soy on our own and he was completely fine within couple of days.  The next allergy testing which was about 8 months later showed that he is allergic to soy.

I would remove it on your own and see how he does.  I feel like maybe because it wasn't in his body the tests became false positive.  There is a chance that it's an unrelated issue so i would remove it and once his BM's are better i would introduce a tiiiiinnnny bit  and see how he does.  Or just remove it and wait until his next allergy appointment.

With milk, your DS is allergic to the same exact things as my son. 

 

Fiesty99

Maybe he is intolerant to the milk protein, not the lactose? I have one child with a milk protein allergy and one with a milk protein intolerance and the symptoms you are describing sounds a lot like my little one with the intolerance. It is totally possible that he's just reacting to the protein. Good luck!

heyitsme

He may have an IgG mediated allergy instead of an IgE mediated allergy. IgG allergies tend to deal with the GI system.

I test negative (RAST and skin) to milk, soy, and wheat. But I have had 2 IgG panels done (ELISA and Immunolabs) and both came back with positives for them. Even with negative test results, though, I would've eliminated them. "The proof is in the pudding." I felt horrible and reacted with them (GI issues). When I removed them to my diet (before the IgG testing) I was able to see within a week how those foods had been affecting me.

Lil Kate

Thanks!  I talked to the allergist and we are going to stop the lactaid until his stomach issues clear up.  In a week or so we will start it up again in 2 oz doses per bottle to see how he tolerates it.  If he reacts again I am just going to continue avoiding all dairy/lactose items.  I just hope he will start to outgrow these allergies.  It SUCKS!

webMistress0609

Ari tested neg on scratch for dairy, but was blazingly positive on APT (atopic patch testing). APT involves putting discs with the actual food on the skin - it's not a common test here in the states, but my allergist likes to use it on LOs since it seems to be more accurate than other tests for them. Anyway, the spot where they placed the dairy reacted so badly it bled a little & took 3 weeks to totally heal. That was when he was 5 months old. He can now tolerate small amounts of certain cheeses. 

I also tested neg but have dairy reactions. My allergist said testing is a good guide, but food challenge is the proof.