Dairy allergy, tablets to aid digestion advice

[adviceonchildplease]

I’ve found Dairy digest complete capsules. You take one before a meal with Dairy, and it helps with the digestion of dairy. Has anyone had experience with these? They sound almost too good to be true. They say they are only for adults, but wonder if they would be ok to give to a child? On their website there are reviews from people who have given to children with great results. Any advice welcome, thank you,

Just to check if you mean allergy or intolerance? Not sure if these tablets are ok for allergy? In my teens I assumed my issue was lactose intolerance not allergy and took some capsules with lactase and I projectile vomited the diary pizza I ate!
Hopefully some others with more recent experience can help but just wanted to issue a word of warning to be sure before you take a them

My SIL is lactose intolerant & uses them - they work for her, but that's an intolerance not an allergy. Allergies are completely different.

That will only work if lactose is the problem, it won't work for cows milk protein allergies or intolerances.

I think it would be potentially very dangerous to rely on something like this if you or your child actually has a dairy allergy. An allergy is an immune response not a digestive issue. Lactose intolerance is a shortage of the digestive enzyme needed to breakdown the sugar in milk and that can be treated by taking the missing enzyme. Cows milk protein allergy and lactose intolerance often confused but they are totally different things, managed different ways, so it's really important to have the correct diagnosis. Digestive enzymes will not prevent allergic reactions.

Thank you for the responses. So we have been trying the milk ladder, and she can get to stage two before she gets cold like symptoms (runny nose, cough etc) and then we've not gone any further than that. So I think it's an intolerance?

I'm not sure if it's a lactose intolerance or CMPA, how would I find that out, would that be with tests at the hospital?

The milk ladder is for CMPA so the tablets will not help. There is a good support group on Facebook (main group - CMPA support) which is good for information about types of allergy, ladder etc. CMPA can be non-ige and ige, ige is immediate and includes symptoms like anaphylaxis, hives etc. non ige is often more delayed and includes symptoms such as reflux, stool problems, runny nose, eczema etc. The milk ladder is typically done for non ige allergies (sometimes referred to as intolerance but not the same as lactose intolerance).

Awww sounds like it might not work😩 I thought it would be too good to be true! Thanks everyone

Has she been diagnosed with a dairy allergy?

Lactose intolerance is quite different and not related to CMPA (lactose is a sugar, not a protein). If you check the capsules you mention they probably say that they are useful in the digestion of lactose. So they'd be helpful for prople with a lactose intolerance, but not with an allergy.

Sounds like you need some better professional support @adviceonchildplease
Who is advising you on the Milk Ladder? It doesn't sound like you have had your child's condition explained to you very well. I think you need to ask your doctor/dietician for more information.
But it does sound like they are treating your child for cows' milk protein allergy. This can cause a range of problems, including digestive issues so it is easy to get confused. (And to add to the confusion damage to the gut lining can cause secondary lactose intolerance so it's possible to have both!)
But a key thing to remember is that lactose intolerance is a shortage of the enzyme required to digest the sugars in milk so it only causes digestive issues, usually diarrhoea/gas and the diarrhoea is often green, frothy and smelly. What lactose intolerance alone cannot do is cause symptoms elsewhere in the body, such as skin problems, coughing, wheezing and so on. Those are caused by a reaction in the immune system and the only way to control them really is to avoid the triggers, in this case cows' milk protein.
The tablets you have found contain digestive enzymes and may help if there is a shortage of the ones needed to digest milk properly. But that is actually fairly rare in young children anyway. But they will do nothing to prevent your child's immune system reacting to cows' milk and so not only won't help, but it could be very harmful if you then give some food or drink that you think these tablets will protect her from and she has a severe reaction.
Please talk to your doctor or dietician to get a clear plan of how best to support your child.