Dairy definitely triggered Dylan's eczema, well before we knew that he had a dairy allergy. I agree with Kate that formula is processed so much that she could be fine with it but still react to the more "natural/raw" dairy proteins in the milk/yogurt/cheese. I would go even further though to say that your lo may not have been fine with dairy as MPI can cause reflux symptoms, kwim?
Honestly, I would just cut dairy out completely. So no milk, cheese, yogurt, or anything made with those ingredients. I wouldn't go so far as to cut out trace or hidden dairy unless you feel the need to (we had to because Dylan reacts even to "may contain" dairy). Once you've gotten her skin to a point where you feel it's significantly improved, you can either:
- cut out the trace/hidden to see if the eczema goes away entirely
- keep her on a dairy free diet until you feel comfortable doing a food trial (which may be in a few weeks, but I often hear that it's best to keep the elimination diet until 1yo before doing trials)
It's frustrating when you feel that you're not getting help from the doctors that are there to take care of you. We were really fortunate in that everyone took us seriously - from the paed in the ER to our family doctor to our allergist - and we were able to get to the bottom of Dylan's allergies and eczema, but even with all that support it took us nearly a year and a half to get everything sorted. Go with your mommy instinct. If you see her skin improving on the dairy free diet, then it's unlikely to be just a coincidence. xx