Anyone's kid allergic/sensitive to milk?

[mishap]

DS (13 months) had an allergy test that came back as strongly sensitive or allergic to milk. Based on his symptoms -- some tummy issues, no excema, seriously cranky, although this could be molars coming in -- dr. wants us to switch to soy for his morning and evening milk sippy cups but says we can still give him yogurt, cheese, ice cream.

Dr. Google tells me that soy milk will put him through early puberty or turn him into a girl. Obviously these sites are all very legit.

In all seriousness, do you give soy? I'm also looking at goat's milk, almond milk or rice milk as alternatives, but I'm not sure why one would pick any of these over the other.

[Deleted]

My DD was allergic to soy and dairy. We chose hemp milk after a lot of research-- healthier than the other options (other than maybe almond milk, which we stayed away from because of a potential nut allergy).

DD still drinks hemp even though she outgrew her allergies because I think its healthier for her than cows milk and I will give hemp to any future children no matter if they are allergic or not. It has omega fatty acids and a lot of protein.

This is what she drinks- www.amazon.com/Living-Harvest-Vanilla-32-Ounce-Containers/dp/B001HTRDVC/ref=pd_rhf_gw_p_t_2

[Deleted]

oh, and rice milk has almost no nutritional value. I looked into it as well, and gave it to her as a supplement on occasion since it was much cheaper, but she didn't like it anyway.

[luvmagoldn]

EDIT: Sorry - you answered this. How old is your LO?

DS#3 has many food allergies. We discovered his issues with milk at about nine weeks when I started to supplement with formula. We switched to soy and he was fine.

When I started introducing solids he had more reactions - that's when we had him tested for food allergies. He was seven months old and had the RAST blood test.

Which test did he have done? As far as I know there is no lab test for sensitivity.

Anyway, DS was on soy formula and soy milk and still eats soy cheese and yogurt. I know some poeple are really concerned about the use of soy in kids (The Bump has a Food Allergy board and one of the regulars - Magdusia - has done a lot of research on it). But frankly, I'm not at all concerned.

We were not able to use nut milks b/c of nut allergies. We tried coconut milk but DS hated it as an infant but now will eat coconut yogurt and ice cream. You may have to go with what your LO will actually eat.

I'm sorry to hear about your DS's issues. Food allergies suck. No doubt about it.

[cheese]

DS had MSPI (milk and soy protein intolerance). He can now tolerate milk and soy in breastmilk and is doing ok with some soy and dairy in foods. If he is unable to drink milk, we will probably try coconut or hemp milk.

[mishap]

Thanks for the responses. I'd never heard of hemp milk.

He had the RAST test done. He was on Nutramigen as an infant for MSPI, although we never even got to try soy because his pedi and gastro said he should go on Nutramigen right away ... so I guess it was realy just an MPI.

He's already eaten peanut butter and other nut foods with no problems so far, so I'm guessing we have avoided nut allergies thus far ...

[luvmagoldn]

If he had a positive RAST doesn't that definitely mean a protein allergy? Was the test done by your pedi or an allergist?

If he hasn't seen a pedicatric allergist I would get him in to see one. Even pedis and GI specialists aren't always up on the complexities regarding food allergies.

[mishap]

The test was done by his pedi -- well, a lab. The pedi gave us the results.

He was said to have an MPI when he was 8 weeks old by his gastro, whom he saw for reflux. The allergy test was done just two weeks ago, and his pedi said he was allergic to milk.

Sorry if I am being confusing -- I am a little confused about the differences between an allergy and an intolerance.

[luvmagoldn]

Don't worry. It is confusing!

A sensitivity or intolerance means someone will get gastric issues but no danger of anaphylaxis. Allergy means the body mounts a defense against the allergen which can lead to anaphylaxis and can be fatal.

We've had two trips to the ER via ambulance so far, both for milk exposure. It's scary stuff but can be managed with A LOT of vigilance.

I'm assuming you have an epi-pen for your DS now? If you don't make sure you get one. Label reading will be your new hobby. Milk is in a lot of things you wouldn't think of - commerical breads, cereals, pasta sauce, hand soaps, etc.

If you haven't already, check out the FAAN website. There is a lot of great information there.

www.foodallergy.org/

[mishap]

May 22, 2012 15:00:15 GMT -5 luvmagoldn said:

Don't worry. It is confusing!

A sensitivity or intolerance means someone will get gastric issues but no danger of anaphylaxis. Allergy means the body mounts a defense against the allergen which can lead to anaphylaxis and can be fatal.

We've had two trips to the ER via ambulance so far, both for milk exposure. It's scary stuff but can be managed with A LOT of vigilance.

I'm assuming you have an epi-pen for your DS now? If you don't make sure you get one. Label reading will be your new hobby. Milk is in a lot of things you wouldn't think of - commerical breads, cereals, pasta sauce, hand soaps, etc.

If you haven't already, check out the FAAN website. There is a lot of great information there.

www.foodallergy.org/

Ack, no! I don't have one, and the dr. was very blase about it. He said not to stop giving him yogurt, ice cream or cheese -- just to replace his morning and evening sippy with soy milk.

He has been drinking about 12 ounces of cow's milk a day for the past month or so. Obviously we're going to stop that now.

I think you are right that we should see an allergist.

[luvmagoldn]

May 22, 2012 15:12:07 GMT -5 mishap said:

May 22, 2012 15:00:15 GMT -5 luvmagoldn said:

Don't worry. It is confusing!

A sensitivity or intolerance means someone will get gastric issues but no danger of anaphylaxis. Allergy means the body mounts a defense against the allergen which can lead to anaphylaxis and can be fatal.

We've had two trips to the ER via ambulance so far, both for milk exposure. It's scary stuff but can be managed with A LOT of vigilance.

I'm assuming you have an epi-pen for your DS now? If you don't make sure you get one. Label reading will be your new hobby. Milk is in a lot of things you wouldn't think of - commerical breads, cereals, pasta sauce, hand soaps, etc.

If you haven't already, check out the FAAN website. There is a lot of great information there.

www.foodallergy.org/

Ack, no! I don't have one, and the dr. was very blase about it. He said not to stop giving him yogurt, ice cream or cheese -- just to replace his morning and evening sippy with soy milk.

He has been drinking about 12 ounces of cow's milk a day for the past month or so. Obviously we're going to stop that now.

I think you are right that we should see an allergist.

OMG my heart is literally pounding! I would stop all milk and get an appt with an allergist ASAP.

I am on a few different allergy message boards and unfortunately, this is not an uncommon response from pediatricians.

Edit: And please let me know what the allergist says when you see one. I would be very interested in an update.

[MrsManners]

Ds is allergic to soy but we all avoid it anyway because of the phytoestrogens and the fact that like 95% of soybeans in the US are genetically modified. I would NOT give soy milk as a replacement. I would choose almond milk. Although, I'd mostly just use it in things that needed a "milk" like smoothies and would not offer it just for drinking. For drinks, I'd stick with water, water with different natural fruit flavorings (infuse with oranges, lime, cucumbers, etc) or decaf/unsweetened green or black teas. I'd also avoid all the other milk products like cheese or yogurt and would get an epipen.

[ijack]

I would try coconut milk - its higher in fat than the non soy options.

[katiescarlett]

DS is highly allergic to dairy. There's a high likelihood if you are allergic to cow milk you'll also react to goat milk, so I wouldn't do that. We avoid soy since DS gets it so many other places in his diet. DS is also allergic to nuts, so almond milk is out. Rice milk has little nutrition and is high in arsenic. We do coconut milk but hemp milk is another good one.