My appointment with the GI today became an unoffocial appointment for my 3 year old. He reckons that Aaron is also milk protein intolerant as displayed by his eczema and he recommends we experiment taking cow's milk out of his diet and replacing it with rice milk. Does anyone have any experience on cows milk intolerances/allergies and eczema?

Zachary has always gotten Eczema on his legs in the cooler months....He does not have a cow milk allergy..

YES!!!!

Cady was just tentatively diagnosed with an allergy to milk that manifested in eczema, ear infections, and diaper rashes.

She was just moved from cow's milk to rice milk and has officially been milk-free for 1.5 days. Already her face is clearing a little and her diaper rash looks quite a bit better. It will probably take many more weeks to get the milk completely out of her system and for the eczema to go away. But, eczema can definitely be a strong sign of a milk allergy.

Sarah, both my boys are milk protein intolerent. They both came out in exactly the same eczema when milk was introduced. It came out quite quickly and mainly came on there backs. We have been using goat milk for both and the eczema stopped spreading and was gone within 2 weeks.

When it happened to my first the health nurse recommended the goat milk (and still onit at age 3 1/2) and so with the second I put him on it after the initial milk trial.
Now they only get eczema in the winter months and generally if they have been sick and it is very easy to control.

If you want to know I can list all the things you can do to try and keep it to a minimum.

At the age of 3 I think removing milk completely from his diet is going to be really tough, so I think I am going to start with just the more obvious sources. Rachel it would be really great to get your list.

Hi Sarah, well here is all I know about eczema. It works well for us and we have been told this by Drs.

Firstly eczema will worsen with heat (ie hot bath) or cold (cold weather). So Winter is the worst time. Make sure baths are tepid and not too hot so it doesn't dry the skin anymore.

In baths the best thing to use is nothing- sounds strange but my kids do and they don't get any rashes or such. Any amount of soap, even the "non-soap" is bad. The non soap still contains a soap derivative that still has the drying effect. If you do need to use something ie for their hair use a dermatologiacally tested product we have an oatmeal product called dermaveen.

These 2 things will help decrease the drying effect and in turn keep the eczema away.

In the bath you can also use a product that has an antibacterial effect and may sooth the itch. Ours is called Oilatum plus and while the eczema is flared this will help.

After getting out of the bath- to get rid of the eczema a cortisone cream spread thin for 1 to 2 weeks should get rid of it- once you are rid of it it is easier to keep it away. We were recommended liquid parafin to put over the top. This will moisturise the skin as well as act as a barrier for the cortisone- which makes it a lot more effective. Repeat this again (not the bath the cream) in the morning. Once the eczema is gone keep putting on the paraffin as a moisturiser.

Remember to use the cortisone sparingly as excessive use can thin the skin but at the doses they give you it is pretty safe. If you use it properly you will use less than if you don't do it all the time.

This will probably clear up a milk intolerence eczema. To keep it away remember the bath not too hot. With the food I have found that what will cause eczema in my kids is- Cows milk makes it very bad. Large amounts of cheese or yogurt etc, especially the normal type is also bad. Small amounts of cheese and milk are OK and this was explained as the proeteins are smaller due to the processing. With Cooper my 3 1/ year old I am thinking of introducing a little skim milk this winter to see if maybe he has grown out of it or is able to handle the lower fat variety. A lot of the girls have started doing that here.

I don't think you have to get rid of dairy at all, mainly just change his milk- also soy doesn't work for us.

As I said we switched to goat milk, I have never tried rice milk, but fresh goat milk (which also has smaller proteins) tastes the same as milk. I give both boys probiotics now and this has helped both their asthama and eczema.

Remeber also that if one has it Maya may also be the same so look out for any signs.

If you have any other questions please ask.
Rachel

Actually, it's not hard to remove all milk proteins from the foods you eat as long as you know what not to or what to buy. Exceot for dairy items like cheese, there is a dairy free version of everything. Maybe if Jacksonsmommy still has the pms I sent her, she can forward them to you. I can send them again if need be though, it just took me a while to break them up into 4 pms. AJ was completely dairy and soy free from 12-24 mos. At 2 we let him start having dairy again, just not straight cow's milk as he couldn't handle that. We're going to try soy w/ him this month sometime. Evan has been dairy free since birth and I had to drop soy at 2 mos. He got eczema on his face from the soy. AJ is still on rice milk and loves it. Evan is on Neocate and will be on it for a while as he has no real safe foods. It's been a long process w/ both, but both are thriving now.

I tried to replace Aarons milk chocolate cadburys with a 75% cocoa chocolate and he went mad. He knows the colours of his chocolate bars and the test and will not be swayed. I also give him rice milk in the place of his normal milk in a beaker and he refused to drink it. As his ezecma is only mild, I think that I might not bother to fight a battle with Aaron at the moment considering I have to deal with one Gerdling!

Maya if he won't have rice milk casue of the taste try goat milk it actually tastes the same. Cooper can also have little bits of chocolate and doesn't have any effect.