Eczema and ? dairy allergies

Hi everyone, I have a nearly 7 month old girl who has suffered from severe eczema since approx 3 months old. She has been exclusively breastfed with solids now given. We tried several creams from our GP, all of which made her skin much, much worse (aqueous cream, hydro-cortisone, fatty cream, etc) . She has been on antibiotics twice as well as steroid creams and oral solutions. I hated her being on these medications so I decided to search for ways to treat her skin on my own.

I tried all sorts: Pot of gold, natural oils like olive or rice bran, etc. A month ago I found Moogoo (Australian made). This cream has improved her skin significantly and was actually the only thing that didn't make it worse. Although has skin is better it still isn't clear.

The GP wouldn't get her allergy tested as he said she's too young so I got her tested by a naturopath who said it was dairy and gluten intolerance (I'm not sure how accurate they are). They gave her treatment to desensitize her to dairy and gluten. Unsure if this helped as I have also been on a dairy free diet for 7 weeks now which seems to have helped her skin a lot. A few days ago I wanted to try her on a milk based formula to see what her reaction was (and to rule out dairy as a trigger). My poor girl immediately reacted with hives and terrible vomiting so it is definetly dairy causing the problem.

I can no longer express a lot of BM (although pump a bottle in the morning to give her before bed at night). I would like her to have a formula as an option for babysitters, etc. I have heard soy and goats formula can be just as much a trigger and am scared to try either in case she gets so sick again.

I have heard of an amino acid formula that you can get a prescription for but not overly keen on going to GP.

Just wanted to share my story and ask anyone for advice/help/suggestions. It is quite a lonely and frustrating experience having a baby with eczema. But I must say she is such a good baby and copes really well when she isn't very comfortable :)

Thanks,
Fiona.

ask for a referral to a paed. GPs are largely useless on things like this. Also talk to your plunket nurse if you have a good one. She's likely seen similar before and can point you in the right direction for someone useful in your area.

I breastfeed as well, but from about 1 year, I can go out in the evening and bub has solids for dinner rather than milk so no biggy. what about rice milk? It's not suitable as a formula, but just the fill the tummy if you not being around is a rare occurrence?

I'm in Auckland. I'll have a look into the HA formula. Yes, we have tried the non-ionic cream. The Moogoo has been the best so far so will stick to that for now. Thanks for your suggestions :)