Casein allergy

Allergy to casein or allergy to milk is a fairly common phenomenon. With this type of allergy, the human immune system perceives the harmless milk protein as a foreign substance and attacks them. At the same time, specific antibodies are formed, which are called immunoglobulins E. The body increases the amount of harmful chemicals - histamines. The result of these processes is the presence of specific skin reactions, malfunctions in the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, stomach and intestines.

[1], [2], [3]

Casein allergy in a child

Most often, babies suffer from casein allergy, and because of this, they need to eat mixtures and milk replacers for their mothers before the age of six months.

However, this deviation in children can be cured. In the case of compliance with dietary recommendations with the rejection of products that contain milk, and, accordingly, casein, by the age of two years (sometimes a little later, for example, at school age) in eighty percent of babies, allergic reactions simply go to naught.

Somewhere around fifteen percent of children retain a persistent allergy to casein, which accompanies them up to adulthood. Often this is facilitated by bronchial asthma, chronic rhinitis (rhinitis), and other allergic diseases.

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Causes of Casein Allergy

Causes of dairy allergy are as follows:

• when casein acts as an allergen (casein allergy). Casein is a precipitating protein that looks like a cheesy clot;
• when allergies are caused by whey proteins.

There are people whose body does not accept only one of the types of protein, there are those who do not tolerate several at once, or none of them. When proteins enter the body, immunity begins to produce antibodies, due to which activation of inflammatory cells occurs.

Milk of different animal species has a similar set of protein molecules (for example, cow's milk and goat's milk), so if there is milk intolerance to one of these products, allergic reactions will occur when you use any of them.

Food allergies are inherited. If one of the parents suffered from an allergy to casein, then the child’s susceptibility to this disease will be much higher than that of other babies.

There are frequent cases when allergic reactions from breast milk are actually provoked by cow's milk, which mother used during pregnancy. This is caused by the ability of casein to penetrate through the walls of the placental barrier and reach the bloodstream of the fetus.

Allergies to casein in a child may appear due to the fact that the mother during the feeding follows the wrong diet. Milk intolerance can be triggered by nuts, shrimps, chocolate and other similar products.

Therefore, during the lactation period, the nursing mother should have sufficiently strict nutritional restrictions.

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Symptoms of Casein Allergy

In adults, casein allergy is usually manifested by the following symptoms:

• urticaria;
• itching
• rashes of the skin;
• difficulty breathing;
• swelling of the mucous membranes;

Symptoms of casein allergy in children acquire a slightly wider scope:

• having loose stools, sometimes even with blood;
• after feeding, the child often belches up the food;
• irritations, rashes on the skin appear;
• the child's behavior changes: crying, whims, because the stomach hurts, does not want to play;
• the baby's weight changes: the child either does not gain weight, as it should be, or even the weight begins to decrease;
• the child is tormented by gases;
• breathing becomes difficult, mucus appears in the oropharynx and nasopharynx;
• the child begins to lag behind in growth and development due to dehydration, lack of nutrients and energy.

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Diagnostics

It is possible to reveal that allergic reactions are caused by milk and, as a result, it is an allergy to casein, it is possible using the exclusion method. At this time, the patient eliminates all the dairy products first, then one by one inject them into the diet and look at the reaction of the body. When symptoms appear, allergy to casein is diagnosed.

Allergies to casein and in infants are also established in the same way. If you determine the presence of immunoglobulin E in the blood, the diagnosis will be more accurate.

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Casein Allergy Treatment

If a person is faced with an allergy to casein as a child, then the chances of getting rid of it by two years are high - maximum by school age. For this you need to follow a special diet. For adults, experts believe that the best way out is to avoid dairy products and replace them with analogues of plant origin.

There is one curious experiment, when a group suffering from allergies to casein was treated with... Milk. The bottom line was that the patient consumed milk, gradually increasing the dose, and tolerated allergic reactions. As a result, patients who had previously had a hard time drinking a glass of milk, without any problems, it was possible to use about half a liter. Blood tests also confirmed the results obtained and that the patient’s condition improved.

In order to avoid allergies to casein in infants, a nursing mother must adjust her diet. If even this measure does not help, then the child needs to pick up some of the special dairy-free hypoallergenic mixtures.

Specific treatment for the complete elimination of this problem is currently missing. Antihistamines can help relieve symptoms and relieve itching. With the help of corticosteroids, it is possible to ensure that casein allergy does not develop further.

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Prevention

The only way to prevent allergies to casein, as well as for the treatment of allergies to casein today is to eliminate milk proteins from your diet.

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