Dehydration question

[Guest guest]

Darla,

The first time that Evan drank milk based formula (he drank 5 ounces),

he had stringy mucus filled diarrhea. I nursed him exclusively; but

because I had no reason to suspect a potential problem with formula, I

tried formula when my mother-in-law watched Evan when my husband and I

went out to dinner. Evan was also allergic to soy and nutramigen (corn

based). When he quit nursing he drank Alimentum until he was 3. It

was expensive, so his allergy doctor wrote a script for it and our

insurance paid 80% of the cost. I believe that the supplemental

carnitine in the formula kept him from developing symptoms because he

showed some minor decline after he stopped drinking formula but before

his big loss of skills when he turned 4. It is probably a good idea to

stop the formula and use pedialyte instead. Porrah can nurse also.

It is such a blessing that you can tube feed her now.

Zipporrah is really having liquidy diarrhea and

I am worried if it goes

on very long that she will become dehydrated. She is also vomiting

every time she has a feeding. There is a lot of phlegm amonst the milk

as well. At first her bowels were light yellow with large "curd-like

spots." Then it turned more greenish and thinner and now it is pure

liquid that is clear looking.

Has her stool been cultured? It could be rotovirus or staph. Staph is

a bacterial infection, so if could be treated with antibiotics. Once

Colin got staph (he was 4) and he had to wear pull-ups because he kept

having diarrhea while he was vomitting. Poor kid was truly

offended! There have been some studies with positive results using

probiotics in infants. Inflammation from allergies can impair

mitochondrial function. One of the docs at the UMDF conf in Dallas

mentioned tumor necrosis factor-alpha as being one type of inflammation

that can cause problems. It decreased significantly in the infants who

were given probiotics from

709 pg/gm to 34 pg/gm.

Take care and God Bless,

J Allergy Clin Immunol 1997 Feb;99(2):179-85

Probiotics: a novel approach in the management of food allergy.

Majamaa H, Isolauri E.

Medical School, University of Tampere, Finland.

BACKGROUND: The gastrointestinal microflora is an important constituent

of the gut mucosal defense barrier. We have previously shown that a

human intestinal floral strain, Lactobacillus GG (ATCC 53103), promotes

local antigen-specific immune responses (particularly in the IgA

class), prevents permeability defects, and confers controlled antigen

absorption.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and

immunologic effects of cow's milk elimination without (n = 14) and with

(n = 13) the addition

of Lactobacillus GG (5 x 10(8) colony-forming units/gm formula) in an

extensively hydrolyzed whey formula in infants with atopic eczema and

cow's milk allergy. The second part of the study involved 10 breast-fed

infants who had atopic eczema and cow's milk allergy. In this group

Lactobacillus GG was given to nursing mothers. METHODS: The severity of

atopic eczema was assessed by clinical scoring. The concentrations of

fecal alpha 1- antitrypsin, tumor necrosis factor-alpha, and eosinophil

cationic protein were determined as markers of intestinal inflammation

before and after dietary

intervention.

RESULTS: The clinical score of atopic dermatitis improved significantly

during the 1-month study period in infants treated with the extensively

hydrolyzed whey formula fortified with Lactobacillus GG. The

concentration of alpha 1-antitrypsin decreased significantly in this

group (p = 0.03) but not in the group receiving the whey formula

without Lactobacillus GG (p = 0.68). In parallel, the median (lower

quartile to upper quartile) concentration of fecal tumor necrosis

factor-alpha decreased significantly in this group, from 709 pg/gm (91

to 1131 pg/gm) to 34 pg/gm (19 to 103 pg/gm) (p = 0.003), but not in

those receiving the extensively hydrolyzed whey formula only (p =0.38).

The concentration of fecal eosinophil cationic protein remained

unaltered during therapy.

CONCLUSION: These results suggest that probiotic bacteria may

promote endogenous barrier mechanisms in patients with atopic

dermatitis and food allergy, and by alleviating intestinal

inflammation, may act as a useful tool in the treatment of food allergy.

Evan has been taking Lactobaccillus GG for several years. It is sold

under the brand name Culturelle.

Lancet 2001 Apr 7;357(9262):1076-9

Comment in:

ACP J Club 2001 Nov-Dec;135(3):106

Lancet. 2001 Apr 7;357(9262):1057-9.

Probiotics in primary prevention of atopic disease: a randomised

placebo-controlled trial.

Kalliomaki M, Salminen S, Arvilommi H, Kero P, Koskinen P, Isolauri E.

Department of Paediatrics, University of Turku and Turku University

Hospital, Finland. markal@...

BACKGROUND: Reversal of the progressive increase in frequency of atopic

disease would be an important breakthrough for health care and wellbeing

in western societies. In the hygiene hypothesis this increase is

attributed to reduced microbial exposure in early life. Probiotics are

cultures of potentially beneficial bacteria of the healthy gut

microflora. We assessed the effect on atopic disease of Lactobacillus

GG (which is safe at an early age and effective in treatment of

allergic inflammation and food allergy).

METHODS: In a double-blind, randomised placebo-controlled trial we gave

Lactobacillus GG prenatally to mothers who had at least one

first-degree relative (or partner) with atopic eczema, allergic

rhinitis, or asthma, and postnatally for 6 months to their infants.

Chronic recurring atopic eczema, which is the main sign of atopic

disease in the first years of life, was the primary endpoint.

FINDINGS: Atopic eczema was diagnosed in 46 of 132 (35%) children aged

2 years. Asthma was diagnosed in six of these children and allergic

rhinitis in one. The frequency of atopic eczema in the probiotic group

was half that of the placebo group (15/64 [23%] vs 31/68 [46%];

relative risk 0.51 [95% CI 0.32-0.84]). The number needed to treat was

4.5 (95% CI 2.6-15.6).

INTERPRETATIONS: Lactobacillus GG was effective in prevention of early

atopic disease in children at high risk. Thus, gut microflora might be

a hitherto unexplored source of natural immunomodulators and

probiotics, for prevention of atopic disease.