glue ear caused by milk intolerance???

[BellasYummyMummy]

i posted this on another thread but then found this one and think its more appropriate!

my 17month old DD has glue ear, and has been on low dose antibiotics for 3 months. Just been back to see the specialist today who has suggested it could be a milk allergy causing her to produce more mucous, leading to glue ear.
I am tempted to try a week or two milk free, but feel she's too little to stop having cows milk, what would i use instead? i dont really want to go back to formula.
Has anyone had experience with this??

[forkhandles]

I don't know much about milk intollerance but I have a feeling you'd have to cut it out for much longer than 2 weeks to make sure. However DD1, who is no 6.5, has just grown out of having glue ear - I hope. Over the years she's had two sets of grommets and many ear infections and burst ear drums. I also have been told that cranial osteopath can help.

[BellasYummyMummy]

i dont really want to go down the grommets route just yet as shes so little, cranial osteopathy sounds good, she had that done when she was a newborn due to ventouse so might be worth another shot;...

[Joycey29]

My son has glue ear and it is definitely made worse by cows milk.
We juggle the two at present and when he has a cold revert to goats milk which seems to work.
He has an appt Thurs and I don't know what to do either - grommets seems drastic!

[RiaBlossom]

Goat and Soya milk are not first choices as often those with milk allergy are also intolerent to these.

Oat milk is often used, there is a calcium enriched variety (long life section of supermarket) but it is lower in calories than full fat cows milk.

I don't think you would notice a change in the glue ear as quickly as 2 weeks. but you may notice changes in nappies, behaviour, sleep, appetite etc which may indicate an intolerence. However you need to make sure enough calories and nutrients without dairy so doing this under advice of dietician would be best.

[RiaBlossom]

Yes, should have mentioned the formula, it is expensive so gp/paed may not suggest it to start with. Problem is they taste disgusting. We did a trial with oat milk, then challenged with cows milk. Once confirmed we got neonate advance on prescription (Harry is a poor eater though)

[AmritaSanyal]

My son is 2 years old and has had recurrent colds since he was born. He was behind in his speech development and a hearing test showed that both his ears are glued. The doctor will monitor again in 3 months but like some others I am reluctant to go down the grommets route. I have been reading and it seems allergy to cow's milk could be a cause. Anyone else has any opinion on this. Should I ask the GP for an allergy test? I am scared to stop cow's milk without any support.

[confusdmom98]

My daughter who is 2 years old is also suffering from glue ear. She is showing less response to the sound (even for the sound of a saxophone) and this had made me anxious about her health and sought the help of our family doctor. After the detailed examination, he told me that it might be glue ear due to milk intolerance and had referred her to an expert in Nu-Life hearing center, an audiology clinic in Bowmanville. The audiologist confirmed her glue ear after detailed check-ups and tests (tympanometry test). He prescribed some medications like Sudafed for temporary relief and now, we are waiting for the Grommet treatment. I wonder whether this disease will cause any problem to her audibility. I read that glue ear can cause problems in child growth and mental health. What are the things that should be considered to avoid such complications?

[Artistic]

My DD has cows milk intolerance but tolerates goats milk well (but not huge amounts, maybe a glass a day), and soy milk is ok too, but I didn't prefer it as a long term option. She is ok with any amount of yogurt, butter etc.

I think you need to cut out ALL diary for 3-4 weeks to see a difference. Soy /almond / oat milk can be used meanwhile. If you need to keep it that way long term you can try goat milk as an option but that wouldn't be 'diary free' just better tolerated.