Is Blood in Stool Always Milk Allergy?

[ccg01]

DS (7 weeks) has had blood off and on in his stools for a few weeks now. Saw his pediatrician two weeks ago and he thought it was perhaps just an anal fissure and to call if it hadn't stopped in a week. It had stopped and then is back... so will call in a.m., but am curious as to whether milk allergy always has other symptoms -- he is breastfed exclusively. No rash, no gas or fussiness beyond what seems normal (i.e., burps and is fine). Strong and steady weight gain. I'm wondering if it's some other allergy to something I eat less frequently since it is off and on -- some days poops are fine, others not. Wondering if anyone has experienced similar. It may just (eek) be milk allergy but have no experience with it nor anyone I know. Thanks!

[~ Vik ~]

Never dealt with this personally (ds has a milk allergy, but gets hives and the like, not digestive symptoms) but found this link for you with possible causes: http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/bloodystool.html

If an anal fissure has been ruled out, the next most common cause does seem to be allergies, the most common of which is a milk or soy allergy/intolerance.   Have you tried cutting dairy and/or soy out of your diet?  Or keeping a food log with the instances of blood in his stool to see if there's another food that might be the culprit?

(((hugs))) It can be so hard trying to figure these things out

[ccg01]

Thank you for replying and for the link! 
I've not tried cutting dairy out, but have tried to cut back. Unfortunately (for me and him, if it is dairy), I eat a lot of it. The odd thing is there will be several days without any blood in the stool. Going to start eliminating it to see if it helps. Bummed that I have to go back to work in less than two weeks as all my frozen pumped milk will be useless. 

[scarlettsmom]

Is it bright red blood?  Or darker?  Any mucous in the stool?

It usually points to a milk and/or soy intolerance/allergy.  But it's great that there are no other symptoms!

If it IS a milk or soy issue, the blood can come and go.  It isn't necessarily every time.  It takes about 2 weeks to get the protein out of your system, and then 2 weeks to get it out of your LOs/  However, if it is a milk allergy you should seem some improvement pretty within the first few days.

7 weeks is young so they wouldn't be able to do any allergy testing right now, would just be based on your eliminating/adding food. 

If you do decide to take out dairy you can either go w/just obvious dairy (milk/cheese/cream, etc). and keep hidden dairy (whey, casseins) and see how it goes.  Usually taking everything out at once is the easiest/fastest, but it's up to you as it's a pretty big adjustment.

(((hugs))))  I had to dump massive amounts of milk and it was really hard.  Do you plan to supplement with formula while at work?  If so and LO has a milk allergy be sure to get a hypoallergenic one like Nutramigen or Alimentum.

Hang in there!!   

[ccg01]

Thanks for the reply and info! Pediatrician wants to see how things are at his next checkup -- next week. Yesterday, no blood in stools and the stools also seemed less runny. Odd.

My goal is to make it to six months just pumping at work and breastfeeding when at home and using no formula... fingers crossed as while there is a lactation/pumping room at work, it only has two spots to pump and there are a ton of other breastfeeding moms, so I foresee getting in there when time at work permits to be tricky.

[~ Vik ~]

Glad that he seems to be doing better! I would still get his stool checked just in case, as blood can be microscopic and invisible to the naked eye, but hopefully it was just a fissure that has healed!

And good luck with the pumping at work! That sounds like quite the facility to have a pumping room I just closed the door to my office and hoped people would knock I hope things go well for you!!

[ccg01]

Well, the blood is back. Off and on still, but has not disappeared. It is a bright red. Not really any mucus to speak of, guess we'll see what pediatrician says. Have been trying to reduce milk products, wondering now if maybe it is wheat related as I eat a lot of that, too.

[~ Vik ~]

Have you had your ped appointment yet?  Or are you still waiting for it?  You may want to bring in a stool sample to show him (a dirty diaper) so that he can see/run tests rather than you just telling him what you saw.

If it is a milk allergy or milk protein intolerance, you really have to completely eliminate it from his/your diet.  Reducing milk products often isn't enough, as many babies with MPI react to even trace/hidden amounts.  After cutting out all dairy, it can still take 2 weeks to show improvement, as it can take that long for the protein to clear your systems.  Some moms do start by only eliminating obvious dairy (milk, cheese, butter, yogourt, etc.) and leave hidden dairy in their diets, eliminating it later if symptoms didn't improve.  I found it easier to just eliminate everything (and there's a list of ingredients to avoid here: http://babywhispererforums.com/index.php?topic=135427.0) so that I could know for sure and get it over with quickly.  Then after a few weeks I reintroduced hidden dairy to see if ds could tolerate it.  Does that make sense?

(((hugs))) and hoping you get some answers quickly

[ccg01]

The appointment is this coming Friday. Thanks for the reminder on the dirty diaper -- I did take two last time, which is when he thought it a fissure as opposed to allergy. Guess I just need to mentally prepare for it being allergy. So sad about all that frozen milk, and hope that I can pump enough to keep up. I was trying to be prepared!

[scarlettsmom]

(((hugs)))  I know it is SO disheartening to have to dump all the frozen milk.      I had to do it, and I had TONS of it.  It was so much work accumulating it.  I actually couldn't even do the last batch for months and months, it was too hard. 

Good luck at the dr's appointment.  Getting ANY type of news as to what is going on will be positive, because then you can put a plan in place and move forward without so much guessing. 

Sending ~~~~vibes~~~~~ for a good appointment.

 

[Edesanja]

I'm dealing with food intolerances too so hugs!

Just a thought about dumping the milk - do you think you'd be able to donate it? I've had blood tests to determine that I'm clear of diseases that can be passed on through bm and have donated pumped milk a few times to a prem baby. My mw asked me whether I'd be happy to be a milk donor while still pregnant and I did the extra blood tests at the same time as I was getting the standard ones done anyway. When DS was about 8 weeks old she rang and said she had a 33 week gestation baby who needed pumped milk and anything I could give would be appreciated. I don't have a lot of time or patience for pumping but I've done it a few times. At least another baby would get the benefit which might make it slightly less heartbreaking!

[ccg01]

Thanks for the support! I'm just hoping the appt brings some answers. Little guy is happy and gaining weight, getting chubby, so at least we have that going for us.

I have thought that if it comes to that, I will look into donating the milk that is frozen. I'd feel better knowing it was going to good use than dumping it. 

[chars mum]

My DS is also Milk/Soy Protein Intolerant...fully understand what you are going through!  {{HUGS}}  Yes, blood comes and goes and the only way to help is to eliminate all dairy (even trace amounts) for a start.  An anal fissure can usually be seen by the doc upon visual examination. 

I just want to caution you about the doc.  I ended up going to several before one took me seriously that something was not right with my baby.  I even had some digital pics on my camera of the blood in his stool to show them and still I kept getting "well, he's gaining weight nicely, looks healthy, let's just wait x amount of time and see if it goes away".  ANY blood in stool is NOT normal!  YOU know your baby the best and if you feel something is wrong, then trust your mother's sixth sense about these things and don't give up until you find someone who takes you seriously.  I also happen to work in the health care profession and got so fed up with the run-around (ie uninformed people), I ended up taking matters into my own hands by driving my son to a very good children's hospital hours away in order to get a proper diagnosis!  Thank goodness I did as DS is a completely different baby now that we know what the real problem is and what to do about it. 

Good idea about the milk donation!!! 

[ccg01]

Thank you all for the support! Appt is tomorrow...
I cut out obvious dairy (knowing I should cut out trace but not having time to shop for food!) three days ago and the blood seems far reduced. Is an improvement possible that fast?

So I went back to work today and the little man drank almost 11 oz when I was gone. I barely pumped that much. :-( What do I do from a practical standpoint w/pumping? I guess he may have to have milk that is a day or two old at some points because I really do not want him to have formula, milk-free or not. Does that just slow the time it takes to get results? I can't think of any other way to feed him when I am gone without using at least some of the milk I already have!

[~ Vik ~]

(((hugs))) and good luck with the appointment tomorrow.  I will definitely be watching for your update!

When I did a dairy free trial for ds' eczema I was told that it can take up to 2 weeks to get the protein completely out of your system.  Having said that, some moms notice improvement much more quickly, so it's certainly possible!

As far as the pumping...  What I'm going to say is going to sound odd coming from a breastfeeding moderator, but is there a reason that you don't want him to have any formula?  I completely understand wanting to ebf - we were ebf for milk until I introduced soy milk around 16mo when my pumping output dropped drastically - BUT if the dairy proteins in your previously stored milk are causing intestinal damage, surely *some* hypoallergenic formula would be a better option?

To put it into perspective, if your little guy got hives or swelling every time he drank your stored milk you wouldn't even consider continuing to feed it to him.  The intestinal damage caused by MPI can be just as harmful, you just don't see it immediately.  In your position, I truly would consider buying even a small tin of hypoallergenic formula.  You could mix it with your breastmilk, just an oz or two (or however much you would need) per bottle feed, until you can build up your storage again.  My hat's off to you for doing everything you can to ebf even with returning to work - this is just a little speed bump

And I wouldn't dump or donate your stash just yet - see the doctor, get some tests, and wait for the results.  You never know.

More (((hugs))) xxxx Will be thinking of you tomorrow.