Dairy Allergy/Intolerance Info - - SPECIAL DIETS DIRECTORY

What's the difference between food allergy and intolerance?

An allergy can vary from mild to full anaphylactic shock depending on your level of sensitivity. It can be caused by eating, inhaling, or coming into contact with the skin or lining of the nose, throat or mouth. It can also occur if something you are sensitive to is injected. An allergic reaction will normally manifest itself very quickly and will occur every time you are exposed to the allergen so it is easier to identify as the cause than it is with an intolerance. The type of reaction also differs from person to person. Symptoms can vary from mild headache, abdominal discomfort with constipation or diarrhoea and skin rashes to severe IBS type symptoms, vomiting, hives, eczema, or swelling. Swelling of the mouth, face and tongue, rash and shortness of breath and drop in blood pressure are all indicative of anaphylaxis and demands immediate emergency assistance

My child cannot tolerate dairy – Help!

Childhood Dairy/Lactose Hypersensitivity is common - to the extent that an estimated 8% of babies under a year old may suffer from hypersensitivity to cow’s milk.

It will become apparent when feeding cow’s milk or formula made from it but also, it can even be passed through the mother’s breast milk after she has consumed milk or dairy products and provoke a reaction. The good news is that in this instance the old saying ‘ They’ll grow out of it!’ is often true as many do by the time they are about three years old although around 20% will remain intolerant/allergic into adulthood.

The severity of the reaction/symptoms will vary from baby to baby and will be dependent on whether it is due to a milk allergy or intolerance. The pros and cons of diagnosis with babies is that as milk is often all they consuming apart from water it is in one way easier to identify, however as babies cannot communicate and abdominal pain and vomiting and diarrhea can be for a number of reasons, pinpointing milk allergy requires close monitoring to be absolutely certain.

The help of your doctor in referring you to a paediatric dietitian should be sought to find a solution as emotion and conflicting advice on the internet or from others etc can make it difficult for a distraught mother to deal with on her own. However you know your baby better than anyone so stick to your guns and make your point clearly if you are sure of any particular fact that is being contested or overlooked.

Finding substitutes for cows milk can be difficult too as identifying whether it is lactose, casein or whey that is causing the reaction can be tricky especially when babies tummies are often sensitive to many things and colic can complicate the process of elimination..

Also the same allergens occur in sheep’s and goat’s milk (though in some cases to a lesser degree) so may also cause similar symptoms but is worth a try with professional guidance. Soya milk is often tried as an alternative but unfortunately often people who are sensitive to cow’s milk can be similarly affected by a Soya so this should be considered and monitored with babies also.

If whey is the culprit the baby may be OK on formula or pasteurized milk as the heating process renders the whey tolerable to many who are sensitive.

Some special formulas for intolerant babies are available which break the proteins down into smaller parts so the body doesn't recognize them as milk proteins and these ‘highly hydrolysed’ milk formulas can be the answer for babies with cows’ milk allergy, but some other varieties of formula, like partially hydrolysed milk and Soya milk aren’t, and many babies with cows’ milk allergy/intolerance could be sensitive to them also. Specialist formulas can sometimes cause constipation but some mothers find that also giving the baby plenty of water or breast milk, diluted prune juice and chamomile tea are successful remedies for this together with Vaseline applied externally to help pass stools.

The longer a mother can breast feed whilst avoiding eating dairy products herself the better as long as she finds other sources of essential nutrients such as calcium etc. Again a dietitian will be able to help provide advice for a balanced diet.

Symptoms are often relatively mild and include diarrhoea, vomiting, stomach cramps and rashes. HHowever these can be still cause huge anxiety when the cause is unknown and if the baby isn’t thriving as expected. If there is any difficulty in breathing obviously emergency medical help should be sought as in few cases, milk allergy can cause anaphylaxis though thankfully this is pretty rare.