Occasional Allergic Reaction Following Nursing

My daugter had an allergy to all dairy..she would get hives all over her face. I cut dairy out of my diet completely and they went away. She was a different baby after this. So much happier. She out grew it around 3 1/2 months. Maybe try cutting out dairy for a few days and see what happens. Also if you are giving formula at all it probably has lactose in it. We had to switch to lactose free.
Good Luck!

You said the hives disspear qucikly. I'm wondering could this be a heat rash? It is summer so maybe this is a possiblitiy. Not sure if you've experienced either enough in children to know the difference. (This sounds patronsing but it totally isnt meant that way:))Good luck I hope you figure it out.

Hi K.,
This is a little weird of an answer, but did you eat anything in excess while pregnant? My cousin specifically ate eggs almost every morning while pregnant and her son (whom she also nursed to a year old) if allergic to eggs and the allergy wasn't from birth, it was about the 3 month mark when it began and also with hives. I know about 10 other people who has a similar story there child is allergic to something they ate or drank a lot of while pregnant. I, too, had a somewhat similar situation. With my second pregnancy I craved milk and ice cream like crazy, I've never ate so much ice cream in my life. Anyway, I nursed my son for about 2 months and had to stop because I dried up. But when it came time for him to switch to milk and actually have a first ice cream (after a year old) he would have lactose intolerant symptoms and I really thought he was allergic to milk, the strange part is that I too could not eat ice cream or drink milk directly without getting sick too. It was really weird. So as much as it didn't follow exact medical guidelines, I decided to cold turkey myself from straight milk and ice cream, for some reason it was only the real heavy dairy that bothered me. A couple months later I tried it again and the "allergy" was gone. Same with my son, we didn't take him off milk for months but continued formula for a few weeks to a month and then slowly weaned him back on milk and he too was fine, but I kept ice cream away for months and now he is fine with ice cream too. My doctor said that when it is a mild allergy if you cold turkey them from whatever it is for a couple months and totally get it out of their system and then try it again the allergy can actually go away.
So this may be a long shot, but if you can think of something that you truely at a lot of while pregnant and try to elimate that too, if you can. Sounds like its a mild allergy so maybe you'll be able to get rid of it too. Good luck, hope this is somewhat helpful. J.

Hi K.,
My son had terrible eczema and hives for the entire time that I was breast feeding. It never occurred to me that it was my breast milk that was the major culprit. It turns out that he's allergic to Eggs and Peanuts. I ate a ton of Eggs while I was pregnant and while I was breast feeding. I would recommend consulting an allergist and perhaps try cutting out some major allergens one at a time.

S.

Hi K.:
You baby may be allergic to the Fenugreek. If you are breast feeding, then the your baby is getting the Fengreek. I suggest you tell your doctor and elimiinate it soon. My neighbor had the same problem, and she had to d/c the Fengreek. After that the baby showed no signs of a allergic reaction.

A luke warm corn-startch bath would be idea for the baby if she or he seems itchy. It will help.

Wishing you the best,
C.

I have 2 brothers and out of the 3 of us, one could not tolerate breast milk. My Mother had to stop breastfeeding and start him on soy formula. Not sure when it went away (he is older than me), but as long as I can remember he has drank milk and a lot of it. He does have really bad asthma and with that have been some strange allergies. Hopefully this is something your baby will grow out of like my brother did. Good luck in the meantime.

Hi K.,

I agree with your Dr - eliminate the new items - fenugreek and corn and see if it goes away - if not, then try the usual suspects like eliminating nuts and diary.

Good luck!
J.

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First, kudos to you for choosing to BF!! I know food allergies passed through breastmilk can be frustrating, but they are usually outgrown within a few months. Have you seen an improvement since you cut corn?

You'd be surprised by the things that can cause a reaction in babies - over the years (I think I've nursed for a total of 6 years, 1 month for 3 kids and am still nursing my 24 month old), I've had to cut chocolate, milk, cheese, broccoli, soda, caffeine, tomatoes (and all tomato based products), onions and probably a few I cannot even remember!

It's a small sacrifice to make for the ease of breastfeeding, but it can be frustrating. If I were you, I'd cut corn, see how it goes and then, in a month or two, try it again to see if anything happens. They can outgrow an allergy suprisingly fast - other than onions, I think I only had to cut items for 6 months to a year.

Good luck!!

Hi K.,

It is very rare for a baby to be allergic her mother's milk. You may want to consider other possiblilities such as your deodorant, your soap, or your perfume. I'd avoid using perfume for a while and switch to an unscented saop such as Aveno unscented body wash and see if that helps. If those don't work, I'd try using an unscented deodorant or at least switch brands. If none of those things work, you may want to consider switching to an unscented laundry detergent and not using fabric softener or dryer sheets.

The worst thing you could possibly do is stop breastfeeding and switch to formula. Formula (even ones created to be less alergenic) are more likely to to give your baby allergic reactions. Don't forget that breastmilk also has your antibodies in it and you will never get that health protection from any formula on the market. Giving your daughter that immune boost and protection is a very special gift.

I hope this helps.

~ C. ~

I would've actually eliminated the Fenugreek first since it's an herbal product. Many of the herbal products on the market don't have safety standards, dosing standards, etc, so it may be that she's allergic either to the Fenugreek or even something mixed in with it. Don't worry about taking supplements for your milk supply; as long as you're nursing her and she eats well, your supply should be good. I'm a pharmacist and not a big fan of herbal products, mostly because of the reasons that I mentioned above. Hope this helps.

Either of those things could cause it. I would take out the Fenugreek next.