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Milk Allergies
When Milk Doesn't Do A Body Good
By Donna Stone
Even children with moderate or mild milk allergy must diligently avoid all milk-containing foods. "One of the hardest things about managing this allergy is that all ingredients are not always listed," says David's mother, Laura. "Milk can be listed as emulsifier, coagulant, caramel coloring, modified food protein/starch, natural flavorings." In Laura's experience, "The allergists were helpful with the testing, but did not have lots of information as far as what I was to do after that. Their advice was to avoid all milk ingredients. Easier said than done!" To become informed about food allergies, Laura recommends joining Food Allergy Survivors Together (FAST) interactive mailing list and contacting the Food Allergy Network (FAN) for educational materials.
Mark suffers from the most severe form of allergy, and it is not likely that he will outgrow it. "No one really understands the severity of a child like this getting 'one sip.' Actually, no dairy product should even touch Mark's skin. He swells if we have eaten a dairy product and kiss his face," says Lynn. "Mark does not take part in activities where other children have food. He was able to attend a Kindermusic class, no food there, but there was chalk. Chalk has a dairy by-product and his face would turn bright red and his ears would swell." Parents of an anaphylactic child must always be prepared should an allergic reaction occur. For Mark, an antihistamine and an Epi-pen, an auto injectable devise containing a premeasured dose of adrenaline, are always on hand in case of an allergic reaction. Anywhere Mark goes, his medications go with him.
