Utterly Confused with Food Allergies

Rash on back

My 11 month old son has issues digesting some form of food. I figure posting about it here might help me organize my thoughts better.

Symptoms:

• Lots of gas
• Screaming in pain until gas drops are given
• Writhing in pain
• Gas issues usually occur in evening or overnight
• Red Dots on skin (back and chest/abdomen)

Possible Causes Issues:

• Gluten
• Dairy
• Amoxicillin (Newly considered)

Elimination Diet & Notes


At the end of October, we decided to cut all gluten out of his diet. Since he barely eats solids/finger foods on his own, he's been relying mostly on formula to sustain himself. The formula he drank, Similac Advance, had dairy in it but no gluten. We gave him cheese as snacks as well as fruits/veggies and other table scraps not consisting of bread. The gas pains went away, and we did not have to give him any gas drops throughout the day. Gluten appeared to be the primary factor.

Four days into his elimination diet, he woke up screaming with pain around 3am. His stomach sounded like a thunderstorm, and within 10 minutes, the gas drops had helped him release some pressure. We tried to evaluate what he ate and figured he'd been given too much Chocolate Chiffon pie. The dairy and chocolate were probably just too much for his system. I was then told by a friend that gluten intolerance can really upset the sensitivity of a digestive tract. With that, even after my son was free from gluten, his stomach could be damaged and sensitive to other strong foods like dairy. So, his gas pains after being gluten free could technically still be associated with the gluten damage from days prior.

Two weeks into November, we decided to cut dairy out altogether. We didn't think he was allergic or sensitive to it, but we wanted his system to have a chance to heal. We switched him to Soy formula and stopped giving him milk, cheese, yogurt, etc. He had also developed a cold and ear infection. He began taking amoxicillan orally.

After a week of no diary combined with no gluten, we decided to reintroduce dairy. On Friday night, I gave him some shredded cheddar cheese in a bowl as a snack. Several hours later, I was changing him for bed and noticed red dots all over his chest. I figured they were related to the massive amounts of drool he had in his shirt. I rolled him over and looked at his back only to find more dots everywhere. The rash didn't appear to bother him at all nor did it feel raised on his skin. To be sure, I gave him some Benadryl and stopped the dairy intake.

I assumed he'd have gas pains on Friday night but surprisingly slept solidly until morning. Before lunch, he had a really smelly diaper. The color was dark green, which is consistent with dairy sensitivities, but it was not frothy or mucousy like a dairy sensitivity. Other than that, the rash was still there but gas was not.

Fast forward to tonight, Sunday, and the rash is still there. My son finished his amoxicillan this morning, so that won't be in his system after tonight. We've noticed his diapers have been really heavy and smelly. I've attributed the heaviness to how much formula my son drinks to supplement his lack of solids eating. The smell is really pungent. I was assuming the smell was caused by the antibiotics he's on. If the smell doesn't clear up after today, I will start getting worried.

So far, I can't tell if he's truly allergic to the dairy or not. Apparently, when someone is allergic to amoxicillan, the reaction can take 5-10 days to appear. So, the reintroduction of dairy couldn't have happened at a worse time.

Plan of Action

My husband and I are going to again visit our pediatrician. We asked her months ago whether or not our son had a reaction to gluten, and her only recommendation was to stop giving it to him. She didn't recommend testing or give us instructions for elimination and reintroduction. I've basically been doing all this "testing" on my own with the help of online friends and the internet. I am very upset that my son is the guinea pig because he deserves to be treated by a real doctor. I'm told there are blood tests that help rule out gluten and dairy sensitivities. I'd like a professional to figure this out rather than me.