milk allergy

So what do they do if your child is allergic to milk and dairy? I think ds may have a slight allergy. He has not spit/thrown up in a while but when he has milk he gets very bad breath (smells like how the spit/throw up would smell) and he has a very minor case of eczema (I did not realize that this was an allergic reaction until ts ladies told me.) Can they determine this by any way other than not giving milk/dairy? If he is allergic, what does he drink in place of it? And how do they get the recommended dairy he needs each day?

 

Hi Ilyse - My son has a dairy allergy. We moved both of them to a soy based formula and they stayed on that till age 2 for the fat content. Now we use either Vanilla Soy milk or Rice milk. Both are fortified with Calcium and vitamins. Actually - my daughter won't drink it so she gets fortified OJ in the morning and evening. She can also get her calcium for cheese sandwiches etc; as she is not allergic.

They can determine an allergy both by a prick test and then a blood test, you would need to see an allergist. I highly recommend doing so as you need to know the severity of it. I need to carry 2 epi pens with me at all time as Archer is highly allergic and would probably have an anyphylactic reaction if he consumed any dairy.

There is a great support forum for food allergies with tons of very very informed mothers on it:
http://kidswithfoodallergies.org

Also a certain percentage of kids who have a dairy allergy also are allergic to soy. PM if you have any other questions!

 

My sons were just tested for a Milk allergy again on Friday...they were allergic (or intolerant, I'm just realizing there is a difference) to milk and soy as infants and were on Alimentum. The Pedi had to stick a long Q-tip up their butts and they will test for bacteria and/or a milk allergy it was their bday too so I felt bad but it was over quickly, I will find out on Wednesday. They have been fine this last year with cow's milk but have basically started having chronic diarrhea since November. The Pedi said that around 2 is a prime age when a milk allergy is detected even though they have been drinking milk here is a link to explain it's not so much an allergy but intolerance of the proteins in milk:
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/health_probl...ne/lactose.html


It seems relative to me that they would be lactose intolerant since they were as infants. They have since been drinking Lactaid milk the past couple of days and their stool has been much better. So for us I think it is intolerance and not an allergy which is more severe since the conseqences of giving dairy to an allergic child is much worse then giving dairy to a child that is intolerant it just gives them diarrhea and a tummy ache. If it is neither a bacteria or lactose intolerence he said they will have to see a gastronologist.

 

Both of my girls are allergic to dairy which was unofficially diagnosed at 13 months and officially diagnosed around 18 months. They are also allergic to eggs and wheat and have a soy intolerance. I unofficially diagnosed them after I read the book "Is This Your Child?". After we eliminated all dairy products they still had skin rashes, stomach aches and soft stools. So I tried eliminating other things and finally went to my allergist and ask for testing since I got tired of not figuring it out. We were then told they were extremely allergic to dairy and eggs (they ate eggs every morning for breakfast) and also allergic to wheat. We also found out they were slightly allergic to beef which we had almost every day. Once I eliminated all of that from their diet they were completely different kids. No more whining, clinging, slept through the night...it was amazing.

Each reaction can be different. For my girls it is very gassy stomachs that gas relief medication won't cure, not sleeping through the night due to stomach aches and pains, and wanting feed in the night. Some have said that those reactions are not an allergy but we did the blood test and they have the highest possible numbers for an allergy. If you try an elimination diet, be very careful with reading labels because milk (casein) is in a lot of things. Some hotdogs, tuna, breads, etc. The girls were also allergic to soy as babies but did not test allergic at 18 months although they can't eat Tofutti cheese alternative. The skin around their mouths turns red. We have to buy rice cheese slices instead which contains no soy.

The girls take calcionate and phos nak to make up for the lack of dairy they receive. We are to spend 15 minutes in the sun every day with no sun screen to get the Vitamin D that they need. We were also told to fry all their foods to get fat since a lot of fat comes from dairy products. For foods, we use Fleischman's Unsalted Margarine (only margerine that is dairy free), Nutrional Galaxy Rice cheddar cheese slices (use this for fake mac and cheese and fake grilled cheese sandwiches or to eat by the slice). We make sorbet instead of eating ice cream and buy dairy free breakfast bars and dairy free chocolate chips to make cookies, etc. If you need any other ideas let me know...it really is just a change in how the family prepares all their foods. I make sure we always eat for supper what the girls eat since they love to eat off our plates. Be careful of eating out. A lot of places put butter in their steaks for flavoring. And some places coat their french fries in milk so they are crunchy. I always check their websites before I go so we know what we can order.

 

QUOTE(Annie @ Dec 26 2007, 09:24 AM) [snapback]546403[/snapback]
Both of my girls are allergic to dairy which was unofficially diagnosed at 13 months and officially diagnosed around 18 months. They are also allergic to eggs and wheat and have a soy intolerance.

If you try an elimination diet, be very careful with reading labels because milk (casein) is in a lot of things. Some hotdogs, tuna, breads, etc.

My children were also all allergic to dairy, soy, wheat, and eggs. Makes for a very interesting menu! They have all since outgrown everything. They do have terrible environmental allergies, still, though.

Yes, be careful about checking all labels. I was surprised the amount of dairy in things. I think some deli meats use casein as a filler, as well.

Something to think about for both of you-my allergist told me after dd2 that if you avoid those allergins in your 3rd trimester it will shorten the length of time of the allergy. This hasn't been proven, but she has seen it work. I did that, and ds1 had allergies for 6 months, the boys for about 10 months, which were both better than the 2 years it was for the girls!