But what you need to know if your child DOES have an allergy
Although my daughter’s first serious allergic reaction was terrifying at the time, in hindsight, it had its benefits. Because it meant after months of taking her to the gP with redraw eczema, upset tummies and horrendous nappy rash — and being told it was due to everything from wind to incompetent nappy- changing — we were finally given the right diagnosis.
this first serious allergic reaction occurred when Alice was five months old, while my mother was looking after her. I’d left her a bottle of formula milk and within minutes of drinking it, Alice’s face went scarlet, and an angry rash spread rapidly from her neck to her belly.
My mother was on the verge of calling an ambulance, but then noticed the rash was subsiding.
Fortuitously, I already had a gP appointment that afternoon for Alice’s weeping eczema. We’d been going to the gP every week since she first developed this and a windy tummy at four weeks old. We were always told this was normal for some babies and that she would grow out of it.
But this time we saw a different doctor, who immediately referred us to an allergy clinic. Skin tests — the gold standard for diagnosis — confirmed she had allergies to milk and eggs. her ( milder) reaction to breast milk was not to the milk itself, but the result of my consuming milk and eggs.
I stopped eating milk and eggs — and anything with these in such as cheese, yoghurt and cakes — and Alice’s skin cleared up in days; her other symptoms also disappeared.
Although her diagnosis was a relief it required a daunting lifestyle shift. Subsequent tests revealed her egg allergy was so strong she was at risk of anaphylaxis and we had to carry a penlike device at all times that would inject adrenaline and instantly open her airway.
Experts warn they’re seeing increasing numbers of milk allergies in children. Some studies suggest more than 200,000 under the age of four may be affected — but many more could be missed. ‘ In the past two years we received 150 new referrals to our clinic of children with suspected milk allergy — more than one a week,’ warns Dr David luyt, paediatric allergy consultant at leicester Royal Infirmary.
Although it’s not clear why, milk allergy occurs when the immune system malfunctions and treats proteins found in milk, such as casein and whey, as foreign invaders — and attacks.
this triggers a release of the chemical histamine, which causes reactions such as hives, and swelling. In severe cases it can result in anaphylaxis.
genes play a part, but other factors are thought to include changes in the child’s gut bacteria, perhaps as a result of being delivered via caesarean or from receiving antibiotics.
to complicate matters, some children may react hours, even days, after drinking milk. this can make a milk allergy especially difficult to spot, says Dr Kate grimshaw, a specialist allergy dietitian at Southampton Children’s hospital.
‘In the case of delayed reactions, diagnosis relies on a health professional — such as a gP or health visitor — recognising their symptoms and referring the child to a specialist.’
however, gPs or health visitors are not always aware that milk allergy may not produce an immediate reaction.
‘We recently published research suggesting nearly half of children with a milk allergy will not react to current allergy tests, due to having a delayed reaction. We hear this from parents in our clinic — some have to fight to get a referral to us.’
luckily, most children (around 90 per cent) grow out of milk allergy by the age of five, says Dr David luyt. ‘Possibly due to their immune system changing with age. Children with delayed reactions, tend to grow out of their allergy faster.
‘Doctors used to believe that children with milk allergy should avoid all milk, but we now realise that if we re-introduce milk slowly this can allow the immune system to adjust over time, so that it stops reacting.’
the therapy, called the milk ladder, is usually started when a child is one. It gradually introduces milk in increasingly pure forms, starting with malted milk biscuits and ending with plain milk. Dr luyt cautions it must always be done under the guidance of a medical professional. DR
gRIMShAW echoes the need to seek medical advice before removing milk from a child’s diet, and urges parents to ask to see an allergy specialist first. She warns that dairy alternatives such as oat or coconut milk don’t have nearly enough protein for a growing child.
like Alice, our second child, Cora, born three months ago, also seems to have problems with dairy, with skin rashes and terrible nappies.
But this time I knew what to do and cut dairy from my diet within days: we hope she will also be tested at Alice’s hospital appointment next month.
In the meantime, Alice, now three, has been on the milk ladder for six months and is still near the bottom (there are 12 steps): she’s managed the biscuits. Next: cake!