Pat Gima's case reminds us that - contrary to popular perception (the powers of advertising?) - (a) it *is* possible to be allergic to soy, and (b) is *is* possible to be more allergic to soy than to bovine milk. At a personal level, I react to both soy and bovine proteins, but the cow's stuff clears within 24 hours, while the symptoms from soy last <5days.
Getting away from the personal to the scientific, here are some references which might be useful:
a.. American Academy of Pediatrics. Hypoallergenic infant formulas (RE0005) Policy statement. Pediatrics 2000;106(2):346-349.
b.. Zoppi G, Guadalini S. The story of soy formula feeding in infants: a road paved with good intentions. J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr 1999;28(5):541-542.
The AAP policy statement might be useful to Pat for the adoptive mother, who can discuss it with her baby's pediatrician. The Zoppi and Guadalini article is an interesting read, and provides a table listing published single case studies and case series of soy "milk" allergy, going back as far as 1934 - worth following up for those who have the time and the interest.
Like Pat, I'd be inclined to look at the artificial food first, rather than at the mother's diet. If it becomes necessary to investigate the mother's diet later, it needs to be remembered that bovine-based dairy products need not be the only offenders. Maternal foods such as soy (in more and more packaged food products these days), wheat, fish, and some fruits may cause reactions in a few infants. (I cited a paper about this on Lactnet a year or so ago. I don't have this reference in front of me, but it would be in teh Lactnet Archives.)
Cheers,
Virginia
in cloudy, drizzly Brisbane
(but at least it is a *lot* cooler than Sydney this summer)
***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
