Thoughts on dairy consumption while sick?

[jojo2324]

What's the general consensus out there? Growing up, whenever we were sick (with coughs and runny noses), dairy products were a no-no. I never cared much for milk or cheese anyway (and still don't), so it wasn't a big deal to me.

Gannon's been pretty sick lately, and I've done what my parents did: skipped the milk and given him diluted OJ. Normally he doesn't get juice at all, but I figure OJ is good. It's fortified with vitamin D and calcium, and the vitamin C can't hurt.

But my ped mentioned something the other day about there not really being a link between dairy and mucous (sp?) production. Even though she said that, I still don't want to give him milk. He's really congested, and if there IS a link, I don't want to exacerbate his breathing troubles any more.

Any thoughts? Medical opinions? TIA! :)

[newbelly2002]

My mom's a nurse and she always said the same thing: limit the milk/dairy when congested. DO push the liquids, however you can. diluted juice (or full strength depending on how much he is or isn't eating), jello, water, soups where possible.

Sorry G-man's feeling so rotten. I hope Nov. 1 brings a healthy new wind your way. And have a blast tonight with your rhino on the town!

Paula
Mama to Dante, 8/1/02

[sntm]

man, you pull up some weird articles when searcing under "Dairy products."

in all of medline (medical articles since 1966) I found ONE abstract (combining dairy products and congestion). Confounded by the fact that they obviously knew they were drinking milk or not and could make the choice to drink it or not (so maybe the people who would have made more mucus when they drank milk stopped drinking milk)


Pinnock CB. Graham NM. Mylvaganam A. Douglas RM. Relationship between milk intake and mucus production in adult volunteers challenged with rhinovirus-2. [Journal Article] American Review of Respiratory Disease. 141(2):352-6, 1990 Feb.

In the first of three studies investigating the widely held belief that "milk produces mucus," 60 volunteers were challenged with rhinovirus-2, and daily respiratory symptoms and milk and dairy product intake records were kept over a 10-day period. Nasal secretion weights were obtained by weighing tissues collected and sealed immediately after use. Information was obtained on 51 subjects, yielding 510 person-days of observation. Subjects consumed zero to 11 glasses of milk per day (mean, 2.7; SE, 0.08), and secretion weights ranged from zero to 30.4 g/day (mean, 1.1; SE, 0.1). In response to an initial questionnaire, 27.5% reported the practice of reducing intake of milk or dairy products with a cold or named milk or dairy products as bad for colds. Of the latter group, 80% stated the reason as "producing more mucus/phlegm." Milk and dairy product intake was not associated with an increase in upper or lower respiratory tract symptoms of congestion or nasal secretion weight. A trend was observed for cough, when present, to be loose with increasing milk and dairy product intake; however, this effect was not statistically significant at the 5% level. Those who believe "milk makes mucus" or reduce milk intake with colds reported significantly more cough and congestion symptoms, but they did not produce higher levels of nasal secretions. We conclude that no statistically significant overall association can be detected between milk and dairy product intake and symptoms of mucus production in healthy adults, either asymptomatic or symptomatic, with rhinovirus infection



shannon
not-even-pregnant-yet-overachiever
trying-to-conceive :)
PREGNANT! EDD 6/9/03
mama to Jack 6/6/03

[parkersmama]

I don't ever limit milk when they have a cold but definitely avoid it for several days after one of them has a stomach virus episode. Milk on a queasy tummy...not a good combination!