Teething or lactose intolerant?

[Rara]

Dd is 11m and has so far had no probs at all with food. She had mild eczema af ew months back and GP prescribed Oilatum cream and canesten which cleared it up. (BTW, have not seen anything else on any eczema threads about Canesten - anyone any exp of it with babies?).

Recently (in last 2 weeks) began introducing cows milk; up to now, mixed with formula (Aptimil) which she seems to love. She's taken very well previously to cheese and yoghurt and milk in cooking, etc. However, the last week has been hard for her. Her eczema has flared up again (cheeks, round her "minnie"(!) and bottom) and creams used ,last time not having much effect. Have started using Oilatum in bath. Her nappies have been horrid this week, and many more dirty ones than usual. She's woken up lots of times in the night (v.unusual for her) and at times has been inconsolable. Her top 2 teeth have popped through this week as well and lots of her problems can bee attributed to teething, according to my m.i.l. but I'm not so sure. The last 2 nights have been fine again which might indicate worst of teeth pain is over?

Her eczema doesn't seem to bother her at all, she's not scratching it, it's not weeping, but it looks unsightly and and is if it should be sore, IYKWIM.

Any suggestions? I'm dreading it being diagnosed as lactose intolerance, as we rely on dairy products for much of her protein (she's semi-veggie). BTW we are going to the doc's this week, but would appreciate your experiences/thoughts in the meantime. Thanks.

[leese]

Rara, afraid I don't have any experience of lactose intolerance, but I'm sure plenty of others on here do
All I can say is that my dd displays all the same symptoms as yours when she's teething, barr the excema. Horrible nappies and VERY grouchy. She does get a nasty teething rash on her bum and legs too, which many mistake for excema, but I know its not as it only lasts a few weeks, and doesn't bother her at all - could this be the same as you are seeing on your dd? Not excema, but a teething rash? I would have thought if she had a lactose intolerance, it would have flared up with the introduction of milk in cooking, cheese and yoghurt - not waited until you gave a drink of cows milk. Keep us posted

[badcat]

imho i would not think yr dd has lactose intolerance although dairy produce can aggravate eczema.my ds ,now 4,has been lactose intolerant ever since formula milk was introduced,this worsened after other dairy products given,finally diagnosed at 11 months after being very ill for months.symptoms included;vomiting badly up to 6/7 times a day,diarrhoea 2/4 times daily,chesty "rattle" and runny nose-constant,bloated stomach obviously painful,lots of wind,general miserableness,and he was underweight and looked pretty ill !!! once off all dairy products and those with lactose-ham,bread etc etc he got well v.quickly.he is now lactose,dairy and soya intolerant and sensitive to wheat but apart from that eats anything!!any questions do ask.hope yr little one is ok,imo some childrens teething can be awful and make them unwell even tho experts say not.my ds also had the symptoms you describe and i think his teething was to blame along with the other stuff.hope yr gp is helpful,keep pushing until u r happy-i went about once a week until i was taken seriously,my gp and hv were most unhelpful,even tho i was an experienced nurse they obviously thought i was a neurotic parent.hth.

[PamT]

I think this is probably down to teething rather than milk intolerance. I'm not familiar with Aptimil but if this is cow's milk based and you've not had any problems previously it seems unlikely that yoghurts and cow's milk in cooking would cause such a reaction. DD is milk intolerant and it was only through my own observations that she was diagnosed. Keep a food diary if you think that milk might be a problem and then you can produce the evidence when you confront the doctor.

DD is supposed to drink 1 pint of WYSOY soya formula (on prescription) every day to keep her calories, calcium and nutrients intake up to a reasonable level because she is a poor eater but we are lucky if we manage half of that these days. She is still gaining weight and the dietitian isn't too worried about her though so we plod along as we are.

[mears]

Since your baby has been fine on Aptamil which is an ordinary cows milk based formula, I am sure your dd is not lactose intolerant. Sounds more like symptoms are related to teething. I would not restrict her diet just now as things sound as though they are settling.

[Rara]

Thanks all. What you've said makes very good sense. I had a close look at her red patches and although some are eczema-type patches, others are just red and sore-looking, so these could well be teething rashes. M.i.l looked after her last night and today and she reported that dd slept right through the night and seemed fine, apart from 2 absolutely DISGUSTEROUS nappies which leaked over the high chair and travel cot, respectively! Glad I didn't have to clean these up. Hoorah for my m.i.l.!!! And thanks for your messages. We're off to the doc's tomorrow so will keep you posted