The answer to your question depends on exactly what happened. If the bumps and lip swelling occurred within minutes of eating the peas it is likely an allergic reaction, and peas should be avoided. Irritation is very common from wetness (saliva, foods) and cold air outside. However, real swelling of the lip does not occur if the cause is just irritation.

You are correct to point out the 3 possible causes of this rash. If it's on the chin, neck (in front), and upper chest, the rash is most likely an irritation rash. Probably, your son drools, spits up, or gets formula or cereal over those areas. The wetness and contact of such items with the skin can cause a rash. Try keeping a bib on him and perhaps, change his shirt after meals or when there is wetness there.

It is now known that food allergy may play a role in eczema. In about a third of children with eczema, the skin condition is made worse when a specific food is eaten. Wheat is one of the more common offenders. Other common foods include tomatoes, strawberries, citrus fruits,milk, eggs,and a few others. You can do a test to see if a particular food influences the severity of your child's eczema: remove the food from her diet for a week. If this food affects her eczema, the skin should get much better. Then re-introduce the food; the skin should get much worse. If your child also has abdominal symptoms when wheat is ingested, let your doctor know. Your child may be reacting to gluten in the wheat products. Gluten allergy is also known as celiac disease (abdominal distention, diarrhea, poor growth, abdominal pains). A blood test can be done to see if your daughter has this condition, which is treated by giving her a special gluten-free diet. There are many products available that are gluten-free. Use the internet to search for these products.

It is unusual for lactose intolerance to occur in infants. Lactose intolerance is the inability to break down the milk sugar, lactose, a compound sugar, into simple sugars. Usually this is due to a low level of an enzyme, lactase, produced by intestinal cells. There are two types of lactose intolerance. There are temporary cases of lactose intolerance (these result from illness, such as a stomach virus, and last only as long as it takes the intestinal lining cells to heal after an injury) and the life-long type. The life-long type usually does run in particular families, but it is unusual to see it until a child is 3-4 yrs old. Children with this type can usual eat or drink a small amount of milk or dairy products, but symptoms will develop once this limit is exceeded.Has your child had a stomach virus recently? Do your child's symptoms occur after regular cow's milk formulas (if so he may have cow's milk protein intolerance and not lactose intolerance.) However if symptoms occur with regular cow's milk formula but not with lactose-free cow's milk formula, lactose intolerance is more likely. You can certainly try introducing cheeses and yogurt. As stated, many children with lactose intolerance have no symptoms as long as the amount of these foods taken isn't large, but again you should consult your pediatrician.

Most children who have a milk allergy early in infancy will no longer react to milk after a year of age. So I would try milk and milk products then. It is interesting, also, that many children allergic to milk do not react when given yogurt or cheese. Apparently, the process of making these items changes the milk proteins so that they are no longer the same as milk.

There is also no one answer to your second question. I recommend starting finger foods at 8-9 months. Remember that gagging is a normal part of learning to eat finger foods. In highly allergic families or if a child has many allergies, I recommend not introducing the more allergic foods (eggs, strawberries, tomatoes, etc.) until the child is over a year of age.

From your description, your daughter has dry, rough patches of skin. This is commonly called "eczema", but the medical term is atopic dermatitis. Several factors go into a child getting eczema. First, there often is a family history (genetics) of others with eczema, allergies, or asthma. Second, whenever the skin is dry or irritated, the eczema will be worse. In cold climates, eczema often worsens in the winter when the heat is on and homes get quite dry. Frequent bathing or swimming sometimes worsens the eczema also, as can harsh clothing rubbing against the skin. Finally, in some children, a food allergy may show up as worsening of eczema. It sounds as if your daughter is reacting to cow's milk, so avoiding it seems wise. Allergies to cow's milk are often outgrown. When she is older (perhaps 18 months or 24 months) you might want to try introducing cow's milk again to see whether or not her skin worsens.Meanwhile, she can get protein from meats, eggs, fish. Calcium is also an important ingredient of milk. For this, she can drink calcium fortified juices.

When children show an allergic reaction to a food, it usually takes the form of a rash. (Rarely, a severe reaction occurs with vomiting, wheezing, shortness of breath, swelling of the lips and tongue, pale color.) One type of rash is commonly called "hives" or to doctors, "urticaria". Hives are large red blotches (either flat or with a raised, puffy central area) that come and go over hours and are quite itchy. They occur anywhere on the body. Some children show food allergy by a worsening of eczema. These children usually already have dry patches and their skin feels rough to the touch. When they eat a food they are allergic to, the skin condition gets worse. Typical areas involved are the cheeks of the face, the front part of the elbows, the upper chest and lower abdomen, the thighs, behind the knees. Heat rash is typically found over a broad area (usually the upper back) and consists of many separate small pink pimples, which may or may not have a small white head in the center.