When your baby starts showing signs of a milk allergy, it’s normal to think that soy might be a good replacement for cow’s milk. After all, if you became lactose intolerant, you may switch to soy milk. However, similar to what Steven blogged about earlier this week, lactose intolerance is a negative response to the sugar in milk, while a milk allergy is a reaction to the protein. Soy milk or a soy based formula is most likely not the best choice for a baby with a milk allergy.

Marybeth and I talk to a lot of mothers with kids that have milk allergies who either switch to a soy formula or, if breastfeeding, replace the dairy in their diet with soy to try to relieve the symptoms. We understand that this seems to be the most logical and healthy next step.

However, some parents don’t realize that about 50 percent of kids with milk allergies are also allergic to the protein in soy. That’s one of the reasons the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends not to use soy to manage milk allergies in babies. (AAP actually also recommends not to feed soy based formula to any infant because soy allergies are much more common in infants than children or adults.)

Similar to what we have suggested for managing milk allergies, if your baby has an allergy to soy, remove all soy from his/her diet immediately.

A few symptoms of soy allergy are:
- Acne
- Asthma
- Diarrhea
- Eczema
- Fever
- Itching
- Lethargy
- Hives
- Vomiting
- Wheezing

So, if you’re changing your child’s formula because he/she has a milk allergy, the most effective option is an amino acid-based formula – which is clinically proven to relieve the symptoms of a milk allergy.

As always, feel free to send comments and questions my way.

Take care,
April

Hi Folks!

One of you left a comment a few blogs back about how so many people confuse lactose intolerance and milk allergy. Which is a very good point! So, here’s a helpful little chart to distinguish between the two.

I get a lot of calls from parents regarding their babies’ skin rashes and unfortunately, by the time a parent calls me, the baby has been suffering for quite a while. Eczema has so many triggers that most people don’t think a food allergy could be the culprit.

Here is a review of the basics of eczema…

What is eczema?
It is most often characterized by dry, red, extremely itchy patches on the skin. Eczema is sometimes referred to as “the itch that rashes,” since the itch, when scratched, results in the appearance of the rash.

Who is suffering from eczema?
10-20% of babies

What triggers eczema?

Environmental Triggers
• Wool and other scratchy fabrics
• Chronic, extremely dry air
• Cigarette smoke
• Chemicals in certain soaps and detergents

Food Allergies are scary for any parent, but they can be even scarier when your child is too young to tell you what’s wrong.

And pinpointing allergies in babies can be extremely tricky. While some infants can have anaphylactic reactions, most of the time babies’ symptoms look like typical baby ailments.

Note: I don’t want to dismiss the severity of a baby having an anaphylactic reaction – it’s serious and terrifying. But it occurs less often than the type of symptoms we’re talking about here. (Perhaps thanks to the food allergy community’s efforts to inform docs and moms about precautions to take during pregnancy and baby’s first few years of life.)

Here are the most common symptoms to look out for in your baby if you suspect the little one has a food allergy:

• Persistent diarrhea
• Blood and/or mucus in the stool
• Frequent vomiting
• Skin rash
• Respiratory problems
• Inconsolable crying (“colicky”)
• Poor weight gain
• An overall failure to thrive

Babies can have a combination of several of these symptoms or sometimes just one. If you think your baby could possibly have an allergy, check out www.testforallergy.com. It’s a great resource to help parents figure out what steps to take next.

As always, I’d love to see your comments below.

Take care,
Marybeth

Hello Readers,

Last week, The Journal News, a newspaper in White Plains, NY ran an interesting story about a little girl who “can not eat food.” Three-year-old Hannah Devane has a condition called eosinophilic esophagitis(EE). It’s a very serious condition and many people don’t realize that food allergy is actually the principle cause of EE.

The story focused on the Devane family’s difficulty getting their insurance company to pay for the amino acid-based formula Hannah needs – which is really a shame. But discussion on the Journal News message board and on The Consumerist blog also showed me that there is a lot of confusion about EE. So, I thought I’d clear a few things up here.

• Kids with EE are allergic to the protein in foods such as milk, soy, nuts, eggs, etc. so the condition really limits their food choices.
• This allergy causes a build-up of white blood cells (eosinophils) in the esophagus which is a sign of inflammation. This inflammation causes difficulty swallowing, vomiting, regurgitation, and/or abdominal or chest pain. (The symptoms usually differ slightly for each kid.)
• Usually, EE kids can only have a very few “safe foods.” For Hannah Devone, it is rice and pears.
• Rice and pears alone cannot provide adequate nutrition for a 3-year-old.
• So, kids with EE rely on special amino acid-based medical foods (that won’t make them sick) to get the nutrition they need.
• Medical foods are not like vitamins or supplements you buy at a health food store. They have a special FDA designation, are deemed “medically necessary” for people with certain conditions, and families must have a recommendation from a healthcare professional to order them from the pharmacy or manufacturer.
• Some doctors do prescribe steroids for the EE symptoms so they can eat food, but steroids have not been shown to be as effective as amino acid-based medical foods and they can cause a lot of side effects.
• For more information, check out Act Against Allergy.

Be Well,
Dr. Y