Suspected cows milk allergy when weaning

[RosieIGrant]

Hi all, my DD (6 months) had a reaction to some cows milk I added to some baby rice yesterday - hives where the food had made contact on her face and a rash type spot behind her ears/red eyes. The GP advised that she is most likely allergic to the cows milk. DD is EBF and I eat a lot of dairy; she has never reacted to my milk so I’m confused if she is allergic or if it’s just a milk contact reaction? She has also eaten a bit of greek yogurt and butter mixed in with other food over the past two weeks and been fine.

What do people think? GP said not to give her any dairy until we have seen a dietitian but I’m concerned that she won’t be getting appropriate nutrients. We eat full fat, proper everything at home and I’m a bit reluctant to give her vegetable spreads and the like. I’ll obviously do this if that’s all she can tolerate but I’m a bit confused why she hasn’t reacted to my breast milk or the Greek yogurt. Thank you

Entirely possible to not react through your breast milk, lots of babies with cmpa don't as the amount of milk protein transferred is significantly reduced. Allergies also don't always appear on first exposure, it's often the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time so it is possible to have not reacted previously to the yoghurt.

But.... has she had the baby rice before? Did she eat anything else at all that could have caused a contact reaction? Fruit? Vegetables?

She just had baby rice with the cows milk, no other food. I didn’t realise that re allergies not appearing on first exposure. She had a ‘banana breckie’ Ella’s pouch the other day which includes yogurt and was fine with that… I will have to do some reading as there is no history of allergies in the family and it’s knocked my already shaky confidence with her weaning

I’ve just read that hives can mean selling in the mouth and throat so won’t be giving her any diary before we get seen, I’m just so worried she will have more allergies and I won’t know.

Sorry just to add it was the first time she’s had the baby rice

Could've been just that product - or she may have a lactose allergy. Yoghurt, butter and most cheeses are low in lactose, and you can get lactose-free milk which has all the other qualities of milk.

When the NHS tested me, they returned a dairy intolerance but didn't test to see whether it's lactose, milk protein, or all dairy. One would hope they'd be more rigorous with a baby, especially as she's had what seems like a clear allergic reaction. If you're feeling brave, you could try her on some yoghurt to see if she tolerates it well?

Actually, I'd discuss this with your GP. S/he might be able to prepare you with a baby-appropriate remedy so you can conduct your test safely.

I honestly would be a bit suspicious of the baby rice or a preservative in it causing a contact reaction. although a rice allergy is much more unlikely than a milk allergy it is certainly possible.

Completely understand your hesitation in trying again. has the gp referred you? It can be a long wait. Dairy is such major food group to take out, potentially unnecessarily, that I'd probably find a paediatric allergy consultant and see them privately. It's probably a couple of hundred pounds but you'd spend that in no time on the extra cost of alternative milk products.

If it is a milk allergy also be very careful with soya. The proteins are very similar

I have thought about ringing the GP to ask if it’s safe to do this, it just seems so odd she’s been ok with yogurt and butter.

Thanks I hadn’t considered that it could be the baby rice. GP said it would be a 6 week wait (ish) but im minded not to believe that 🤣

Yoghurt and butter are less allergenic than cow's milk as they have been processed and the proteins change.

If your baby has been ok with these butter and yoghurt then I would continue giving them to her.

My DS was anaphylactic to cow's milk and now drinks milkshakes as he took part in an oral immunotherapy trial.

Their advice was that if your child is tolerating something the worst thing you can do is stop. Increased exposure builds tolerance.

That obviously doesn't apply if there is an obvious allergic reaction.

Thank you I was thinking this myself. I might wait until my DH is back from work tonight and give her a tiny bit of Greek yogurt. I’ll try and get hold of the doctor today for their advise. Don’t want to cause her any unnecessary distress :(

Just to add I gave her a bit of toast on Sunday and she licked all the butter off (she is definitely mine!) and was absolutely fine

@Rainbowshit is correct. Assuming it is the milk, If she is tolerating it keep it in her diet and make sure she is having it 2-3 times a week. Don't take it out. Google the imap milk ladder and you will see the 6 (or 12 ) steps of the ladder and what she should be able to tolerate. Yoghurt and butter are very high up, so she should also be able to have cheese, baked goods with milk etc. basically everything but pure milk.

A 6 week wait is excellent. We waited a year and a half, albeit in covid times. Hence why I went private

If you’re feeling brave then trying the rice with a plant based milk might help work out if the rice is an issue. (I’m assuming that the baby rice itself is dairy free)

I was just given urgent referral for allergy clinic/dietician due to CMPA severe enough to come through breastmilk and got given a date in September. And thats travelling to a hospital further away...

Thanks all, not sure if it was a case of the GP fobbing me off when I asked about timescales but I’ll chase it up in a few weeks. Think I’ll keep trying the yogurt/cheese/butter. She’s still taking my milk anyway so no cows milk isn’t a big deal at this stage. It’s so scary though!

I would cut out dairy for a few days and find a copy of the milk ladder. Test the bottom step for a couple of days then the next step and find where they currently sit
You can get build up reactions, it's less common with the immediate reactions so it could be that the yoghurt + the baby rice triggered the reactions. As their portion sizes build up and there is a higher amount of dairy in their diet you might find you start seeking reactions to the lower level stuff.
The bottom of the ladder is dairy in a flour matrix so I think I would make some scotch pancakes or similar and see how they get on with that and work back up to yoghurt over a 1-2 weeks

Also, I would only give dairy early in the day and during the week so that if you need there is more medical support available if necessary

My daughter has a lot of food allergies and reacted to my breastmilk. We identified fish during weaning and at first we thought that she didn't react to me eating fish until I had fish two days running and she did react. I found that I could have fish once a week and her be ok. Our dietitian was keen for me to keep it in my diet at this frequency. For us it didn't move into her being able to tolerate it directly and fails with teeny tiny bits of fish.

Is there any update on this?