If you were me would you go back to giving breast milk?

Happycouple

Long story short, ds has eczema mainly on his face but in other areas of his body. He's very itchy but still such a happy baby. We did the skin test and he tested positive for milk and more significantly to egg and peanut. They tested for other things like wheat, corn, oat, soy and casein and it was negative. 

I went on the elimination diet for 3 weeks and he didn't drastically improve. He seems to have peaks of worse eczema and then it gets better than worse again. We decided that I should pump and just give him elecare or neocate for a while. It's been several weeks and his eczema is still going strong. It's still probably only considered mild to moderate eczema but he is still super itchy and it's seriously affecting his sleep. He used to be an amazing night sleeper.

 At thi point I'm pumping 5-6 times a day until I notice his eczema improving for a consistent amount if time. Should I go on the diet again and go back to mostly breast milk??  Bm is better for him anyways but I don't want to cause more harm. He could be allergic to other things I'm not aware of in my diet.  Should I just continue in the elemental formula  and just give up on the bm idea? Im just not sure to do anymore. I was expecting huge improvements with the formula. I just wish I had some answers as to why it's not getting better and what else might be making his skiin worse. Thanks 

shotzie

DD2 is milk and soy protein intolerant and she has eczema. I am on a dairy and soy free diet so I can continue bf'ing. Her eczema developed after I had already been dairy and soy free for over a month. She is happy, gaining weight, and only her head itches her (she has really bad cradle cap). I asked the pedi if I should try cutting something else out of my diet to see if it would help DD's eczema and she said she doesn't think I should. I'm also egg and nut free b/c DD2 is allergic to eggs and I'm avoiding nuts just to be on the safe side.

I'm treating DD's eczema with Vanicream (OTC cream available at Walgreens) and the derm prescribed 2.5% hydrocortisone to use on the real problem areas. The pedi did say she thinks DD2 should see the allergist for testing, but wants to wait a bit. The younger they are when they're tested, the less accurate the results tend to be.

Since the hypo formula hasn't improved your LO's eczema, I personally would go back to bf'ing on a dairy, egg, nut free diet.

gymkatinka

 Did they do a skin prick test or blood test?I'd go back to bf-ing.I'm so scared of going on formulas.BM is supposed to be the best, even with the allergens...

I think you should try going back to bf, and eliminate the 8 most common allergens for a few weeks.

If you need some moral support,pls know, that I've just started an egg, soy, treenut, dairy and gluten free diet... 

b55c

I think it's a personal choice but if you can stand the diet, bm is still best. If there's no change w the formula why not give lo the benefits of your milk? Have you looked into some of the other causes (non food related) of eczema?

BritanyV

b55c:

I think it's a personal choice but if you can stand the diet, bm is still best. If there's no change w the formula why not give lo the benefits of your milk? Have you looked into some of the other causes (non food related) of eczema?

Ditto and especially the bolded.  Eczema is not solely food related, environmental allergies can cause eczema too.  

miniray

Could it be the soap/fabric softener you are using on LO's clothes?  I know as a baby I would react my face touched anything that wasn't washed in a specific laundry detergent.  Anyone who held me had to make sure to put a receiving blanket between me and them.  If not I would break out in ezcema. 

ournaturaljourney

I would go back to breast milk.

My son has eczema and we've had him tested for allergies and tried eliminating various foods from his diet without having much success at helping his eczema. He didn't test positive for any food allergies, just a cat allergy (and we don't have cats). I've come to believe that his eczema flare-ups are mostly related to environmental factors since it seems to worsen whenever he spends more time outside, but I've also noticed certain things seem to irritate it more (like certain brands of baby wipes). It is really, really difficult to pinpoint the causes of eczema.

Since your LO's eczema doesn't seem to be improving, I would go back to breast milk, look at other things that might be causing the flare-ups aside from food and work on healing the eczema the best you can.