If your newborn baby is constantly crying, if he has troubled moments due to gas pain and cannot gain weight, you need to stop and evaluate this situation. Because these symptoms, which can appear in almost all babies, can sometimes be indicative of milk allergy.
The most common food allergy in infancy is “milk allergy”, that is, “cow milk allergy”. It is an allergic reaction of the body to proteins in cow milk (especially beta lactalbumin). It can be caused by direct feeding of cow milk to the baby, as well as breastfeeding in babies fed with breast milk by passing breast-containing foods to the baby. In addition, since most ready-made foods contain cow’s milk proteins, allergies can be observed in babies fed with baby food.
Children with cow’s milk allergy may also develop cross-allergy against goat milk and soy milk. Attention should be paid to this issue when making nutritional advice to the baby and mother.
Symptoms vary depending on the baby and the severity of the allergy. Some babies have a single symptom, while others have more than one symptom. Clinical findings generally start in the first 6 months, but can sometimes occur at a later age. The main symptoms are:
- Excessive crying and severe gas pain in the first months
- Vomiting after feeding and not being able to weigh accordingly
- Bloody and slimy defecation and sometimes constipation
- Skin rash and itchy skin rashes in eczema style
- A persistent wheezing, cough, nasal congestion
- Recurrent attacks of bronchitis and / or bronchiolitis
- Anaphylaxis (very rare, develops at the latest in the first hour after cow’s milk protein intake). Skin rash is a shock picture seen with swelling of the face, tongue and mouth, difficulty in breathing due to edema, and decreased blood pressure. It is fatal when it is not treated.
Three methods are used in diagnosis:
Skin test: It can be done at any age, reliability is 95 percent.
Detection of cow-specific antibodies in the blood (cow’s milk specific-Ig-E): 90 percent reliable.
Elimination method: Foods containing cow’s milk are not given to the baby for a while. During this time, the existing symptoms are expected to disappear. After the symptoms disappear, cow’s milk is tried again. The reappearance of symptoms will support cow’s milk allergy.
