milk intolerance???

Question

I asked this question the other day, just wanted to see if i could get any other answers. does anyone have a child who had a cows milk protein intolerance?? not allergy, they are different. if so what were the signs, symptoms, how did you find out and how old were they and what did you do about it? ta

Answer 1

Intolerance to cow milk in infants is fairly common. The hallmark of cow milk intolerance in the very young infant is an inflammation of the digestive tract leading to various symptoms from mild rashes to vomiting, diarrhea, and ultimately bloody stools. Babies intolerant of cow milk may be very uncomfortable and cry excessively, mimicing true colic. Other symptoms related to the respiratory tract such as nasal congestion or wheezy breathing can occur less frequently.

Milk intolerance is usually diagnosed clinically - that is without true laboratory testing - by history of typical symptoms, presence of blood in the stool, and by therapeutic challenge with hypoallergenic (pre-digested) formula (Alimentum®, Nutramigen®). Sometimes it is necessary to confirm the diagnosis by skin testing, which is both reliable and predicts the long term outlook for tolerance of milk products.

There are several forms of cow milk intolerance that are recognised in human babies.

The first is true milk allergy, which involves an abnormal antibody to the proteins in milk that triggers urticaria (hives) or repiratory symptoms in the child. This allergy ranges from mild to quite severe. The levels in the bloodstream of abnormal antibody are fairly predictive of the severity of allergy - the more antibody, the worse the symptoms. About one in 25 children has some degree of this allergy, but severely allergic children are luckily rare.

The least allergic patients break out where milk touches the skin but don't have major reactions. The most allergic children have generalised (the whole body) hives and systemic symptoms such as wheezing, vomiting, and runny nose. Children may outgrow milk allergy if it is mild, however some severely allergic individuals never outgrow it and must avoid milk protein all their lives.

Then there is non-allergic type cow milk protein intolerance. While children with this problem have digestive tract symptoms - vomiting, diarrhea, and cramps - they don't get the hives and respiratory symptoms. This type of intolerance is an intolerance to the protein in the milk, and gets worse as the amount of cow milk in the diet is increased. These children generally do very well and will be able to tolerate a reasonable amount of milk protein in the diet as they get older.

By experience, babies with milk allergy or intolerance symptoms will need to stay on special formula until they are 12-18 months old. The majority can be sucessfully introduced to soy formula once the original bout of gastrointestinal inflammation is over.

Answer 2

iam am intolerant to anything from a cow inc the milk proteins. ive suffered for years with nausia bloating and migranes etc. i never in a million years thought i was intolerant as i was practically living on it the symptoms were there everyday. if now that ive cut it out of my diet and i drink milk again i have a very violent vomiting episode.

Answer 3

My son is lactose intolerant. He first started having problems at 15 months old. Before that, he was having problems with constipation, and I was giving him prune baby food for it. Suddenly, he started having diarrhea instead. I have a brother who is lactose intolerant, so I suspected it right away. I quit putting milk in his baby cereal and put water in it instead. His diarrhea went away. I waited a couple of weeks and put milk in his cereal again. The diarrhea came back.

Answer 4

I don't have any sources, but I have it from personal experiences. If you drink milk with something warm (for example, eggs) the milk will curdle in your stomach causing you to feel nauseous.

Answer 5

I had this terrible rash for years, doctors couldn't help, it vanished when I removed lactose from my diet.