Kids Food Allergies

Milk Allergies

Milk Allergies

Milk allergy is one of the common food allergies for children, affecting about 2% of preschool children, although far less common in school age children.

Milk allergy is often due to allergy antibodies against milk proteins. The antibodies cause an immediate allergic reaction.

Milk allergy can be tested for with an allergy test such as a skin prick test. Not all children with a positive milk allergy antibody test develop allergic reactions on drinking milk or having foods containing milk. Your doctor can help determine the chances of an allergic reaction if your child has milk by doing a milk challenge in hospital.

Symptoms of Milk Allergies

Common milk allergy symptoms are

• hives around the mouth or other parts of the body that may have come into contact with milk
• swelling of the lips and around the eyes
• less common is abdominal pain and vomiting
• sensitive children can develop coughing and wheezing

Generally milk allergies cause less severe reactions compared to nut allergies.

Breast Milk

Milk whether breast milk or formula milk is important for a baby’s balanced diet.

• Breast milk is naturally nutrient rich and has anti bodies that help the child’s immune system
• Formula milk for the first six months is base don cow’s milk, after siz months the formula changes to contain different nutrients.

Cow’s milk

• Cow’s milk can be used in dishes for children aged over 6 months.
• It should not be given to children to drink if the child is under 1 years old
• Milk given to toddlers aged under two to drink needs to be full fat milk The fat is an important source of energy.
• Milk given to toddlers aged two to four is normally semi skimmed as toddlers are normally eating a wide range of food and are less reliant the cow’s milk
• Cow’s milk contains all the essential nutrients, although the concentration will differ from breast milk and formula, cow’s milk has less iron and less vitamin D

Organic Milk

Organic milk is one of the biggest selling organic products in supermarkets. This is because the cow’s feed on organic pastures, hay and silage. Organic milk is free from antibiotics and in some people’s opinion tastes better!

Milk lactose intolerance

• A small number of children show an intolerance for cow’s milk caused by a) an intolerance to the lactose in the cow’s milk or b) being allergic to the protein in cow’s milk

Is lactose intolerance the same as milk allergy?

No. Lactose intolerance occurs because the milk sugar called lactose cannot be completely digested in the bowel. The usual symptom is diarrhoea. A formula without any lactose (eg lactose-free infant formula) used to treat lactose intolerance can still cause milk allergy.

Milk alternatives

Breast milk is best, but if this and cow’s milk is not an option, then soya products enriched with calcium can be tried. If the child cannot tolerate soya, another alternative may be pasteurised goat’s milk or sheep’s milk. However, both of these are low in iron and vitamin . Vitamin drops might need to be added.

Share your experiences in our forum of kids milk allergies.