Breast Fed Milk Allergies

Just because your baby is being breastfed does not mean that it cannot develop a milk protein allergy. While it may occur less frequently than formula allergies the babies nonetheless can have symptoms of milk allergy. The suspicion on the part of a pediatrician that the baby might be allergic to breast milk is why most doctors recommend that a new mother start the infant on formula.

Many mothers think that when their child develops an allergy to breast milk that he or she is actually allergic to her milk. This is a common misconception and a true allergy to your own mother's milk wold be very rare indeed. The baby is, in actuality allergic to certain proteins in your diet that you have digested and that eventually end up being secreted into your breast milk. . Sometiems if you eat less of these protiends the child is still able to tolerate the breast milk. This means that you as a mom have to be careful about what you eat in order to make sure that your breast milk does not cause colicky symptoms in your infant.

The treatment for mil protein allergy in the breast fed baby is dietary retraction of the offending proteins. While some lactation experts will recommend broad sweeping restrictions most babies will do just fine with the restriction of the milk proteins casein and whey. This translates to mean that you can't drink milk or eat milk products like cheese or yogurt. This is because it is the components in cow's milk that are likely making your baby colicky and sick.

The foods that contain casein and whey that you should avoid are

· Milk
· Butter
· Half and half
· Sour ream
· Yogurt
· Ice cream
· Cottage cheese
· Custard
· Curd ghee
· Nougat
· Brown sugar flavoring
· Margarine
· Deli meats
· Chocolate
· High protein shakes
· High protein flower
· Nondairy creamer
· Cheese

Your baby usually shows signs of improvement after just a few days of clearing your diet of milk proteins. Some babies may take two to three weeks for the complete healing of the intestinal inflammation. The key is to be patient and give it enough time. Many babies really do settle down after the two week period.

If you change your diet and the baby is still sick then you will no longer be able to breast feed the child. The main treatment for the milk allergic baby is to take him or her off milk and feed him or her one of the hypoallergenic baby formulas. There are all different kinds of formulas on the market that do not have a trace of these proteins and once your baby starts drinking these the symptoms usually disappear altogether. Removing intact cow's milk protein from the baby's diet serves the role of making baby feel better as well as confirms any suspicion that milk allergy was the cause of the colic in the first place (if the symptoms are relieved!)

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What is a Milk Protein Allergy?

Milk protein allergy is best described as irritation or inflammation that occurs in a baby's intestinal tract in reaction to protein exposure.

Milk (and most foods) is made up of there major components – protein, fat and sugar. It's the protein part of the milk that gives allergic babies a problem. These proteins are made up of large chains of amino acids which are the building blocks of protein Sometimes the body reacts to certain sequences that these amino acids form and the result is milk protein allergy.

Whether or not your baby will react to milk protein depends whether or not his or her immune system perceives the protein as a problem. If it does it will recruit white blood cells to the lining of the intestinal tract. These white blood cells release chemicals making the GI tract red, swollen and ulcerated. This, of course, can cause your baby great pain!

The two proteins most often responsible for reactions in babies are those found in cow's milk – casein and whey. The protein whey used in standard infant formulas comes to cow's milk. It isn't intact or whole protein but it is cow's milk protein nonetheless.

Even if you are breastfeeding your baby you are not safe from passing on a cow's milk allergy to your baby. Infants can react to proteins found in our milk.

Between two and eight weeks of age the typical baby with milk allergies shows some combination of the following symptoms –

· Bloody stools – Infants with milk protein allergy often have blood-streaked stools. Not all blood in baby's stools is visible and you may have to have the stools analyzed to detect it.

· Mucus production – The colon, like the vagina, sinuses and lungs is a mucus-producing organ. When there is a milk protein allergy your baby may excrete thick, stringy mucus that mixes in with stools.

· Cramping and fussing – Babies with ulcerated intestines tend to be very crabby. That is because they are experiencing painful spasms in their intestines that may be dismissed as just colic.

· Diarrhea – When the bowel is not happy it produces diarrhea. Diarrhea is caused by the inflammation of the intestinal walls.

· Excema – This is dry scaly patches of skin that are found on the extremities. Dry weather and excessive bathing of the baby can make matters worse. If your baby's eczema is milk induced you will notice a marked improvement within two to four weeks after changing to a hypoallergenic formula. Infants with eczema due to milk allergy do have a more intense case of allergic inflammation.

· Wheezing and congestion – Like eczema, wheezing and chronic nasal congestion are often described as symptoms of milk allergy but in most babies they aren't a problem. For most babies the reaction to milk protein occurs at the lining of the intestinal organs.

If you suspect your child has a milk protein allergy consult him or her right away so your formula can be adjusted.

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