How to remedy formula allergy on infant?

Try soy formula. He may have an allergy to milk.

My son (who is 8yrs old now) was allergic to regular formula. He was vomitting and had diarhea shortly after I fed him. His doctor put him on soy formula and he was fine.

Don't let anyone guilt you into making the wrong choice here regarding formula. You are not hurting her, you just need to find out the problem. I would try using bottled water or nursery water when mixing the formula. The water does make a huge difference.

While in Europe I used my in-laws tap water for my then 6 month old which tasted great to me but he ended up with blood in his stools. As soon as we used the bottled water he was fine. The only difference I had with the ready made vs. the powder was that my babies always seemed to prefer the powdered.
If that doesn't help ask her pediatrician about a different formula you could switch to or go back to the liquid.

You are doing a great job! Keep it up!

A.

I had a similar problem with my son. He also suffered from severe acid reflux. My son was on Alimentum for about 2 months with face rashes and eczema...it was horrible! I finally decided to go with my gut and go back to a "normal" formula, I chose Good Start b/c of the comfort proteins...the face rashes cleared right up, his reflux lessened...he still has eczema but that runs in my red headed family...Anyway, I'm not a believer in the hypoallergenic, it didn't help my son...oh and his bowel movements got 100% better after the switch too...don't know if this helps but I know what you're going through! ps. For me the difference between powder and liquid was minimal as far as his allergies were concerned.

C.,
My heart goes out to you, my sons all went through the same thing, what we found was it was the tap water, so try using spring water and see if that helps. Also I switched to Good Start formula and that worked the best, unfortunately it did not come out until I had my 3rd son, 4th child and the pediatricians didn't support my choice until they saw the results. As long as I did not use the water from our faucet I did not have a problem with the powder. After having 5 children, I learned to trust my own instincts and that sometimes you have to go against your pediatricians advice to get results.
One last bit of advice, if you ever have to deal with diaper rash ask your pediatrician to give you Silvadine, the stuff is for burns, but works miracles. I am currently a nursing student and found out that the hospitals where we do our clinical rotations use it for everything.

Hugs,
T.

Liquid and powder formula do differ a little bit more than just water. Call the company investigate this and figure out what is in the powder. Talk to your pediatrician and a specialist in allergies. I would stick with liquid until then.

Just in response to soem of the responses; Do Not Feel Badly about giving your daughter formula, it is not the worst thing you could do, you are not hurting her. Yes breastmilk is proven to be the best, but some mother's just can't do it for some reason or another and I can't tell you how sick I am of hearing these women who did breastfeed act superior and try to criticize those that don't. It's your own personal choice and nobody else's. This is the reason they make formula.

Maybe it's something in your water, like the clorine. You could try using the baby water and see if it makes a difference. You should be able to find that either near the regular bottled water, or with the formula.

I stopped breastfeeding my twin daughters at 5 months. My daughter became intolerant of milk based formulas and I believe she has a milk allergy on top of acid reflux. Has your doctor advised a soy based formula. I am in the medical field and sometimes it takes a few days to develop an allergy it may not be immediate. Try to ask your doctor about Similac Isomil it's milk free lactose free soy based formula my daughter has done really well on it and now is being converted over to Soy Milk she's turning one.

Check with your doctor first, because switching too many times can also upset your daughter's tummy. But it sounds like a dairy allergy. My daughter was colicky with regular formula and had ezcema also, so we switched to Alimentum (pretty expensive formula). Then when she was 9 months old, we switched her back to regular formula. Powder and ready to feed liquid are the same. Only difference is the convenience..and sometimes you get a lot of air when you mix the powder formula and if you don't mix well, you end up with residue.

Your daughter may be allergic to corn. use Ready to feed Alimentum, it is the only one that is corn free. The powdered form of this type of formula has a derivitive of corn in it. Hope this helps. It may cost a little more, but the docs always have samples and they usually have coupons also. Some insurance companies cover it if it is deemed medically necessary

At six months the osmality (water to formula ratio) is still really important. We have used a prescription-only formula for years (severe allergies) and we use a gram scale to measure the powder. The scale is very sensitive and measures in one gram increments. I got it for $30 at Williams-Sonoma.

I hear you about wanting to use the powder as it is cheaper and takes up less space but I suggest going back to the RTF. If the liquid works you can investigate if it is the powder-to-water ratio, you can call the manufacturer about the ingredients, you have something to discuss with the doc, in other words, you have some options. If it does NOT work then you can again discuss with your doctor to see if soy formula is advised.

I also recommend that you see a pediatric allergist. Pediatricians get some experience with allergies but it is not what they do all day long. There is a very good allergy clinic at Mt. Sinai Hospital in NYC and they have people who specialize in food allergies. It looks like it would be a schlep for you but unlike the pediatrician you don't need to go very often. There may be someone more local that you'd prefer to use but be sure to ask their specialty--a guy who is tops in something like asthma won't be much help even if he is the best in the area.

I volunteer for an online allergy group KidsWithFoodAllergies.org and if you want to try it out you will find lots and lots of parents in similar straits. Our group helps people with the day-to-day puzzle and struggles of living with food allergies (and eczema and asthma), and for later when your daughter is on solids, there is a recipe database where you can search by your allergy set.

But the main thing is to work with your doctor, and please do look into seeing an allergist.

L.

i had the same problem with my daughter when she was a newborn. for the first 3 months of her life we had one problem after another due to her formula, from rashes, eczema, constipation. Her pediatrician switched her formula 6 times...finally the last time he told us to try good start soy. After a week of her being on the soy formula all her problems were gone. We found out that she has a milk allergy, which is quite common, i am told. She is now 16 months and happy and healthy (w/o milk).

so, try to switch her to a soy based formula and use baby water.

The best thing you can do for your childs health which will have a lasting effects for the rest of her life is BREAST FEEDING!
Formula is the worse thing you can do... as your child is showing you.
If formula is the only answer, then switch to organic.

My daughter had bad acid reflux and could nly tolerate lactose free formula in the ready to feed. The powder that had to be mixed with water just added to much air to the formula and would upset her tummy. She isn't allergic to milk now but it was just lighter on her tummy and made it feel better. Your daughter might have a milk allergy or what they use to make the formula into powder might just bother your daughter. When I was trying to find a formula that worked for my daughter I had called similac and they told me that there is a difference between ready-to-feed, the powder and the concentrate because even though they are the same type they are made differently and aren't exactly the same. If you feel that it is the powder switch back to the ready-to-feed and see if it gets better. Good luck.
Jenn

All my children were colic and I gave them Alimentim or Nutramagin. I always used the ready to feed. Whenever I tried the powder they would get sick. The powder doesn't agree with some children. Stick with the ready to feed and the baby will probably be fine. For the eczema, I had to change to all Dove products, the bath wash, shampoo, conditioner and lotion. We also use only Dreft. It really makes a difference.

Good luck
K.

For the eczema I would totally reccommend Arbonne's baby care line. The baby oil is great for rashes like you mentioned and is completely safe, pure & beneficial. Please check out my website:

www.TheSkinYourIn.myarbonne.com

for more product info. and you can even see before and after pictures.

Good Luck, let us all know how it works!

Hi C.,
I use Nutramigen in the ready to serve (liquid) form. I spoke with a nutritionist who said that there is a slight difference and in some babies they just tolerate the liquid better. If you saw improvement then I would go back to the liquid, despite what your doctor says, you as her mother know what is best for your baby! Also, the rash may be a dairy allergy, so you may want to try a soy based formula. Good luck!