Facts And Myths About Milk Allergy In Children

Milk Allergy Myths And Facts

• Milk allergy in children can present very quickly after ingestion, or it can be delayed by hours or even days.
• Immediate-onset milk allergies are obvious and cause swelling, hives, or other allergy symptoms in short time.
• Milk allergies that appear in the short-term usually appear in skin tests for allergies.
• Delayed-onset milk allergy in children will not usually respond to skin testing for allergies.
• Many cases of delayed milk allergy are actually milk intolerance and will not respond to allergy medications (because other chemicals and processes are involved).
• All milk intolerances are not lactose intolerances (but some are).
• Lactose intolerance is a common mis-diagnosis of people with milk allergies.
• Lactose is a milk sugar, not a milk protein.
• Lactose intolerance will respond to treatment with lactase, a milk enzyme.
• Children with lactose intolerance can often eat yogurt, but children with protein-based milk allergies cannot.
• Child milk allergy caused by milk proteins will not respond to lactase treatment.
• The allergens in milk that cause milk allergy in children are proteins contained within it.
• Children that are allergic to cow's milk are often allergic to goat and sheep milk, too, because the proteins are similar or the same.
• Milk allergy in children may be outgrown, but is not always.
• Research suggests that many childhood or infant milk allergies that were thought to have been outgrown have simply changed and present in different ways.
• Children who 'outgrow' a milk allergy can still manifest hypersensitivities to milk proteins which cause elusive allergy symptoms and gastrointestinal difficulties.
• Casein and whey are the two most commonly allergenic milk proteins that cause milk allergy in children.
• Over 30 milk proteins can be responsible for milk allergy in children.
• Many food products contain milk proteins, even products that children and parents might not expect to find milk in, and can cause milk allergy reactions in children with milk allergies.
• Milk proteins do not tend to break down when used in food products, and so can still cause a milk allergy reaction in children with milk allergies.
• Parents should become familiar with the names of milk products that may cause milk allergy reactions in allergic children; these include: whey, casein, milk solids or powders, skim milk powder, and albumin, among others.

These facts and myths about milk allergy in children are useful tools for communicating with doctors and diagnosing milk allergies or intolerances properly.  But a diagnosis of milk allergy in children should never be made based on parental observation alone—proper diagnosis requires a doctor's examination, a controlled dietary analysis, and possibly further blood and skin testing.  This is a job best left to a qualified allergist/immunologist.

Once a diagnosis of milk allergy in children has been made, the focus moves toward avoidance of the allergen and good dietary management.  The calcium and other nutrients found in milk and dairy products is essential to bone formation and continued good health; when children cannot get essential vitamins and nutrients from milk and dairy products, they must find a safe, healthy alternative source of all the nutrients they are now missing.  Many times, a treating allergist or primary care doctor will refer parent and child to a nutritionist who can help them recognize harmful products and replace them with other healthy choices.  With a good plan for treatment and management of milk allergy in children, and a good dietary plan formulated with the help of a qualified nutritionist, any child with a child milk allergy can live happily and healthily—and allergy free—for life.