Does your baby suffer from eczema, wheezing, intestinal cramps or does milk often come up after drinking? These may be signs of a cow’s milk allergy. Even a small amount of milk can cause annoying symptoms and that is of course very unpleasant for your little one. In this article, you’ll learn exactly what cow’s milk allergy is, the difference to lactose intolerance, how to recognize the symptoms, what you can do to support your baby, and more.
What exactly is cow's milk allergy?
In cow’s milk allergy, your baby’s immune system reacts too strongly to the proteins in milk. The body identifies these proteins as harmful and produces antibodies. This leads to various complaints: an allergic reaction. Because the immune system reacts similarly to milk from sheep and goats, they can cause the same reaction.
And what about lactose intolerance?
Lactose intolerance works just a little differently than an allergy. The immune system does not play a role in this respect, but the body can digest lactose less well due to a deficiency of the enzyme lactase. This can lead to unpleasant abdominal complaints such as flatulence, diarrhea or cramps. Fortunately, people with lactose intolerance can often tolerate small amounts of lactose.
Lactose intolerance is less common in babies. This is because they produce a lot of lactase in the beginning to be able to digest milk properly. From the age of about three years, the production of this enzyme may decrease somewhat. Sometimes lactose intolerance is caused by, for example, an intestinal infection. In this case, it is temporary and therefore passes without any treatment.
Diarrhea and cow's milk allergy
Diarrhea is a common symptom in babies with cow’s milk allergy (CMPA). Your child is suffering from diarrhea if the stool is thin and watery, if the color or smell of the stool seems different than normal and if you have to change your baby’s diapers more than 8 times per day. By regularly checking, you quickly notice any changes in the stool, and you will be better able to determine whether something is wrong.
Cow's milk allergy symptoms in babies
Cow’s milk allergy in babies is not always easy to recognize. The symptoms often resemble those of other allergies or disorders. However, there are a few common signs to look out for. Your baby may experience spitting, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, reduced desire or need for food, or blood in the stool. Other signs include a runny nose, swollen lips, tongue or throat, spots on the skin, redness or itching and sometimes even coughing or breathing problems.
In about 1 to 5% of babies, a cow’s milk allergy will persist until it is treated. Trust your instincts and, if in doubt, contact your child health clinic agency or GP. Keep track of exactly what is bothering your child and at what times in our app’s diary. You can use this information if you go to the doctor in a case of suspected cow’s milk allergy.
Testing your baby for cow's milk allergy
You can determine whether your child suffers from cow’s milk allergy by means of an elimination diet. Of course, always under the supervision of a doctor. This means removing all cow’s milk from your baby’s diet for four weeks to see if the symptoms will be alleviated. After that, you have to carefully reintroduce cow’s milk to see if the symptoms come back.
How does it work in detail?
- You start with four weeks without milk. Are you breastfeeding? Then you have to stop eating or drinking products that contain milk for four weeks. Do you feed your baby with baby formula`? Then you should temporarily switch to special, highly hydrolyzed food.
- After four weeks, you can with discuss with your doctor whether your baby feels better.
- If all symptoms have disappeared, you have to slowly reintroduce cow’s milk to check if your baby suffers from a genuine allergy. This, too, must be done under the supervision of the doctor, so that your baby remains safe.
What to do if your baby has cow's milk allergy?
Does the examination show that your baby has a cow’s milk allergy? Don’t worry, you can help your little one with a few adjustments.
- Bottle feeding: Feed your little one with the special baby formula your doctor has recommended. You usually do this for about 6 months.
- Breastfeeding: Are you doing only breastfeeding ? Then it is important that you do not use any milk products yourself. A dietitian can assist you with that. Are you doing both breastfeeding and bottle-feeding? Then you can simply use dairy products yourself.
- Back to milk: After about 6 months, you will be advised by the doctor to carefully reintroduce milk in the diet again. Fortunately, cow’s milk allergy often goes away on its own, usually around the first or second year of life.
Do you have questions, doubts or want to start an elimination diet? Always consult a doctor first.
