Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Original poster

cows milk allergy

20 replies

scrummymummy · 21/01/2003 10:17

does anyone have any experience with this? I was diagnosed lactose intolerant a couple of years ago, though it got much better, especially through pregnancy when it was no problem at all. But now I'm wondering whether my baby could be allergic too (she has eczema) through my breastmilk. Can't find anything online/ in books that's conclusive and don't want to drop the calcium for both of us, so wondered if anyone has any experience in this area

OP posts:
PamT · 21/01/2003 10:57

My dd is milk intolerant, she suffers horrendous stomach pains if she has the slightest bit of milk in any shape or form. The dietician and medical profession in general weren't much good and most of the books in the library were out of date or the type of 'food fad' diet books.

My best sources of information were via the internet - No Cow's Milk for Me Thanks! and, Dairyfree
and I'll be amazed if both those links work ok!

You'll find lots of links on those sites and might find The Inside Story and Allergy UK particularly useful.

I decided to go dairy free myself last summer and found that my hay fever immediately cleared up and I stopped suffering hives on a regular basis as I had been doing. If you want to know anything about good products just ask!

PamT · 21/01/2003 11:00

By the way - are you scummymummy or someone different? Scrummy is very similar to Scummy and I just wondered.

Original poster
scrummymummy · 21/01/2003 12:33

Thanks PamT - will definitely try those links out. I'm not scummymummy (though that is probably a better description at present!)but am new to mumsnet so hadn't realised anyone had such a similar name!

OP posts:
PamT · 21/01/2003 15:41

I don't know if you might want to change your name to avoid confusion, I know that I misread it at first glance. Welcome to mumsnet anyway and let me know if you want any more info about dairy free living.

SofiaAmes · 21/01/2003 21:38

scrummymummy, lactose intolerance is a completely different thing than being allergic to milk. Lactose intolerance is relatively common in adults, particularly in communities that didn't historically have cows. It simply means that you have lost the ability to digest the lactose in milk, hence the stomach aches. If you are not majorly lactose intolerant (it varies from personto person), you may still be able to eat yogurt or cheese (some of the lactose is used up in the process of making them) for your calcium, or lactose free milk. It is unlikely that your baby is allergic to milk because you are lactose intolerant, but that doesn't mean she isn't allergic just that the two aren't connected. I vaguely remember reading somewhere that there is a connection between milk and eczema, but I could be totally wrong on that. If you are not consuming any dairy, you should make sure to take calcium pills as bfing is very depleting of calcium.

GillW · 22/01/2003 10:16

That's interesting Sofia - explains why DS, who is lactose intolerant enough for it to induce eczema if he has cows milk as a drink (though he's ok with goats milk) seems to be ok with cheese and yoghurt. I'd assumed it was just a volume thing, and that he was coping ok with the smaller amounts, but perhaps it's more to do with the changes/reductions in lactose as the cheese and yoghurt are made.

bayleaf · 22/01/2003 13:08

Scrummy - have you tried rubbing a little cow's milk into your baby's skin? If not try it ( on a small area of the back) and if it turns red after about 10 minutes ( often with little white hives) then she probably is allergic ( as opposed to intolerant)
A negative result is not conclusive proof that she's not allergic but a positive one is pretty much IYSWIM. This is the test the paediatric immunologist did on my dd - my she was allergic when she first tried formula at 5 months (VERY) but now aged 2 is eating a wide range of dairy products and the only thing I avoid completely is milk itself.

munchbunch · 22/01/2003 19:04

thanks bayleaf for the tip. I tried it and no reaction which I guess is good news.

Glad to hear your dd is growing out of it

mammya · 25/04/2003 01:03

I suspect my dd's eczema is linked to cow's milk intolerance/allergy. Her eczema is not too bad, and seems to be better when she drinks goat's milk. Her father's family have a history of lactose intolerance/milk allergy. Can anyone tell me how you can tell the difference between lactose intolerance and milk allergy?
Sorry if I'm repeating some questions here, skimmed the relevant threads but didn't see anything that answered my question.

mammya · 02/05/2003 22:19

Helloooo?
I see, there's noone to answer me... Probably all too busy in the education, yurt etc threads.
Oh well, I'll talk to myself then, until someone notices me...

Chinchilla · 02/05/2003 22:27

Sorry mammya - can't help you, but I didn't want you to feel ignored!

JJ · 02/05/2003 23:14

Mammya, sorry, I don't know. My son is allergic to milk. You might try a total elimination of milk (read labels and all that) and then reintroduce it and see what happens. I don't know about milk intolerance, but doing it might tell you something. Hopefully...

What is a yurt? Time to use dictionary.com . I feel so old.

JJ · 02/05/2003 23:18

A circular, domed, portable tent used by nomadic peoples of central Asia.

There ya go. Compliments of dictionary.com , for the benefit of anyone, like me, who was wondering what it was.

jodee · 03/05/2003 08:14

Hi Mammya, maybe this will give you a basic idea? HTH

GillW · 03/05/2003 09:26

Hi Mammya - I've got a ds who neds goats milk rather than cows milk too for much the same reason. Although it might give you hope of things getting easier to know that as he's got bigger (he's now 19 months) he seems to be ok with things like cows' milk cheese and yoghurt, and we don't worry about small amounts of other dairy in his diet - just ensuring that he doesn't have cows milk as a drink is enough for him.

This page answers your question about the difference between lactose intolerance and milk allergies.

bunny2 · 03/05/2003 11:33

My son, nearly 3, has recently been re-tested for a dairy alllergy. He was allergic as a baby but seems to have grown out of it. Some of these conditions are temporary it seems.

mammya · 03/05/2003 15:22

Thanks for your replies, guys! I was starting too feel ignored a tiny bit...
GillW, thanks for the link, that was exactly the info I needed.
Jodee, I had already seen the BBC pages, found them interesting but they didn't answer my questoin. Thanks for taking the time to reply all the same!

robinw · 04/05/2003 07:54

message withdrawn

shalenmatt · 26/11/2003 21:51

My son was diagnosed as milk intolerant at 8wks without any tests (4yrs ago) very wrong..if child intolerant will be no middle mark.. completely intolernat or not at all...milk allergy different. Milk intolerance means child cannot absorb lactose (sugar found in cows milk-form of carbohydrate). If intolernat would have adverse reaction to any product containing lactose. Wind, diarreah, excuse spelling, cramps, severe nausea.

shalenmatt · 26/11/2003 21:51

My son was diagnosed as milk intolerant at 8wks without any tests (4yrs ago) very wrong..if child intolerant will be no middle mark.. completely intolernat or not at all...milk allergy different. Milk intolerance means child cannot absorb lactose (sugar found in cows milk-form of carbohydrate). If intolernat would have adverse reaction to any product containing lactose. Wind, diarreah, excuse spelling, cramps, severe nausea.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page