I was wondering if anyone out there has children with milk/dairy allergies. I think that I have a friend whose daughter may have this. The child is almost two and weighs barely 20 lbs. and isn't really very tall. She has very loose, nasty smelling stools and is constantly fussing. They have run many tests b/c her ped. is worried about failure to thrive. She seems to always have a runny nose and a productive cough as well. As a baby, she had what they diagnosed as gerd and threw up all the time, seeming to get a little better after being switced to solids. I have been keeping her for the last week while her parents are on vacation. As luck would have it, my refrigerator quit working this week and we have had to rough it with basically no dairy,etc. for three days until Sears could get the new one to us. Her runny nose has dried up and she has not coughed hardly at all. I might add that before this, milk or juice is the only thing the child ever drinks...and lots of it. I was just curious b/c I know that with DD's asthma, when she has a cold, we avoid milk b/c it makes her coughs worse. Any thoughts out there?

By Boxzgrl on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 07:34 pm:

Maybe you or the parents should try soy milk and see if she does better with that. I have no experience with this but I know soy milk is what the doctors recommend when there is a dairy/milk allergy. Poor baby, must be hard for her

By Trina~moderator on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 08:18 pm:

My DD had GERD as an infant and didn't tolerate cow milk protein well. Very fussy and high maintenance, spitting up often, loose stools, etc.. Once she was on Zantac and I cut dairy out of my diet (breast fed) she did much better. She grew out of the GERD and apparently the milk intolerance as well as a toddler. However, both my kids have severe nut allergies so I have done some reading on food allergies. I'm very surprised your friend's ped. hasn't suggested allergy testing by now. At the very least, trying an elimination diet and charting results. (Which you did by default. LOL!) The fact that her symptoms have cleared up after not having dairy for 3 days says a lot. I would be curious to see what happens if she continues to avoid dairy.

A good resource concerning food allergies:

FoodAllergy.org

Parenting message board concerning childrens allergies:
Allergies

By Emily7 on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 08:35 pm:

Rice milk is what my ds was put on because he was allergic to cows milk as well as soy.
I agree with Trina about not being tested for allergies.

By Palmbchprincess on Wednesday, June 30, 2004 - 11:11 pm:

My DS is Lactose intolerant. Not nearly as severe as a true milk allergy, but he gets loose stools, rash, and vomiting if he has milk. He couldn't have soy formulas, they have lactose in them. After breastmilk he did *okay* with Lipil, but spit up a lot. It wasn't until about 10 months old that we realized it was lactose. He's been fine on Lactaid. Of course, if it's a dairy allergy, it's more serious, and soy would be good, or rice milk.

By Feona on Thursday, July 1, 2004 - 06:22 am:

Milk allergy is one of the most common allergies.

That would be great if you found the cure for her failure to thrive.

We went to a doctor who specialised in food allergies and there is no test for milk allergy. You just go off it for two weeks and see if you improve.

Honesty, since she is failure to thrive, I would take her to allergist that specializes in food allergies. I would not be surprised if she was allergic to other things, but she seems better on just no milk.

Does she still have the runny stools?

Soy is another big allergin too. (Not that I think she is allergic to soy) Wheat is a big one too.

By Mrse on Sunday, July 4, 2004 - 10:22 am:

Are you still looking after the child, how is she doing?

By Pamt on Monday, July 5, 2004 - 11:11 am:

Yes, you can have allergy testing for milk and specifically for casein, which is milk protein. My youngest DS had the skin prick test but they can also do RAST (blood) testing. Loose, foul-smelling stools can also be an indication of gluten sensitivities (Celiac disease). My DS was allergic to casein which is one of the most common food allergies, but thankfully it is typically outgrown. My DS had to be on a casein-free diet for a year and then when retested his allergy was gone. Milk protein is in EVERYTHING though!! Coldcuts, chicken nuggets, cakes and cookies, chips, etc. It wasa very restricting diet and if the child is allergie to milk protein, then just cutting out milk may not have made a difference. I would suggest a full work-up by a pediatric gastroenterologist (who then referred us to the allergist).