How to Diagnose a Milk Allergy in a Baby

This is a tricky subject, and before I begin, I’d just like to reiterate that I am not a doctor.  You will want to speak with your pediatrician about your concerns and get his/her opinion!!  But, here is my experience and opinion on diagnosing a milk allergy in a baby…

Milk allergies often run in families, so if you or your spouse had one as a child, there is a higher likelihood that your baby will too.  Other symptoms can vary from child to child, and include rashes, loose stools, blood in stools, vomiting, and being very fussy or colicky.  You can have your doctor run tests to verify a milk allergy, which I would suggest doing if your child has very severe symptoms.  But, a lot of diagnosing with a baby comes with trial and error.  In other words, try completely eliminating milk from his/her diet (or your own diet if you are nursing), and see if it helps!  If it does, try re-introducing milk every couple of months to see if the symptoms reappear.  Most children outgrow milk allergies by the time they are 2-5. 

In my own experience, my older son, Logan, was a very fussy baby.  He spit up a LOT and had multiple loose stools each day.  BUT, he was growing, gaining weight, and reaching developmental milestones appropriately, so his doctor was not too worried.  I had asked about a milk allergy early on, but since he did not have bloody stools, that worry was discarded.  Around the time he was about 10 months old, he developed a facial rash, especially on his right cheek, that would come and go without a logical pattern that we could find.   Again, I brought up the idea of a milk allergy, but no one took me too seriously.  I spent a LOT of time researching his symptoms on the Internet, and kept coming back to the milk allergy idea.  I tried to eliminate milk from his diet, but the rash kept coming back.   Unfortunately, at that point, I didn’t realize how very many foods really have milk  in them.  It wasn’t until I really got serious about learning about milk allergies that I figured it all out.

To truly find out if it is a milk allergy, you have to get really good at understanding what foods really have milk in them (see my last blog).   You can’t just eliminate pizza, ice cream, and mac & cheese to see if it will work.  You have to read the labels of EVERYTHING you or your child is eating and learn to find hidden milk ingredients in them.   Completely eliminate dairy, and see what happens after a few days!  With Logan, his rash completely cleared up, and his diapers got better (although not perfect for a long time).  Whenever his rash did reappear, I could think back through what he ate, re-read labels, and always find the culprit. 

If you think your child has a milk allergy, first speak with your doctor.  But, then try eliminating dairy, but be very conscientious about it- really read everything.  If you are nursing, you’ll need to eliminate it from your diet to avoid passing it through to your baby (again, see previous blog).  Or, you can try Nutramigen formula by Enfamil.  If your child is already eating solid foods, take some time to do research and change his/her diet for a couple of weeks and see if symptoms improve. 

Remember, a true milk allergy is NOT the same as being lactose intolerant.  You can’t get lactose free products and expect them to work if it is a true milk allergy.  In a milk allergy, the allergen is the protein in milk, not lactose. 

Do the best you can, but don’t get upset if you make a mistake and accidentally eat something with milk in it– it is easy to do!  Just chalk it up to a learning experience and try again tomorrow .

February 2, 2009. Tags: baby, bloody stools, colic, diagnose a milk allergy, Enfamil, facial rash, infant, milk allergy, nursing, Nutramagin, nutramigen, rash, toddler. Babies with a Milk Allergy, Diagnosing a Milk Allergy, Uncategorized. Leave a comment.