Milk allergy? 12 months old, then what?

[June Mommy2]

Long story short, we have dealt with a supposed milk allergy in my dd since she was about 4 weeks old. It presented as specks of blood in her diaper. She is adopted and formula-fed, so we tried different formulas. She spent some time on Neocate, but has been on mostly Nutramigen until now, with no more adverse reactions. At her 1-year well visit, her pediatrician suggested we could try a teeny amount of whole milk to see if she had a reaction. Over the course of a week, I tried giving her a teaspoon of milk in a medicine dropper on 3 different days. Within minutes, she threw up, every time :( So, now what? I haven't tried cheese or yogurt, but without thinking I did let her play in her birthday cake that had copious amounts of butter in the frosting. She didn't really eat any of it, but her little face got red and splotchy around her mouth, I'm assuming just from the contact with the frosting. I'm really unsure what we need to do now. I have a call in to the pediatrician. Do we need to do formal allergy testing? Her dr. has discouraged it before, saying it was expensive and not all that accurate in young babies. I don't want to keep her on formula any longer than I have to, but what alternatives are there? My mom is pushing me to try goat's milk, any experience there? I know they really don't HAVE to have milk at all, but I'm concerned about her getting enough nutrients/calcium otherwise from solid foods. Help!

[crl]

People who are allergic to cow's milk are usually allergic to goat's milk.

As far as allergy testing, I would want to talk to an allergist. Ours said reaction trumps testing for food allergies and we never tested ds for milk because his reaction was clear enough for a diagnosis. Do you have an epi from your pediatrician?

Do you have insurance? If you do, who cares if testing is expensive? Your insurance will cover it. At least ours did (we tested for other foods).

I would pretty much insist on going to an allergist.

Catherine

[BabbyO]

My kiddos have milk protein allergy. We've never had testing done, because their response is all gastrointestinal (non-IgE response). My understanding is that the allergy testing doesn't respond to non-IgE reactions.

However, if your daughter is getting splochy and red...I would ask to see an allergist and have testing done. I believe that sort of reaction IS IgE regulated.

With respect to what can she drink. Well, I wouldn't do goats milk. She is reacting to the protein in the milk...so it will be present in goats milk, too.

Both my boys used Rice and/or Oat milk. We avoided nut milks (almond) because there was concern about Stachio potentially having a nut allergy.

Other options are Hemp, Almond, and Coconut milks. The key is most of these milks don't have the fat that whole milk does, so you need to add good fats through things like avocado, olive oil, salmon, etc. Also, whichever milk you choose, you want it to be calcium fortified. Many people use coconut milk because it has a higher fat content, but the only option I could get around here wasn't calcium fortified, so we didn't use it.

Most rice, almond, oat and hemp "milks" are calcium fortified. Some coconut milk is also fortified now.

I would continue to avoid dairy until I saw an allergist given your daughter's reaction. We are still milk free with Stachio and he is 3.5. We'll probably try small amounts of dairy after he turns 4.

[Clarity]

My dd was diagnosed with a cow's milk allergy when she was 11.5months old. I continued to breast feed her until she was 21 months old and gave her soy formula until she was 2. When she turned 2 I switched her to coconut milk and she's drank that ever since. (She's currently 4.5yo) Do not give her milk or milk products. That means no cheese, no yogurt, no milk, no butter. There are a lot of substitutes for these items so it should be relatively easy to find soy or coconut yogurts and non-dairy cheese. The toughest part is avoiding it in processed foods as well. Milk is in nearly everything. Good luck!

[June Mommy2]

Thanks everyone. We do have insurance. It has a high deductible, but allergy testing is something that I think would be a necessity, so we will just have to pay for it! We do not have an epi pen. We did try a soy formula very briefly, and I thought she spit up more on it so I switched her back to Nutramigen. Forgive the stupid questions, but would vomiting be a non--IgE response? She has very sensitive skin, so I'm not sure if it was the dairy in the frosting, or just the greasiness that made her red and splotchy; it cleared up in a couple of hours.

Thanks for the recommendations re: other milks. I will look around and see if I can find any calcium-fortified non-dairy milk around here. I may avoid almond until we know about the allergy testing. Hopefully I can find coconut milk and yogurt. This is all just new to me, since my son never had any issues with food allergies.

[Clarity]

Just to clarify, the coconut milk that we purchase is in the refridgerated dairy section and is made by So Delicious or Silk and is definitely calcium fortified. We do not give our dd coconut milk from a can.

I think that if you can get your dd to drink a variety of things that can serve as a substitute you are probably on the right track. DD actually outgrew her milk allergy but does not like the taste of milk so she still drinks coconut milk. IIRC, Rice milk typically doesn't have the necessary fat content that other milk substitutes contain so I believe that people who substitute with rice milk often add some healthy oil to the milk or to their child's diet.

I agree that having your dd tested is important but it does sound as if she has an allergy. The redness is the skin reaction to the allergen and the vomiting is the reaction to the ingestion. My dd was covered with eczema as a baby due to her food allergies and the first place it always flared was around her mouth. I can't find them anymore but I used to always carry Benadryl "perfect teaspoons" for when my dd was exposed to an allergen. Going to the dr. will let you know what you can give your dd if she has an emergency reaction, the prescriptions, dosage, etc.

Good luck!

[June Mommy2]

Thanks again! Just wanted to update a little...

We still haven't been able to see our regular pediatrician b/c she has been on vacation. The nurse I spoke with mentioned it to one of the other doctors in the practice, and she suggested trying a little cow's milk mixed with her formula in a bottle, just in case she was gagging b/c of the taste. While my dd has been known to gag on food she doesn't like on occasion, I am very hesitant to do that because I don't want her throwing up her whole bottle, plus if she doesn't throw up, I'll still be wondering if I'm missing blood in her stool or some other reaction. I don't know if that dr. knew our history with the diaper issues and trying so many formulas, etc.

I did try regular whole milk yogurt. I gave her blueberry Yobaby, and she refused after a spoon or two of it. No reaction, though. I tried again the next day, mixing it with some baby food, and she still refused after she tasted it. I don't know if she just doesn't like the taste, or if somehow her little body knows she shouldn't have it! She's usually a pretty good eater (except for green baby food!)

I also tried some So Delicious coconut milk. I mixed a tablespoon with baby oatmeal and bananas. She ate it just fine with no reaction and seemed to like it. So I mixed an ounce in with her formula in a bottle, and it seemed fine too.

I think I will just continue with the coconut milk until I can see her regular doctor. I just don't know how much I want to keep experimenting with regular milk products.

[Looking4deals]

While my two kids don't have a milk allergy, I personally drink Rice and almond milk? Can kids drink that? I would think they would need to get more calcium though. hmm. I might need to try coconut milk though. Sounds interesting.

[LizLemon]

Thanks everyone. We do have insurance. It has a high deductible, but allergy testing is something that I think would be a necessity, so we will just have to pay for it! We do not have an epi pen. We did try a soy formula very briefly, and I thought she spit up more on it so I switched her back to Nutramigen. Forgive the stupid questions, but would vomiting be a non--IgE response? She has very sensitive skin, so I'm not sure if it was the dairy in the frosting, or just the greasiness that made her red and splotchy; it cleared up in a couple of hours.

Thanks for the recommendations re: other milks. I will look around and see if I can find any calcium-fortified non-dairy milk around here. I may avoid almond until we know about the allergy testing. Hopefully I can find coconut milk and yogurt. This is all just new to me, since my son never had any issues with food allergies.

I don't want to push the almond milk issue but the latest advice is not to avoid allergenic foods due to a fear of possible allergies (http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/prevent-kids-food-allergies-start-peanuts-eggs-sooner) - it seems to only make things worse and might potentiate allergies. Allergy testing is not going to give you straightforward answer: yes/no. It is a number from a blood test or a skin test that is interpreted.

It makes me nervous that your daughter has had pretty strong responses to drinking and touching milk products and your ped's office keeps encouraging milk consumption. It is possible to have anaphylaxis with a milk allergy.

[sunnyside]

My DD had a milk and soy protein intolerance as a baby (I could not have dairy, soy, or even BEEF! while breastfeeding her). She didn't develop it until 4 months old and outgrew it by 11 months. I know not the same thing at all, but I didn't want to give her dairy after she turned 1 and she was still nursing anyway so I just fed her a variety of foods high in calcium and fat and didn't worry about it, so long as she was getting those nutrients other ways. Even now at 2.5 I never give her plain milk, though I do give her milk sometimes in the form of hot cocoa, which she is fine with, but she didn't have a true allergy, she just had an intolerance.