How Do You Diagnose a Toddler with a Milk Allergy?
About 2-3%1 of children under the age of 3 years have a milk allergy, making it fairly common health risk that toddlers around the world may face. The potential severity of a milk allergy is a major concern for parents, as the symptoms may be severe depending on the type of reaction and the sensitivity of the child. For this reason, it is an important first step for new parents to be able to identify whether their toddler has a milk allergy. So, how do you test a toddler for a milk allergy? To find out, keep reading as the team at Cambrooke, makers of an amino acid-based hypoallergenic formula for toddlers, tackle this topic.
Testing a Toddler for a Milk Allergy
If your child is allergic to milk, there’s a good chance that you’ve already seen some of the signs. Because a food allergy can manifest in many different ways, it can be hard for a non-medical professional to confirm whether the symptoms being displayed are, in fact, the result of an allergy to milk. Adding to further confusion for parents, there are different types of food allergies and each one requires a different path to achieve a proper diagnosis. Based on your child’s symptoms, his or her healthcare provider will identify whether the reaction is IgE-mediated, non-IgE-mediated or a combination of both so he or she can select the correct test, elimination diet or food challenge to obtain a proper diagnosis. The Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Food Allergy in the United States: Report of the NIAID-Sponsored Expert Panel provide details on how to properly diagnose a food allergy and may give you an idea of what to expect from your child’s healthcare provider. Your child’s pediatrician or allergist will usually start with a medical history and physical exam to get more information about your concerns:
- A detailed medical history will provide clues about the type of allergic reaction and if milk or another food may be the cause.
- A physical exam will allow the observation of any physical symptoms that may be associated with a possible food allergy.
During the medical history, you be may asked questions similar to these to gain more insight about what is causing your child’s symptoms:
- What are your child’s symptoms?
- What food causes your child’s symptoms? Has the food caused the symptoms more than once? Has your child ever eaten the food without showing symptoms?
- How long after eating the food did your child show symptoms? How long did the symptoms last?
- Did you do anything to treat the symptoms? If so, what did you do and was it effective?
Blood and Skin Tests
It is recommended that a combination of medical history, physical exam, blood and skin tests be used to identify an IgE-mediated food allergy. Your child’s allergist may also consider these tests as a part of diagnosing other types of food allergies. The following procedures are typically used to test a toddler for a milk allergy:
Skin Tests
A skin test may be administered, in which an allergy specialist (allergist) uses a small needle or plastic probe coated with a small amount of solution containing milk. Your child’s skin is lightly pricked or scratched in one spot, then the allergist will check for the development of a raised bump – usually called a wheal -at the site.2
Blood Tests
A blood test might be used, which involves drawing some of your child’s blood and measuring the levels of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to milk or other specific foods that you feel may be causing symptoms in your child.3
It is important to note that a positive blood and/or skin test alone without symptoms does not mean that your child has a food allergy. In fact, about 50-60% of skin prick and blood tests will yield a “false positive” result meaning your child may test positive but is not actually allergic to the food.2,3 Your child must also have clinical symptoms to be diagnosed with a food allergy. Oral Food Challenge
An oral food challenge involves giving your child foods that contain milk (or the suspected food allergen) in a medical facility under the supervision of a medical professional (typically an allergist).
While both the blood and skin tests are less accurate than an oral challenge, they also have little to no chance of triggering a significant reaction, so they tend to be easier on a child than the oral food challenge.
For families, this kind of test may seem risky, but the presence of an allergy specialist during the test should ensure that your child is safe. In the event of a reaction, an allergist is trained to treat and manage the symptoms of a food allergic reaction. If an oral food challenge results in no symptoms, food allergy would be ruled out. If an oral food challenge results in symptoms, a diagnosis of food allergy will likely be confirmed.
Food Elimination Diet
When the results of skin prick tests, blood tests and even oral food challenges do not provide clear answers or when non-IgE-mediated or mixed IgE and non-IgE allergies are suspected, your child’s allergist may recommend a food elimination diet.
Eliminating a food from the diet and observing your child’ symptoms can provide a lot of information to you and your child’s healthcare provider. They will recommend which foods to eliminate and the length of time recommended for elimination. It is important to follow the recommendations of your healthcare provider when following an elimination diet because restricting foods may put your child at risk for malnutrition or inadequate growth.
While there is some risk involved with elimination diets, for non-IgE-mediated or mixed IgE- and non-IgE-mediated food allergies, the information obtained from an elimination diet, as well as your child’s medical history and physical exam, are often what lead to a diagnosis. Additional tests or procedures may be recommended especially in these types of food allergy disorders.
Caring for a Toddler Diagnosed with a Milk Allergy
If your toddler undergoes evaluation and testing and is diagnosed with a milk allergy, you’ll probably be wondering how to deal with the diagnosis. Generally speaking, the management of a milk allergy involves avoiding milk in your child’s diet and ensuring he or she receives adequate nutrition. The first of these is obvious; a toddler with a milk allergy should avoid products that contain milk, including components derived from milk, such as whey, casein, and any other food or beverage that contains milk ingredients. You should speak with your child’s doctor or allergist about which foods to avoid and make sure you understand how to properly read a food label to identify foods that may be unsafe for your child.
The other factor in managing a milk allergy requires finding other foods and beverages that provide the same nutrition your child would otherwise get from cow’s milk. This often means adding a formula to the child’s diet since milk alternatives such as coconut and almond milk are usually lacking in important nutrients and are not always tolerated by children with milk allergy. Some children can only handle amino acid-based formulas (also known as elemental formulas) since they do not contain a significant amount of intact protein to cause an allergic reaction.
Try an Amino Acid-Based Formula for Toddlers with a Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy
If you are the parent of a child with a milk allergy, you know how stressful it can be to successfully avoid milk in the diet while making sure your child gets the nutrition he or she needs to thrive. By adding an elemental formula from Cambrooke to your toddler’s diet, you can ensure that your child receives the nutrition his or her growing body needs without the risk of exposure to milk from formula or milk alternatives. Our formulas come in two varieties – the standard, familiar EquaCare Jr. amino acid-based formula, which provides the same nutritional benefits as other brands at a more reasonable price, and our Essential Care Jr. amino acid-based formula, which matches the price of competitors’ products while offering natural ingredients and an improved nutritional profile. To learn more about our products and how they can help keep your toddler healthy and thriving, visit Cambrooke online or call us today at (833) 377-2773.
