Hi Meltingpot Readers,
You can call me crazy, but I diagnosed babygirl with a dairy sensitivity, even though no one else in the family has any problem with dairy. Heck, I’m from Wisconsin, I practically have cow’s milk running through my veins. Still, a couple of months ago, babygirl developed a patch of eczema behind her knees and I was shocked as neither of my boys ever had such a skin rash.
Now, Ms. Meltingpot does a lot of reading. And sometimes she gets confused. And I will freely admit that my diagnosis came as a result of random bits of information I’ve read over the years, that I then put together as some sort of fact. In my mind, I decided eczema is the result of an allergic reaction to some sort of food. Turns out, that is only true in 20 percent of eczema cases. Before my doctor confirmed this, I decided to remove certain food groups from babygirl’s diet. I started with dairy and amazingly her rash disappeared. Now I’m no scientist, but I knew that could have been a coincidence so I reintroduced dairy and the rash came back. Babygirl’s doctor confirmed that it’s quite probable that dairy is the culprit and I should just stop giving it to her. Fine. Except for one small thing. Babygirl is like her mama, and loves cheese. In fact, she just learned how to say cheese. “Cheese, please” she says in her little baby voice, breaking my heart in the process. The girl wants cheese, but for reasons I don’t want to get into here, I didn’t want to introduce soy cheese or coconut cheese, or some other cheese product that I myself wouldn’t eat. I had to find a way.
And I did. I go to Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s now every week and buy my 16-month-old daughter expensive blocks of sheep’s or goat’s milk cheese from Spain. I figure her Spanish blood will make her accept the slightly tangy taste of goat cheese and the eczema really only responds to cow’s milk. Does this make any scientific sense? No. But does babygirl gobble up Iberico and Mitica Spanish cheese with no problem and no rash? Yes. Problem solved.
Anybody else dealing with baby eczema and find that goat and/or sheep’s milk is okay? I’d love to get more proof that my zany science makes sense. I’m listening.
Peace!
Comments
6 responses to “Spanish Cheese, Babygirl and Eczema”
Hi LT,
I am here to provide proof that your “zany science” makes sense…
Allergic reactions occur when a person’s immune system reacts to normally harmless substances in the environment known as allergens. In milk allergy, the allergen is usually casein (a protein). Studies seem to suggest that there are structural differences in the proteins (caseins) isolated from different mammals (i.e. cow, goat, sheep …). Therefore, some children may be allergic to cow’s milk but not goat’s milk, some may be allergic to goat’s milk and not cow’s milk and others may be allergic to cow’s milk and goat’s milk…
My response is based on these studies:
Proteomic evaluation of milk from different mammalian species as a substitute for breast milk. Acta Paediatr. 2005 Dec;94(12):1708-13.
Selective allergy to sheep’s and goat’s milk proteins. Allergol Immunopathol (Madr). 2004 Jan-Feb;32(1):39-42.
Allergy to goat and sheep milk without allergy to cow’s milk. Allergy. 2006 Nov;61(11):1358-65.
Thanks, Mi! I feel better…and smarter now.
My hubby is allergic to something in cow’s milk as well. It is so bad that he had to get a shot every week to stop the rashes. My kids have it too, but there’s is not triggered by cow’s milk. I had to stop giving them baths and only lukewarm showers, hot water dries the skin, and use Cetaphil soap and lotion.
Dani,
That sounds wicked painful. But I guess we all get used to our own version of normal. Thanks for sharing your story, it helps keep babygirl’s knee eczema in perspective.
I have no advice, but I have always had at cats. Many of my friends when I was a kid was allergic. The cat I had when I was a kid was a mixed breed long hair cat. One of my allergic friends told me that she stay at my house with less of an allergy response than when she was around other cats. I guess there was something unique about my kitty’s dander that didn’t bother her as bad. Maybe sheep and goat lactose don’t bother your daughter the way cow lactose does. It wouldn’t be that crazy. Maybe its another ingredient in the cheaper cheeses? Have you tried a higher quality cow cheese?
PS SPANISH CHEESE IS THE BEST!!!!!
Wendy,
Spanish cheese is good 🙂 Babygirl’s allergy gives mommy an excuse to indulge. Thanks for sharing your story. It all helps.