9 Month Old Has Severe Allergies And Eczema
Hello, I have a 9 month old son with multiple food allergies and bad eczema, causing chronically difficult behavior and sleep issues. He was tested (by blood) and shown to be allergic to milk, egg whites, egg yolks, and peanuts. He was ok with white fish and soy. cutting these helped some, but other events happened which led me to test him for corn, wheat, tree nuts, nightshades, molasses, rice and citrus fruits, and I'm still awaiting results. I strongly believe he's allergic to citrus fruits and berries, potatoes and corn. And molasses might cause diarrhea.
What at can I do to help him overcome this? Our background is that I'm 35, had no problem getting pregnant, and had a totally problem free pregnancy without illness, and no medicines, and a totally natural labor with the exception of the penicillin they forced me to take via IV for group B strep. He was born very healthy at full term. I nursed on demand with no problems.
He was born with slight eczema on his eyebrows, and he never slept well. He would never sleep in my arms like my first son did. He developed cradle cap and was so terribly fussy and difficult all the time that I couldn't ever sleep and let my diet fall to the wayside while nursing. (I had no help.) Then my dad got sick and moved in with me for me to take care of him just as my other son developed health problems needing daily intervention, so I consimed way more coffee than I should have and often forgot vitamins. I wanted to wean for his health but he wouldn't take a bottle. He finally weaned at 8/9 months. he's had 2 vaxes -- dtap at 4-5 mos and pneumococcal at 7 or so months. Nothing else except occasional vitamin D drops and another round of penicillin when he got a bad infection at 8 months old.
He really broke out with full force eczema at 5/6 mos old. It was all over, crusty and swollen and some were round. we were still waking every 2-3 hours at night then -- every night until he turned 9 months and I stopped nursing.
He started foods at 6 months old, except once when he was 2 months my mil snuck a bottle of sugar water when I was gone. I wanted to start gently on food but I had extreme pressure from family to let him eat anything off my plate, and he had a massive appetite so I unfortunately went against my better judgment. He had all kinds of food.
After weaning last week, I tried a homemade coconut milk based formula that seemed to work at first (he even slept all night finally! ) but then his eczema returned all over with diaper blowouts 6 times a day. Now I'm trying the Weston Price liver formula, but don't know about the lactose and whey. A nurse of theirs told me I could use them. (?) lactose is good for gut bacteria and the whey is safe(?)
My son looks terrible and is itchy and uncomfortable and cranky and miserable. He has never once fallen asleep easily, or in my arms, even after nursing.
Apparently these things have a greater chance of lasting for life nowadays. What should I do? GAPS diet? All the probiotics here have corn or potato ingredients he can't have. What should I feed him to nourish him now? He's dropped many percentiles for height and weight, from the top to the bottom.
THANK YOU!!!
Tennessee
03/27/2015
Dear Jo,
I am sorry your little guy is suffering so. You have tried so much, learned so much. And you have taken care of another little one and your father as well!
Some initial thoughts I have would be to try some different types of baths. Baths can be quite healing and helpful. You could try baking soda baths - 1/2 cup baking soda in a warm tub of water for 20 minutes. Or Epsom Salt baths - 1/2 cup epsom salt in a warm tub of water for 20 minutes. Rachel Weaver recommends comfrey baths for children/babies with eczema, in her book, "Be Your Child's Pediatrician." To do that, I would get dry, loose, comfrey leaf (unless you have access to fresh.) Pour 1 quart of almost boiling water over 1/4 cup of the dry leaves. Let it sit for 30 minutes, strain out the leaves. Then add that to a warm bath for your child for 20 minutes. (All of the baths could be done for longer than 20 minutes.) You could try each and see how it goes, or alternate. I would try one each day.
I really do not know aout the Weston Price formula subsitutes. I think they are based on a lot of research and would be better than formula for a baby with problems. I don't know if goat milk would be an option, but that would be an alternative.
I would also try and get some nettle tea into him daily. It is a blood purifyer and may be helpful for healing allergies. It has done so for my family. If you make a pint of it a day, he could have a few Tablespoons a day and you could drink the rest. I think you probably need some extra nourishment, too! To make the nettle tea, pour 2 cups almost boiling water over 2 teaspoons of dry nettle leaves. Let sit for 15 minutes. Strain the leaves out. Sweeten if desired with raw sugar or Stevia (no honey for babies under 12 months, as you probably know.)
Have you tried extra virgin coconut oil on him topically? I can give you a recipe for a home made salve that I make and it helps my friend's daughter with her eczema.
These are a few ideas. Hopefully others will have more ideas. I hope you will figure out soon just what will help your little guy!
~Mama to Many~
Miami
03/28/2015
Eliminate gluten and dairy. A MUST!
Nettle tea was a life saver for my daughter when she was about that age. The very first cup of fresh nettle tea caused a dramatic improvement on her hives after weeks of traditional treatment prescribed by her doctor.
Research Quercetin. Not sure though how you would administer it .But eliminate gluten, sugar and dairy. I am sure you know about NO-NO for soy based products.
Make sure there are no smart meters on the other side of the wall where you child sleeps.
Delaware, Usa
03/28/2015
Jo, I take black seed oil (nigella sativa) to help me with asthma and allergies. Do some research on this oil and how much is given to children with allergies. I take 1 tsp twice a day. As soon as I stop taking it, my allergies come right back within days. It really does a great job.
Bless your little one! MyWay, :D
Idaho Falls, Idaho
06/22/2023
My daughter has had eczema since she was a child of about 8 years old. We discovered the eczema when she broke out in a huge rash that started by her neck and after a few days migrated downward breaking out in a much nastier rash in only about a week. The patches were raw from her scratching so much. Doctor diagnosed as eczema but wanted a skin patch allergy test done on her to figure out why it was so bad and migrating so fast. We learned she was also allergic to nickel. I am also allergic to it but not nearly as bad. By this time the sores had turned into a staff infection and were quickly headed down her legs. The nickel in earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and the little metal rivets and buttons on her jeans were all making her itch from the allergy and scratch badly, and each time she scratched she was transferring the nickel to other parts of her skin. He prescribed medication for her to swallow, and some ointment for her skin. The sulfur medication made her throw up, so we also had to give her Benadryl because she was allergic to the medication. It was a total nightmar
e! Over the years she has had to wear tank tops tucked in under her jeans to keep the metal away from her skin, or she breaks out all over again. We have learned that coconut oil is very healing for this type of a problem. We have also learned that oatmeal soothes the skin wonderfully! Make a warm bath with about a fourth to a half cup of oatmeal and let him soak in it for at least 20 minutes. Quickly towel dry but leave the skin a bit moist and slather on lots of coconut oil.
Have your son sleep through the night with the coconut oil on. Use the coconut oil every time he takes a bath. This will heal his skin quite fast. I also suggest you have an allergy test done to find out if there are any allergies and what you may have to avoid. My nephew kept throwing up daily several times a day. He would not just throw up, it would spout many feet. They tested him for allergies and learned that he is allergic to almost everything. She had to feed him goats milk because his little tummy could not tolerate anything else. My daughter is now 26 years old and has it completely under control. She rarely breaks out very badly, but both her 1 and 2 year old daughters inherited the allergy. Thank goodness she knows exactly what to do now to keep theirs under control. Wishing you the best..
