Son Allergic to Milk

Updated on January 17, 2008
B.R. asks from Oklahoma City, OK
13 answers

We've had an interesting battle with my 17 month old son. As a little one, he spit up constantly...and LOTS. The doctor tried acid reflux medicine, which didn't help and we tried all kinds of formulas. Eventually he started having diarhea after every bottle and we switched to soy formula and he did great. The doctor said he was lactose intollerant, but they typically outgrow it around a year. At a year old the doctor told me to try regular milk, and his diarhea and spitting up came back. So we switched to soy milk. He seemed to do ok with little amounts of dairy, like if I cooked with it or he had just a slice of cheese. Then about a month ago he started breaking out in hives. Some were just a rash, others on his face where he would rub his food would be huge...sometimes baseball size. I talked to the doctor's office, they told me to keep track of what he ate, but I might never figure out what exactly he's allergic to. After a lot of trial and error, we thought it might be the dairy that is in just about everything! I took him off dairy products 100%, we bought dairy free margarine, soy cheese and rice and soy milk. I started cooking with these things as well. He hasn't had another hive since! The problem I'm having now is in cooking. I tried to make gravy the other night with rice milk and it didn't thicken at all. This morning I made biscuits with soy milk and I can't seem to get them to completely cook through, they are still doughy in the middle. I want him to be able to eat whatever we eat, so I'm trying to keep it all dairy free for him, but some things just don't seem to cook the same with milk alternatives. Does anyone have any advice??? My husband's little brother is allergic to milk, but he does fine with dairy cooked in things. I've never known anyone that can't tolerate ANY dairy!! Help please!!!!

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So What Happened?

Thank you so much for all the advice! I have also found (for those interested) that on the Silk soymilk website they have a lot of cooking advice for soymilk. I even found out how to make evaporated milk from soymilk which I am going to try in my sweet potato casserole for Christmas.
Just an FYI for those that don't know, milk allergy and lactose intollerant are different things. When my son was under one, we thought he was just lactose intollerant, which would be much better than being allergic. With an allergy, he can't have any type of milk, and that includes lactose free milks of foods. Thats what is making it so difficult! I'm learning to read any label and what all the different words for "milk" are, lol.
Thanks again! We still haven't been to the doctor, and plan on going after Christmas to get him tested, wish us luck with that....

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B.D.

answers from Oklahoma City on

This sounds like my story too. My son had the same problems. I finally changed to a doctor that would let him go to a specialist and get tested. He was a year and a half old. We found that he was very allergic to peanuts, eggs, and milk. (among other things) I was so upset. I have found that over the last year I have come to accept it better. I have found a local health food store that sells egg substitute, dairy-free products, etc. "Cherry Kitchen" products are great (for cakes, cookies) as well as "Wonder Slim" egg substitute is good too. If I can help in anyway let me know.

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A.A.

answers from Tulsa on

instead of using soy milk try using lactose free milk...my son has been lactose intolerant since birth and he is now 5 yrs old he was born lactose intolerant so he will never outgrow it it can have some dairy but not much if he has cheese he cant have any other dairy product that day and ice cream is maybe a twice a year thing but the lactose free milk cooks just like regular milk so you should be able to make all the same things without the problems! i know of the brands lactaid and dairy ease my son prefers dairy ease and its cheaper i have also tried the dairy ease and cant tell a difference in tasted between that and reg. milk...good luck!

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A.B.

answers from Kansas City on

I had a very similar issue with my youngest daughter. I took her to a NAET practitioner here in town and he treated her for her milk allergy, as well as a few others, and she's been fine ever since. The website for the person I took her to is www.askdoctordavid.com She now drinks milk with no throwing up, no rash, no diarrhea, no fussiness at all. She was right at a year when I took her, and is over 2 now. It was like it flipped a switch, and all of a sudden things were better. I was amazed.

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K.V.

answers from St. Louis on

We discovered that my son had a milk allergy at 6 months old when he had hives to supplementing with formula. His skin testing showed he was also allergic to nuts. Later when he was still having eczema we cut out soy and he cleared right up. I was intent on nursing him to a year, so my husband and I both went on the diet with him. it's been the best thing to happen to us. We both lost 20 lbs in the last 6 months and feel great. yes it's a pain to have to cook from scratch and our food bill went way up. We mainly shop in the organic aisle. If you look for Bob's Red Mill stuff, they often have allergy free and gluten free mixes that you can add whatever kind of milk you can tolerate. Also Cherrybrook Farms has some great mixes for cookies and cakes and icing that are allergy free. We found chicken nuggest and french toast sticks made by Ians in the frozen organic section that are allergen free(incl gluten). We found some good cookbooks on Amazon via a link from the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. I mainly use it for baking, but found that my Joy of Cooking had a vegan cake recipe and vegetarian/vegan cookbooks are great if it's just the milk or eggs you need to avoid. Luckily it happened at such a young age that he's still adventurous about trying stuff and we haven't had a lot of veggie refusal yet.

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B.S.

answers from Kansas City on

I would imagine that there is some kind of cookbook out there that is 'dairy-free'. Maybe search for one on Amazon and check it out at the library to see if it's worth the money. Good luck!

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A.H.

answers from Kansas City on

Hello B., my name is A. and my 16 mo old son has the same problem. He is allergic to milk, eggs, whey all the dairy products. If he eats or even touches anything dairy he breaks out in huge hives and his ears swell up. I found out when he was 6 mo. old when I fed him that yobaby yogurt. I had to rush him to the ER becasue he was having problems breathing. Well we took him to the allergists and came up he was allergic to milk and eggs and alittle bit to dogs. I feed my son soy yogurt and he drinks the Silk Soy milk (vanilla flavor). Did your son have exzema when he was a baby?
My son eats meats, crackers,pasta and he loves veggies and fruit. So i understand it is soooo hard to feed him because everything has whey and milk in it. And I feel so bad for him. the allergist told me he will outgrow it and recheck about 2 yrs. old now. So I am praying that she is right, that he will outgrow this.
My question is where do you get the soy cheese? I have never seen that before. And I would love to get it so he can try it. Does it melt good? so I can make him mac and cheese. whenever i make that for my older two kids I take some plain pasta to the side for him.
So yeah, it has been hard for me too and Im sorry I dont have any good advice for the problem.
I was going to ask which milk do you think is better for him to drink, the soy or rice milk? Like which one has better nutrients? I need to check on that too.

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L.M.

answers from St. Louis on

I can relate!! My son is lactose intolerant as well. Have you tried almond milk, almond cheese, soy margarine, or flavored rice milk like vanilla?
soy yogurt soy puddings and even try wheat free products. like with spelt flour, rice flour, soy flour sometimes it could also be the wheat that is an allergen factor.
good luck!

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D.A.

answers from St. Louis on

Just an FYI to some of you...a true milk allergy is different from being lactose intolerant. With a milk allergy, the child is allergic to the protein in milk. Lactose free milk still contains the protein.

I can relate...my 19 month old daughter is allergic to milk and eggs. My older daughter was allergic to eggs, so when my youngest started having trouble, I had her tested right away.

I admire you. I don't even bother trying to make her the same meals. I usually feed her straight meat, vegetable, fruit. There is a store in St. Peters on Mexico Rd. called Nutrition Stop. They specialize in allergen-free foods. Maybe you could go by there and get some advice. They found a great cake recipe for me that was milk and egg free. It was important for me to make a cake for my daughter's first birthday that she could eat.

Email me if you have other questions.

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T.Z.

answers from Topeka on

My daughter is very sensitive to any dairy and we have been on a completely dairy free diet for about 8 months now. I've only been eating well for about 5 or 6 months. It takes a lot of work and a lot of time to figure it out. I've found that cooking completely from scratch helps a lot. That means that the ingredient list on each item I use lists only one thing or I'm using fresh fruit, veggies or meat. For things like cakes or muffins (yes there are recipes out there that do not call for any milk) I've found that you have to cook them longer than their dairy containing counterparts. I use cornstarch for a thickener. There are also other starches like potato starch that you could use for that.

For some extra info on allergies and what you need to avoid check out www.kidswithfoodallergies.org (you have to become a member for $25/year or apply for a free membership if you can't affor the fee) and www.foodallergy.org (again there is a membership fee, but I forget how much it is). These resources have been indespensible for me in coping with my daughter's milk, egg and nut allergies. These sites also have a lot of recipe ideas to help you (or your little one) eat well while on an allergen free diet.

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C.P.

answers from Tulsa on

Well, my daugther is allergic to Milk protein. Which is in everything with milk, butter etc..... I have to cook thing for her different. We do not cook her stuff with mine. I know it's hard, but we have to. You can go online and find a little card that tells you what they can and can't have. I found this useful when going to Resturants. You know chicken nuggets at any rest. has milk in the batter. Most butter does too. We have a wonderful Health food store that has Rice Dream (for ice cream). We have soy cheese. etc..... If you look at a lot of name brand foods, it says on the side or back. This contains milk. Our daughter will throw up if she gets any milk. We have to carry a shot so if it gets back. Good luck. Oh, PS I make a lot of things like icing etc... my self.

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H.C.

answers from Lawton on

My son has been on soy milk since he was born. I am lactose in tolerate and thought it passed down to him. I was right and it did. The doctor told us as well he would grow out of it. However he hasn't. My husband is not lactose in tolerate so I still make foods with milk in it for him. For my son and I make something else. It just bothers my stomach too much. The following web address I have listed below is where I have been able to get lactose free recipes. I have tried a few and they are really good.

http://homecooking.about.com/library/archive/blmisc1.htm

Good luck. I hope this helped.

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R.C.

answers from Wichita on

Hi, just wanted to say that I have been eating dairy-free for about 15 years. It does not feel like a sacrifice to me at all. A couple ideas. . . rice milk is thin and sweet, I don't actually use it but it would be best for beverages, baked sweets, maybe. Soy is better for savory foods like gravy. If you subbed it for buttermilk, it would have to be soured first by adding vinegar. (Same as if you subbed regular milk for buttermilk.) Baking soda biscuits IME cook just the same with soy milk as with cow milk.
To learn about dairy-free cooking, get some good cookbooks. I like The Uncheese Cookbook a lot. Vegan cookbooks will be dairy, meat, and egg free. I've heard great things about Vegan With a Vengeance. Some libraries have cookbooks so you can try new things without spending a lot of money.
Haven't found a fake cheese that melts like real stuff, better to make from scratch.

L._.

answers from San Diego on

Have you tried almond milk? Also try some different thickenings. I bought some almond flour. So long as he isn't allergic to nuts there are so many different things to try. The almond flour is the thickest stuff EVER. Think of it as an adventure. I know it's a pain. When I have had children in the daycare it's been difficult. There have been times when I had to avoid milk, nuts, wheat, strawberries, & watermelon! All these kids have moved on and I'm a little reflieved at the moment. But food allergies are on the rise. I'm not sure why but I personally believe it's because our bodies are assaulted on all sides with toxins and some people just can't handle it.

Suzi

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