How long after taking child off dairy did you see a diff?

amother

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 8:27 pm

Thinking of taking my toddler off dairy since he’s getting sick so often but he loves dairy and is a picky eater so I’m nervous about this big change. How soon after taking him off would I see a difference. For example he has a runny nose almost all the time. How soon would it clear up if it’s the dairy bothering him?

amother

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 8:56 pm

How do I even know that it’s the dairy? I feel so bad depriving him on so much of his diet. His main symptom is runny nose but he also can go weeks without it so if it was the dairy, wouldn’t we never get a break? He has no other obvious reaction to dairy. Should I take him to an allergist first? I’m so confused about what to do.

amother

Papaya

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 9:17 pm

I took my toddler off of milk but not off all dairy products. I saw a huge difference. I know most people will say it’s not recommended but my child was such a picky eater that I just couldn’t stop everything. The heavy dose of dairy was coming from milk so I started with that and saw a significant difference so I didn’t take away all other dairy. You can replace milk with original almond milk. It really tastes almost the same with no aftertaste.

amother

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 9:18 pm

amother Papaya wrote:

I don’t really give him milk much except in cereal occasionally. He eats at least one or two yogurts a day and also loves pizza/Mac n cheese.

amother

Pink

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 9:20 pm

#ibelieve wrote:

I don't remember how long it took but I noticed a huge difference.

Me too. DS had 9 ear infections in one year! Pediatrician was recommending tubes, my friend told me to get him off dairy (pediatrician didn’t even mention it), I did it and he only had one infection in the entire next year.

amother

Snowflake

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 9:32 pm

amother OP wrote:

and did you ever start giving dairy again?

For one kid, we tried a few different times and they still got runny nose and fluid in ears so we consider him allergic. For another we waited 6 months and reintroduced slowly. She seems ok but we don't give milk.
Personally, I saw milk and yogurt/leben was the worst.

amother

Papayawhip

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 9:35 pm

I have a toddler with asthma and a lot of fluid in the ears. I took him off cows milk and give him goat milk. Bh seeing a big difference. I buy goat milk and goat yogurt in my local health food store.

amother

Brunette

Wed, Jan 25 2023, 10:02 pm

Not sure what to sub for pizza, but for yogurts there are many non dairy yogurts out there that are great. So Delicious, Mehadrin coconut yogurt, Silk yogurt.

Tzutzie

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 9:23 am

amother Snowflake wrote:

This! Milk, yogurt, Leben and sour cream are worst then comes cream cheese and wet cheeses like cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, then dry cheese like mozzarella, cheddar, American cheeses....

I give me kids pizza no problem. But cottage cheese gives one kid a tummy ache and another a runny nose.....

amother

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 10:38 am

Tzutzie wrote:

Okay that’s easier. I’ll just start off giving him dairy free yogurt and almond milk then take it from there.

amother

Mint

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 10:58 am

amother OP wrote:

For everyone who took a child off dairy, when do you reintroduce?

I did it, it worked, and b"h reintroduced dairy 4 weeks ago once all his teeth were in. (s/o mentioned to me in passing that once all heir teeth are in they should be ok w dairy - I'm so grateful to her) He's 20 months. I tried giving him a bit of yogurt 5 weeks ago and he wasn't ok with it yet @ that point, and the following week it was ok.

He also craves yogurts and Mac and cheese and both of these were really bad for him. I tried giving him soy yogurts which worked for a short time until he refused it. it was interesting to note that dairy chocolate was ok.

Having older kids around made it harder. He would stand near the refrigerator begging for yogurt. He was also scavenge the garbage for dairy.

I saw an immediate correlation between eating dairy and his nose running/ear infections eventhough he had tubes.

Hatzlach!

amother

Papaya

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 11:14 am

I kept 2 children off milk and yogurt for a few years. I gave cheese and other products that had some dairy. Honestly I’m not the type who believes in food elimination if there is no known allergy. I was really desperate and my children were suffering very much. These kids are 4 years apart and I didn’t cut back on the dairy for both of them at the same time. There was an improvement within days of taking them off. Every once in awhile my husband would pour regular milk for a child a right away we were dealing with congestion- coughing, runny nose’s… I kept them off for a few years. It was very worth it.

ocean blue

Thu, Jan 26 2023, 11:14 am

You would have to try for a good 4 weeks to be sure its the dairy causing his issues. As a child, my dd always had a cold (even in the summer!) and a bunch of other issues. It wasnt the dairy but after years we figured what was bothering her (mostly food additives and other random foods) and all her issues disapeared. Happens to be, she now has to be off dairy because of her nursing baby , and she has been sick all winter long with one virus or an other, including an ear infection!