Having a baby with milk allergies is harder than anyone thinks. Believe me, I know. As a parent of a two year old with milk allergies, I have a hard time convincing him not to eat it or it will make his belly sick.

Dairy allergy, or milk allergies, is caused by being allergic to one of the three components in cows milk. They are whey protein, casein protein and lactose sugar. Casein and whey proteins are most likely the culprit to your child’s allergic reaction. Lactose causes a well known tolerance in adults and children. This is caused by the body’s lack of enzyme known as lactase.

Symptoms of dairy allergies may include but not limited to:

•Hives

•Vomiting

•Eczema

•Diarrhea

•Gastrointestinal disorders such as bloating, cramping and diarrhea

As always, if you feel your child has a food allergy, you should contact your pediatrician or family doctor.

Formula feeding infants with milk allergies:

There are times when infant babies with dairy allergies are not able to drink soy milk as a formula so parents may have to take extra steps and feed their infant a hypoallergenic formula. With a hypoallergenic formula, it’s proteins have been broken down and easy to digest. These can be very expensive so you may want to talk to your doctor about other options such as soy milk; however, soy itself has a common allergen.

Foods that contain dairy:

•Cheese

•Butter

•Yogurt

•Cream

•Sour Cream

•Ice Cream

Milk can also be found in processed foods. These items may be chocolate, snack foods, salad dressings, pastries or items with butter or cheese flavored ingredients.

The best advice I can give is make sure to read the ingredients to be sure it does not contain dairy.

Dairy is one of the 8 most common allergens. That means by law, companies must state on all labels if the item contains a dairy product in it. It is best to lean all the myriad names of dairy products as well. Some items may be processed in a plant that processes dairy, so be careful of that as well.

These are some of the things that I was not aware of when I found out my child had a severe dairy allergy. I found this to be very helpful when deciding what to feed him and how to order things at a restaurant. My most important tip to you is when in doubt, always ask!