How to diagnose pet allergy in a baby

[jennyh]

Hi

My 8 week old started to develop cold symptoms around 1-2 weeks old and it got so bad that he could barely breath at night. After many appointments to the doctors we are now waiting for an ENat referral as its been 6 weeks and it is clearly no longer a cold and so we hope to get a little closer to discovering the problem. It just occurred to me that we have two cats and I wondered if maybe he could be allergic, how might I go about investigating further? Would a kinesiologist be able to help? Does anyone have experience here? Symptoms are much worse at night, he is permanently congested and snorts all the time, he struggles to get air in, he's just getting over conjunctivitis but has still got gooey eyes so not sure if connected, he coughs and sneezes regularly (currently has another cold but even before that when he sneezed there would be absolutely no mucus).

Any ideas?

[Medusa]

I wouldn't recommend kinesiology personally. If it were any quackier, it would waddle. (I trained in complementary medicine myself so am quite specific with my rudeness...)

Paediatric allergy testing appointments take forever so perhaps ask your GP's opinion about whether this is the way to proceed and if so, get things in motion. I would also be inclined to remove all soft furnishings from wherever he sleeps. Cushions and cuddly toys are a haven for allergens, as are curtains and carpets. That said, you could wait until you know for certain whether this is an allergy.

[hellosailor]

Hi Jenny,

There was a thread on cat allergies recently and someone - Pickle I think - suggested a product called Petalcleanse which I think you apply to your cat's coat once a week. I have just ordered some to try with our cat. It gets good reviews

http://www.amazon.co.uk/PetalCleanse-Cat-small-animal-treatment/dp/B00379F0AQ

[jennyh]

Thanks both! I can't imagine how to even start to eradicate the spread of cattiness around our house. As you say it's only a vague idea at the moment and wouldn't want to act hastily but at the same time it's been 7 weeks of only sleeping for 2-3 hours a night and I'm starting to lose the will a bit, not to mention it being really upsetting seeing him struggle so much even though it seems to be all he knows and so isn't hugely fussed. I just want him to be better!!! And to get a bit more sleep!

I will maybe call the GP although I think they are tired of me going back about this particular thing!

[alieh]

Have you already investigated cow's milk protein/soy allergy/sensitivity? Congestion is a common symptom, as well as bad sleep, fussiness, etc. In addition, my son had beyond terrible cradle cap that evolved into excema and mucous in his nappies.

[jennyh]

No I haven't actually. He is formula fed on Aptamil and has been having colief for a few weeks after lots of crying, wind problems etc. who should I speak with? I tried changing formulas to Hipp a few weeks ago but it made things worse and then the GP and cranial osteopath said its best not to chop and change as its very upsetting for the gut.

[bodsier]

Hi Jenny

My son has a number of allergies, cats being one of them. At the time because it was serious,(and pre recession) he got seen very quickly by allergy specialists and tested. First thing to do is contact your gp.... It is worth getting the ball rolling as there could be an allergy to dairy or other things and and they will test all suspect foods such as nuts etc. often people are allergic to more than one thing. If your child is having difficulty breathing this is clearly serious, and they would act quickly I would have thought. Especially as his condition could worsen the longer he has contact with them. In the meantime Steam clean all your carpets, and avoid cuddly toys in his room. Regular hoovering, would definitely help. When you see your gp perhaps it's worth mentioning dairy and ask if it's ok to switch to goats milk to see if it makes a difference and how long you cando that for that whilst ensuring baby gets the necessary nutrients.

The first allergy I discovered was eggs, so my son had no milk or dairy products until the test was done,,,, turned out he was allergic to dairy.

Hope it gets dealt with promptly. But please see the medics.

[alieh]

Hi Jenny...with those symptoms I would definitely investigate a dairy allergy or sensitivity. If a full allergy it would come up on blood test but if not it could still be a sensitivity causing major tummy discomfort.

I was breastfeeding so able to do an elimination diet and add stuff back in to see what was causing the problem. In my case, all dairy (including goat) and soya. After he was 8 months or so I was able to eat soya and dairy in baking, etc., then a couple of months after all dairy seemed fine. For him once he weaned he ate no dairy or soya until about 12 months. Then soya formula/yoghurt seemed fine. Then about 15 mths all dairy seemed fine. He has no trouble now aged 3. I just kept testing the foods every few weeks and if all was not well the screaming, bad sleep and mucousy nappies would return!

For formula feeding, I think many people use a non-dairy/non-soya formula to test if there is an issue. Nutramigen or something? The problem is it tastes and smells pretty ick so baby might reject it! There are also soya based formulas, but many babies with cow's milk protein allergies can't tolerate soya either.

I would see your GP to discuss and maybe also start a thread about cow's milk protein allergies to see if any other formula feeders have experience?

[alieh]

The formula is Neocate not Nutramigen. See the last page of the recent discussion on the Reflux in Infants thread as there is lots of info on cow's milk protein allergy there. If your baby has congestion, fussiness, bad sleep, dodgy nappies, excema, etc (or even some of the above) it is definitely worth looking into.

[amydown]

Hi Jenny

We suspected cat allergy with our first and decided to go private for a test as NHS appointment would have taken months. We had forgotten to add him onto insurance so just bit the bullet and saw a consultant on Harley Street at London Allergy Clinic. Very quick app although wasn't cheap! We saw a consultant from St Mary's Hospital and our little one was diagnosed with dust mite allergy and potato intolerance. He then wrote to Kings for follow up tests etc through NHS route. I would definitely recommend as he did a prick test there and then and the result was instant.

[shaunag]

Nutramigen is dairy free too. But there's a scale of how far removed from cows milk protein the formulas are (and they get pricier and more revolting too). So aptamil pepti, then nutramigen, then neocate. Aptamil pepti tastes better but protein not completely broken down so baby might still react and so on...