What is a Cow's Milk Allergy?

Cow’s milk allergy, which is sometimes just called milk allergy, is an allergic reaction to one of more of the proteins that are present in cow’s milk. This is a serious and relatively rare condition that most often affects infants. Surprisingly, it may also be a temporary condition that infants outgrow by the time they’re three to five years of age. It is not the same condition as lactose intolerance, which means people lack the enzyme lactase that can digest milk. Many more people, especially in areas where cow’s milk is uncommon, are lactose intolerant, but they don’t have a histamine or allergic reaction when consuming cow’s milk.

There are many symptoms that can arise if a person has cow’s milk allergy. These can include extreme distress of the gastrointestinal system, which might be expressed by excessive flatulence, severe stomach pain, vomiting and nausea, and/or diarrhea. People can also develop gastrointestinal reflux disease, which creates chronic acid indigestion and risks damage to the esophagus, if they continue to consume cow’s milk.

Other potential reactions can occur with cow’s milk allergy. Some people develop asthma and wheezing, and other people get significant skin rashes. Undoubtedly the most dangerous and feared reaction is anaphylactic shock, which can involve development of hives, swelling of the face, lips and tongue, and difficulty breathing. Such a reaction is a potentially fatal, medical emergency, normally treated with epinephrine injections.

Though it is true that some people spontaneously recover from cow’s milk allergy as they age, others do not. Depending on the culture, it may be very challenging or very easy to find a diet that is completely free of milk and milk byproducts. An infant allergic to cow’s milk may have the easiest time because there are completely milk free formulas that can be obtained. Infants may be able to breastfeed too, provided the mom eats a completely milk-free diet.

As people age, though, it becomes harder to eat a diet fully absent of milk because even if milk is not used in diets there are many byproducts of milk like whey and casein that are. Careful attention must be paid to reading labels. Since it is possible to accidentally ingest a substance with milk, more care is needed. If history of anaphylactic shock has occurred with cow’s milk allergy, people or their caretakers will need to have an epi-pen on hand for emergencies.

Should people be interested in finding out if cow’s milk allergy diagnosed in infancy still exists, the best specialists to ask are usually allergists. It’s possible to test for continued allergy. Yet if a person has scarcely consumed milk and is now in adulthood, the likelihood of having lactose intolerance is fairly high, which means that while complete avoidance of milk products might no longer be necessary, people would still have trouble digesting milk.