Hi,

I too was a dedicated breast-feeder until my daughter started passing blood in
her stools at 2 months of age.  Specialists at Children's Hospital in Boston
diagnosed it at "Breast Milk Colitis". She was allergic to the dairy protein I
was eating which passed through into my breast milk. I went on an elimination
diet because I was determined to continuing breastfeeding.  She continued to
react and was put on Nutramigen at 4 months.  When she was 13 months old we took
her into Children's for a milk challenge.  She was given 1 teaspoon of milk and
had an immediate severe anaphylactic reaction (also was bi-phasal. 4 hours after
the original reaction and treatment with benadryl and epinephrine she had a
secondary reaction which required additional medication). It was a very
frightening experience and our lives changed forever when it happened.

Over the next few months she was diagnosed with multiple severe food allergies
(they run in both sides of the family; my husband has a peanut allergy himself)
and asthma.  We have found that strict avoidance of the allergens (dairy,
peanuts, all tree nuts, garlic, lentils, and sunflower) keep her happy and
healthy.  Her asthma is well-controlled with Intal, acupuncture and vitamins.
At age 6 she eats a very healthy, although somewhat limited diet.

Learning to deal with these medical issues was quite a challenge for our
family.  If anyone else has had similar experiences they might want to consider
picking up a copy of "Caring for Your Child with Severe Food Allergies -
Emotional Support and Practical Advice from a Parent Who's Been There" by Lisa
Cipriano Collins (ISBN 0-471-34785-X).  I met the author at a AAFA Support Group
Meeting in Lexington, MASS, when she spoke on personal experiences in dealing
with a child with a severe peanut allergy - the doctors, the in-laws, the
friends, the playgroups, the school system.

Barbara Potgieter wrote:

> Yeah right :)
> I exclusively breastfed both my children for 6 months before introducing
> solids.  Neither of them has ever had any kind of formula, since I continued
> to breast feed them until 18 months.  Neither of them ever drank cows milk
> either.
> Yet, they are BOTH allergic to dairy - my daughter is anaphylactic, and my
> son has a milder allergy which he has almost outgrown at nearly 3.
> Barbara
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Suzanne DiPiero <[log in to unmask]>
> To: <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent: Tuesday, April 04, 2000 9:50 PM
> Subject: milk allergies and breast feeding
>
> > There seem to be a few other pregnant women on the
> > list besides myself, so I figure this is a good time
> > to bring up this question.
> >
> > Last evening, I took a Lactation class at the hospital
> > where I will be delivering.  According to the
> > instructor, children who are breast-fed do not develop
> > milk allergies.  I'm questioning this generalization.
> >
> >
> > Is this true?
> >
> > Suzanne
> >
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