Aquafor or food allergy?

[undesigned]

Lately DD has had red, dry and scaly cheeks which we attributed to the dry, cold weather. However, at her 6 mo. WBV last week, the doctor made a comment about her cheeks and mentioned a possible food allergy. She suggested using Aquafor to treat it. I've been using it for the last several days.

We started rice cereal two weeks ago and oatmeal several days ago. We also started given her grape juice yesterday to help keep her regular. She drinks mainly BM and supplemented with some formula.

I gave her a bath this evening and treated her cheeks with Aquafor. Now they're really red, and she's been really gassy too. We are pretty sure she's allergic to something but can't determine what it is - Aquafor? Solids? Grape juice? Formula? Or something I've eaten like dairy? How long does it take for an allergy to manifest itself? I'm second guessing everything now and wondering if she's been allergic all along and we just didn't realize it.

Any ideas on how to figure out what DD is allergic to?

[AmyE]

Two possible solutions:

Cut back on each of the new things you've recently added, one by one, and see if you note a change.

So,maybe quit the grape juice, then the acquaphor, etc. Going back all the way to the rice cereal.

Alternatively, stop all of those now, and add them back in one by one.

The problem with either "solution" is that it may take awhile for whatever she might be allergic to to really get out of her system, but it's worth a shot.

[Marisa]

Amy's right - the real way to tell is to back way off on everything, and then add them in one by one again, slowly. The usual advice is to wait 3-4 days between new foods; for a baby who might be sensitive, a week is even better.

Rice cereal can be allergenic -- my baby has shown a reaction to rice on two occasions now -- and honestly if you skip the cereals entirely and start with a fruit/veggie that's low on the allergen scale (sweet potatoes are one) you can also skip the juice -- it's a lot of sugar, and without the cereal it may not be necessary to 'push' her to be regular.

If I were you I'd stop all new foods for about a week, then try adding one new food per week to start.

[BTB]

You said you've noticed the skin changes on the cheeks "lately" - can you pinpoint more precisely when it started? Frankly, food allergy isn't my first thought when I see red, dry cheeks on a toddler. I also, personally, wouldn't rely on an elimination diet to diagnose allergy, since concluding a child is allergic then limits them nutritionally from that point on, sometimes to very worthwhile foods to keep in a diet.

Aquaphor does have a tendency to enhance skin color changes, because it's so shiny, but it is a great barrier and should help the skin heal.

[mkvh]

Both of my DDs have red, dry, scaly cheeks. Even though DD2 had MPI, I have not been able to tie their cheeks flaring to ANY foods. I've tried ;) Our ped never has mentioned food allergy but HAS recommended hydrocoritsone cream and Aquaphor.

What I have found that works wonders (since I wasn't keen on slathering my children's faces with hydrocortisone cream on a regular basis) is Bag Balm. You can buy it at WalMart; it comes in a green, square tin. The stuff is amazing!

[Marisa]

Are rice cereal and oatmeal really so worthwhile to keep in a diet? They're fortified with iron, sure, but baby is already receiving formula supplements and anemia hasn't been shown yet at any rate. And iron is available in other foods.

My understanding is that limiting food allergen exposure at an early age increases baby's chance of outgrowing it later in childhood. This girl is only 6 months old -- at the beginning of her solid food experience -- wouldn't it be better to back off on something that bothers her now, rather than risk her not being able to tolerate it when she's older and unable to rely on breastmilk and formula?

[undesigned]

Thanks for the responses.

DD has had red cheeks for maybe the last month or two but we didn't really think anything of it until her ped mentioned the possibility of a food allergy at her WBV (at that point she had just started the rice cereal a few days before). We always chalked it up to the dry, cold weather and use of the heater, from crying really hard, or after being outside or in the car. Before we would apply Aveeno moisturizer and it seemed to get better.

But yesterday I gave DD a bath and applied some Aquafor to the dry part of her cheeks and a little while later her cheeks and surrounding areas of her face turned really red. I don't think I've ever seen her so red before. She hadn't been outside and the heater wasn't on, and we had been increasing her solids so I immediately thought that it could be a food allergy or possibility an allergy to the Aquafor.

We're eliminating all solids from her diet and the Aquafor (going back to Aveeno) and see what happens. If she still gets red, I'm not sure what we're going to do. I don't think she's allergic to the formula or breastmilk because she had both in her early months, and the redness has only manifested during the winter months. Is it possible that she's developed an allergy to the formula or breastmilk as she's gotten older? I hope it's not the formula because I plan on weaning soon.

And she's been spitting up and generally more gassy - I thought it was because she wasn't used to the solids but maybe it's because she's allergic!

I never considered not offering the cereals. Has anyone else skipped them entirely because of allergies?

[BTB]

Are rice cereal and oatmeal really so worthwhile to keep in a diet?

I was speaking in general terms: in general, a 'do-it-yourself' method of diagnosing allergies in this way can, in fact, lead parents to exclude potentially nutritious foods, such as broccoli, milk, eggs, and fish. I am not a big fan of the concept, as there are mulitple potential confounders. I'm not, however, suggesting this baby would suffer from exclusion of her rice cereal. ;)

This girl is only 6 months old -- at the beginning of her solid food experience -- wouldn't it be better to back off on something that bothers her now, rather than risk her not being able to tolerate it when she's older and unable to rely on breastmilk and formula?

If a certain food does truly "bother" her, yes, I'd agree it should be cut out of the diet at this stage. But I don't take red cheeks as proof of food allergy. Now, I didn't see those cheeks, but that's my internet reaction. :)

[Marisa]

I think you would have seen a problem with the formula in a matter of weeks, not months -- and babies can't be allergic to breastmilk (unless they have a severe condition called galactosemia -- which she does not) but she could be allergic to something you've eaten that can pass through the milk. Again, unless you've changed your diet dramatically in the last few weeks, you would have noticed this early on.

We never did cereals for either of my sons. They are recommended because they tend to be mild, but they can also be allergenic -- in fact, my 9 month old just recently had some fruit with rice (like a 'stage 2' kind of jarred food) and we realized he reacted strongly to it. Since your DD is already 6 months there's no reason why you couldn't just move into the fruits and veggies, introducing a new food only after she's had several exposures to the last one (since it can take a couple of exposures for someone to react to an allergen).

ETA -- I'm glad you clarified BTB. ;) I'm probably reading too much of my own experience into things as well. (she says, looking at her own sleeping, red-cheeked babe -- possibly the victim of mom "trying" some butter on her toast.... :))

[alienhost]

Another thought for you: have you changed your detergent for either the baby's clothes/bedding or your own? If you have she could be rubbing her cheeks on the sheet, your shoulder etc.

Just something to consider if you've made changes.