His Royal Highness, Jasper Amadeus, has a nasty eczema-type rash on his face. The rash has been around for several months. It comes out in full strength on hot sweaty days, on cold damp days and on cold dry days. Hot dry days it goes away. As Tess headed off to Vancouver, Jasper’s rash reached news heights of intensity. (Yes, I hear… he is allergic to his mother being away… aren’t we all!) The rash can also be found on Jasper’s wrists. Other symptoms include: colicky behaviour (much less lately but still has the occasional bad night with gas); crankiness or restlessness, especially when eating; and wheezing that up until now we’ve labelled as asthma. (Those who’ve popped over from Tess’ blog will recall the stories of nebulisers for Jasper.) The only remedy that alleviates the rash is Vaseline. The only remedy that alleviates the crankiness and gas is patting his tummy. I’ve long suspected this had something to do with what Jasper eats.
After Tess left for Vancouver we started an experiment. Operating on the assumption that Jasper had a dairy allergy, we switched him from dairy-based formula to soy-based formula. We also switched yoghurts to a soy-based yoghurt. We poured the first bottle and load of soy-yoghurt down his gullet on Saturday night. Remarkably, after Jasper swallowed the first mouthfuls of soy formula he pulled the bottle out of his mouth, studied the liquid, then popped the bottle back in his mouth and resumed sucking.
Sunday morning the results of The Jasper Experiment revealed themselves… Jasper’s rash on his face decreased by about 50%. For the next few days there was mild improvement each morning. Then, maybe Thursday or Friday there was another marked improvement. Lita reports that Jasper is easier to feed (read: less grumpy) and seems happier overall. I didn’t think he could get much sillier but after his flu shot on Friday I am convinced. We have had few problems with his breathing the last month but part of me even thinks his lungs sound clearer. Finally, in the last week there have been almost NO middle of the night growls… it used to be quite common for Jasper to cry in the middle of the night for 20 – 30 seconds and then drift back to sleep. (At left: Carys, Sela and Jasper enjoy their mid-morning bottles.)
The discouraging thing is the rash… I’d prefer if it had disappeared altogether and his wrists appear no better. I kept asking Lita if she really felt there was a marked improvement. According to Lita, the improvements in rash and Jasper’s spirits are significant enough to continue the soy-based diet.
Yesterday I asked Dr T about our experiment. Upon hearing our results he supported the hypothesis that Jasper may have a dairy allergy. I asked if we needed to supplement Jasper’s diet with anything. Dr T said, “No, all soy based formula’s these days are fully loaded with vitamins to mirror the same nutritional value of regular formula.”
The Internet tells a different story. After doing a quick search on soy formulas, I discovered doctors have mixed soy opinions. For starters, babies allergic to milk protein may also have problems with soy protein. A very small percentage of babies are lactose intolerant, which reportedly develops further into the toddler years. Allergic reactions to milk protein are more common in babies than lactose intolerance. Both conditions have similar symptoms. We might want to try a hydrolysed dairy formula instead of a soy formula. I think we’ll also have to consult with an allergist to determine exactly what is provoking Jasper’s symptoms. At the end of the day His Royal Highness Jasper is a happier kid with less of a rash. Who can argue with that? Anyone have comments?
End Note: as I wrote this blog Sebastian watched his favourite video, “Talking Letters” prior to his bedtime. I noted when “30 minutes” was up (the length of the video) and wondered how long until he showed up next to me. Suspicious that he was playing in the Play Room to avoid going to bed I just checked on him… the picture tells the whole story. Tess (who we are delighted to have back) and I can now easily escape for dinner.
Reader interactions
6 Replies to “The Jasper Experiment”
HI Charles,
I think this trial of soy based products is great. Tell Jasper that this Auntie eats lots of soy and loves it!!( except for the milk. but Love soy cheese)/ Keep us updated as to how things go.
Love Auntie P
Excellent experiment, Chuck. So glad to hear J’s symptoms are diminishing with the result of him being even happier and sweeter – I did not think it possible! Good luck with further sleuthing. And happy you are all delighted to have Tess home again and that the two of you were able to enjoy a quiet dinner together.
Love, M xox
i did the milk free thing for a year (and sagan another year after that) as he was allergic to milk too. the good news is that most babies outgrow milk allergies by age three. the bad news is that there is milk hidden in lots of things. check ingredients (i don’t know how easy that is in hk) and look for, in addition to the common sense things, whey, casein, and caseinate (sometimes sodium caseinate). you will find that many “diary free” products actually contain caseinate, which is a milk protein, including Aunt Pam’s favorite soy cheese. if any of the food there is kosher certified, look for the word “parve” or “pareve” near the kosher certification symbol. if you see this then you KNOW there is no trace of dairy or dairy protein in the food (it’s easier than reading lables).
also, you are right that about 20 or 25% of babies with milk allergies will also develop a soy or other food allergies. wheat, corn, citrus are some other common allergens. but again, most babies will outgrow them. i think my ped told me about 90% will outgrow food allergies by age 3 and most of the rest by age 10 or so. only a small fraction will persist into adulthood. celiac disease can also cause the symptoms you have mentioned, but it’s a lifelong thing. celiac is a reaction of some sort to gluten, which is in wheat, barley, and a few other grains (i think rice and corn are safe).
also, it can take a couple of weeks for all the milk protein to leave his system, so give it a good two weeks before you change anything else in his diet. this will give you a better idea if it is the milk or if it could be something else or in addition. also, from what i remember i don’t think allergy testing is all that conclusive in children until they are about two or three (i can’t remember which age my ped told me). if you take him to an allergist, they may do a blood test and say he has antibodies to milk, but i think more recent research is showing that many babies do whether they have allergies or not. there may not be much an allergist can do except suggest what you are already doing (eliminate one food at a time for two weeks and note the results) and tell you to come back when J is two for further testing if the symptoms haven’t gone away.
i’m glad to see that Jasper is feeling better, if not totally well. hopefully milk is his only, or at least main allergy and he will outgrow it in a year or two. oh, one thing i do remember from reintroducing Sagan to milk is that at first he displayed symptoms of lactose intolerance. this makes sense as without the lactose in his system in great quantities his body didn’t produce much lactase. it took suffering (us suffering, not Sagan, he didn’t mind his own stink 🙂 through about a week or two of symptoms before he made enough lactase to digest it properly. then he was able to consume milk again with no ill effects.
Brody’s horrid bouts of eczema were always hand-in-hand with dairy consumption. His development of eczema is what ultimately led to the diagnosis of his allergy to cow’s milk. We didn’t realize until after the switch to soy that it was not only related to the eczema, but also to his asthmatic episodes, as well.
We’ve been strictly soy for over one year now and all of those problems have ceased to exist. So in my opinion, your switching Jazzy J to soy was a WISE DECISION indeed!!
Like you, I also did extensive research on the pros and cons of soy and became discouraged and anxious about the long-term effects of soy. But ultimately, I decided to go with my own gut feelings and went PRO-SOY!
At 2 years old and 33 pounds, Sir Bubba has certainly not missed out on anything by being a soy baby. He is happy, healthy and ECZEMA FREE!!
I love you all, Terrific Trio & Seb!
I agree with everything “Knobody” said. Our 3 girls had lactose intolerance, forcing me to keep dairy from my diet. Our son, however, did have a full protein allergy. Milk proteins are hidden in alot of items. There is a list of words and items to look for in food ingredients at breastfeedingonline dot com under “allergy elimination diet”. It’s designed to let nursing mothers know what not to eat, but can work just as well when looking for foods for Jasper.
The soy formula experiment sure sounds promising and I hope it only gets better.
To add just a bit of “inspiration”, our son is over 2 and is now able to eat yoghurt, cheese and other items. We seem to still have some lingering lactose intolerance, but he seems to be outgrowing the allergy!
Try Aquaphor, made by Eucerin. Works BETTER than vaseline. Use it on my “princess” all the time. As for the gas, bicycling the legs helped her as well.