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Allergies
What should I do if I think I am allergic to milk?
Milk allergies are rare in adults and should not be confused with lactose intolerance. If you think you have a milk allergy, confirm it with your doctor.
Ideas for Action:
- Talk to your doctor to confirm that you actually do have a milk allergy before making any decisions to change your diet.
- If you do have a milk allergy, you must eliminate all dairy products from your diet. You should see a registered dietitian who will advise you about your diet and ensure that it is nutritionally adequate.
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Did You Know?
- Less than 1% of adults and 3% of children have a clinically proven milk allergy, and children tend to outgrow a milk allergy by the age of three.
- Because most children outgrow a milk allergy by the age of three and since milk is an important source of more than 15 essential nutrients, the sooner it can be re-introduced into your child's diet, the better. Try adding milk to your child's diet every six months after one year of age in consultation with your child's doctor.
- There are a wide range of milk allergy symptoms
that can involve skin complaints, the gastrointestinal
tract or the respiratory tract 1,2.
- Skin complaints, such as rash, eczema and hives are present in about one-third to two-thirds of suffering individuals.
- Gastrointestinal tract symptoms may present as abdominal pain, vomiting or diarrhea and account for about half of presenting milk allergy symptoms.
- Respiratory tract symptoms can include nasal congestion, coughing and wheezing and typically account for about one fifth to one third of presenting symptoms.
- Other symptoms such as mucus formation, colic, inner ear infections, migraines and behavioural problems, sometimes associated with milk allergy have not been substantiated.
- Infantile colic - prolonged episodes of irritability, fussiness and crying - is often attributed to an allergy to cow's milk protein. However, evidence fails to support that an allergy to cow's milk is the cause of colic. The exact cause of colic remains unknown.
- Lactose intolerance, also known as "lactose maldigestion", and milk allergy are not the same and should be distinguished since they require different treatments.
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