The concept of milk allergy has been discovered relatively late. In the yester years if a baby showed any weird symptoms after consuming milk, people used to even think of some bad karmas from previous life. However, recent researches and studies tend to discard all these ill-beliefs and we have this term “milk allergy”. Milk allergy actually occurs in young children and an approximately 2-5% of children have milk allergy during their first year of life. However, in most cases it disappears with age. Problem occurs when this allergy persists into adulthood and continues to bother with the person throughout his life.

Symptoms of milk allergy
Milk allergy sufferer’s body produces antibodies called IgE (for immunoglobulin E) specific to milk protein; these proteins are termed as casein and whey. These casein and whey can be found in dairy and non-dairy products such as some brands of canned tuna fish contain casein.
When the allergic person is exposed to milk protein, the IgE antibodies cause allergy symptoms. These symptoms can occur within minutes or hours.

Common symptoms of a milk allergy include:
•    Skin rash, hives, or eczema, which is an inflammation and redness of the skin
•    Abdominal cramping
•    Diarrhea
•    Nausea or vomiting
•    Runny nose
•    Itchy, watery eyes
•    Sneezing
•    Breathing problems
•    Swelling of the lip or tongue
In addition, young children may not gain weight and may have bloody stool.

Coping up with milk allergy
If a person is suffering from milk allergy, he should better avoid milk in all forms. If you are buying anything, make sure to inspect the ingredients. If any product says it’s milk-free, it doesn’t mean it contains no milk protein.
If you are dining out, always make sure to ask your waiter or hostess whether the meal contains any dairy products.

And you should know that there are many people with milk allergies and it’s something that can be lived with. There are many websites offering tips and there are dairy supplements too that can help you. You just need to be aware if you have it or not and be careful about it.

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