Possible Allergy to Milk

Everyone is allergic to cow's milk. It has a protein called casein that causes the body to make mucous. That is why when you are sick the doctor will tell you to avoid dairy products. It exacerbates the problem. Most people use dairy anyway, as they don't have severe enough reactions. My daughter was diagnosed with milk allergy at a year of age as we were weaning her off the breast and onto cow's milk. It started with runny noses, then progressed to eczema all over her body. Finally, I insisted on allergy testing, because the doctor said that milk allergy was exceedingly rare. The allergist disagreed. She said it is THE MOST COMMON allergy in children. She said to avoid ALL dairy for 2 years to let the immune system forget that it ever had it. It is the only hope of outgrowing it. We have switched to other milk-like beverages. We use almond milk on cereal because almonds are very high in calcium and it tastes great. We use plain soy milk to cook with. It's a huge adjustment at first, but my daughter's skin is clear and she can breathe better. Milk was always my favorite food group. But when the allergist said that this allergy could morph into asthma, it was a no-brainer to make the switch. Also, it is possible to be extremely sensitive to milk without having a bonafide allergy (immune response with antibodies). A blood test can rule out or diagnose an actual allergy, but for sensitivities you need to rely on mommy tuition by watching your child very closely. Good luck.

2 moms found this helpful

Hi L.,

The signs can vary among children. I did not read the other responses, but my son had chronic ear infections. The Dr. wanted to put tubes in his ears and on maintenance antibiotics. I guess what I am saying is don't depend on your dr. to be behind you in the milk allergy. The only way you can know is to take your child off dairy for a couple of weeks. If it goes away....then that was it.

Good Luck,

M.

1 mom found this helpful

I had a supposed allergy to milk when I was a kid.I still don't know if that was in fact true. I do know this, Milk products can cause flem, I'm sure runny noses and mucous would go along with that. I feed my children Silk brand Soy Milk and Rice Dream Rice milk. They have original and a vanilla if you like it a little sweeter. If you don't mention it most kids can't tell the difference. Both brands are available in most major stores.
Good Luck,
K.

Just a tip -- if you find out that she is NOT allergic to milk -- she should be on whole milk until she is two years old, then she can be switched to lowfat or non-fat. Until then, she needs the extra fat... it is important for her brain development. You can talk to your pediatrician about it to confirm.

There are many different ways a milk allergy shows up, but the runny nose is the most common. The only way to tell for certain is to take her off all milk and milk products (whey, casein, etc.) for 7 days and then introduce it again by giving her a cup of milk. If she's allergic, you'll see signs almost immediately. However, you'll need to read all the labels on any foods you might give her (crackers, bread, snacks, etc.), since milk or a derivative is in many foods.

Try goats milk...people tend to be less (or not) allergic to it. If you can find it from a farm even better! I grew up on it and developed all sorts of allergies when I moved away from home. Another good suggestion I saw was almond or rice milk. I wouldn't do soy, though. There are more and more findings that soy isn't good for you and should only be ingested as a condiment.
Good luck! :)

switch to soy and see what happens. My kids both got sick alot after being weaned and it was much easier to get over it without milk.

Allergic reactions can come in many different forms. My kids are both allergic to dairy and they will get runny nose, itchy mouth and hives. But some people will only get the itchy mouth, or the runny nose. Or some get intestinal upset, etc. So, the runny nose COULD be allergy but it could also be the cold returning. If it were me, I'd take her off the milk and wait until the runny nose is completely clear then try again. There are many great substitutes for dairy products so if she is allergic, don't panic! She doesn't HAVE to have milk! If you find out she's allergic feel free to contact me if you want. I've been down that road with my two boys so I could possibly answer some questions that you might have? :-)J

Your daughter should not be on 2% milk, she should be on whole milk. We drink non-fat milk but when my daughter turns one, we will give her whole milk. If she is allergic, try soymilk or ask her doctor what else you can give her.

My son has the same problem. A friend of mine who works at an allergist's office told me the bit about the difference between an intolerance and an allergy. Also, when we stopped giving him the milk, he started sleeping through the night, which he hadn't done consistently since BIRTH. Needless to say, it was a relief. I know I'm going to take the advice of one of these moms and try to reintroduce it in small amounts. But my niece has the allergy and it's very serious. ER serious. So thankfully, I don't think our kids have that.

Hi L.,

There are milk allergies, which produces an immediate reaction to the milk antigen, and milk intollerance, which may not show up for 1 to 3 days after milk consumption and produce more subtler symptoms like poor digestion, excessive nasal secretions, rashes, redness in the cheeks and ears, and/or behavioral changes sometimes. The allergy is definitely worse than the intollerance issue but both are not good. I would suggest keep her on 2% milk for a few more days and then switch her to soy milk for 2 to 3 weeks and then introduce milk to her again at maybe one meal. Keep a diet diary during this entire time and note anything that you notice with her in terms of digestion, sinus and behavioral issues so that you can look back at it later to see if milk maybe an issue.

My son's milk allergy included lack of focus and excitability.

Either way, goat's milk is a wonderful substitute. I actually like it better than cow's milk and it's much easier on the stomach.

Good luck!

My 1 1/2 year old daughter has been allergic to milk since I stopped breast feeding her at 9 months. Whenever she eats or drinks anything with milk in it she breaks out in hives on her face. The runny nose is probably just another cold. Kids get sick a lot when they are little

Did you use milk based formula?? If so, and the baby was fine with that, then this is probably just a cold. My baby was allergic to milk and had horrible ezcema because of it. We swithed him to soy and he is/was fine. This all happened when he was 0-4 months old. He has just turned 1, and we tried to put him on reg. milk, but the rash came back. So, he is still on soy.
I would stay on the milk for another 2 weeks or so, and if you are still concerned, switch to soy and see what happens.

do you know that a child should be on whole milk till the age of 2? she could have other allergies also the weather could be causing this runny nose. if she had a milk allergy she would either throw it up or break out with a rash or eczema.

Milk produces mucous. I don't think it's an allery, but I am not sure what to do, besides cut back on other milk products, such as cheese, yogurt, etc, until she is fully recovered from cold? I am not sure if soy milk would help, too? If you find alternatives out, let me know. I have wondered myself.

For my daughter..it was diarreah, diaper rash, irritability and vomitting. She also had chronic congestion...but we think that was related to reflux which got a lot better when we put her on prevacid.

Hi L.! A runny nose could mean different things. You might want to check out AskDrSears.com to help you find answers to possible food allergies. Good luck and I hope your daughter feels better. Take care, B.

Milk allergies do not present themselves as allergies to pollen/dust due. Your kiddo may have allergies, but it doesn't sound like it's to milk. But, if you are concerned about dairy you can always switch to alternatives like many of the posters suggested.

My son is lactose intolerant and we've had to limit his dairy and adjust what kinds of dairy he has...

Good LUCk.

http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/nutrition/milk_al...

You can have several types of allergic reactions. Rash. Anaphylatic shock which is life threatening. Sinus problems, congestion. and then there is the intestinal problems like diarrhea. My brother had the anaphylatic reaction as a teenager and we had to rush him to the hospital. He drank a half gallon of milk and a pint of ice cream in one day and just overloaded his body. My sister-in-law gets a runny nose within minutes of eating anything that has any milk product in it. My kids all got the intestinal problem. We raised them on GOAT'S MILK until the age of five. They had no problems on it at all. If anyone out there has problems with cow's milk for their small children, I can highly recommend GOAT's milk as an alternative, especially if they are also allergic to soy (like my kids were). It isn't cheap and the smell takes some getting used to, but all three of my kids grew up just fine. Good luck.

Like PP siad, it could be anything at this age. However...

My daughter gets really snotty when she drinks milk. As an infant at 8mo the doc wanted to put her on Zertec since she kept getting sinus infections. The only new thing to her diet was yogurt and cheese. I took it away for 2 weeks and the nose cleared up. I gave her a bite a homemade mac and cheese. Three hours later she was Princess Snot A Lot. Ah Ha! Since then she has been on soymilk when she weaned at 14mo. She can eat milk products in moderation but not straight milk without a problem. (I never did give her the Zertec. I tested my Mommy Intuition instead)

There are all different reactions when kids are allergic. My son gets incredibly itchy and his face swells up, but that's a severe reaction. I have also heard diarrhea is common.

Hi,
I think some of the signs of being allergic to milk are more GI stuff. You should talk to a doctor. Also, a baby of that age should be drinking whole milk because of their brain development. 2% is for later on. Right now they need all the fats they can get. Talk to the doctor about that too.
good luck!