My son is 6 months old and so far I have been told he has reflux, asthma, MSPI and allergies. Everything I have looked up about MSPI says that he should have been having some sort of bowel problems or failure to thrive but he doesn't have either of those symptoms. But he was vomiting a lot and very fussy so I first tried Soy which didn't help at all and now he is on Alimentum which has worked very well and he hardly ever vomits. Is it possible for him to have MSPI without these symptoms. The doctor has also never told me anything about MSPI and what i should avoid in my son's diet. I have had really bad luck with his pediatricians. There are 4 in my town and he has seen 3, no one seems to know what they are doing. What told me to starve him because he was gaining to much weight (he was 5 months , 20 pounds and she wanted me to give him 12oz. of formula a day). Then I switched and took him to the new one because his seasonal allergies were acting up and he told me that babies do not get allergies. A child can not have allergies until after 2 years. Anyways so two nights ago my sons upper lip and tongue started swelling and he started getting red spots on his face and chest and I took him to the ER and they said it was an allergic reaction to something but not sure what. They told me to just retry the foods that he had recently and see if it happens again. The only things he had had in the 24 hours prior to the reaction was mandarin oranges (which he has had oranges before) and broccoli with cheese. Should I retry these foods, I am scared that his throat will swell next time? After reading about food allergies I have noticed that alot of my sons symptoms are allergy symptoms but they are also symptoms of the other things he has been diagnosed with. Do you think my doctor is right with his diagnoses or could possibly be giving my child something he is allergic to all the time? What should I do?

Symptoms:
Vomiting
Wheezing
Congestion, runny nose
diarrhea (occasionally)
acting like he is in pain (arching his back, shaking head, pulling ears)
Swelling of tongue and lip
red spots

Also if it is MSPI what should I be avoiding, all the doctor told me to do was switch his formula.

Any help would really be appreciated.

Hi, Nicole,

Kids with Milk Soy Protein intolerance will have a variety of symptoms, but my understanding is that they don't have to be GI.

It sounds like if he failed milk formula and soy and is doing well on a milk protein hydrolysate formula, then this diagnosis fits. Lots of information is available on the web with a search for MSPI on "google".

Kids can have allergies well before 2 years old, as I suspect you know. He sounds like a kid who in the future may benefit from some extensive allergy workup. I would hesitate giving him the food you thought he had the allergic reaction to until he is much older, ie. greater than at least 1-2 years of age. That just seems to me to make sense.

Hope these brief thoughts are helpful.

Good luck, dr. Olson

Hi,

Just a few thoughts.

Kids can have allergies before age two. MSPI usually manifests as respiratory symptoms and I don't think you need to have GI symptoms always. Search google for MSPI and one of the first listings will be about diet and choices.

I would not give the food you suspect until at least 1-2 years old. Seems risky to do this, even though you are not really sure what caused this problem.

Good luck, Dr. Olson