When you are sensitive/allergic to milk products....

[aris99]

can you consume something that is lactose free w/out a problem? Lactose is sugar, not the protein so are you being tested for sugars or proteins when you go to, for instance, an allergist? I am getting confused!

[briome]

That is something only you can know by trial and error with your body. IT helps some people, but those products are designed for lactose intolerant people, NOT diary protein allergic or sensitive people. You may not know exactly how your body responds to things if this is a new thing for you.

In our house we have a Father that is classically lactose intolerant, Me, who is diary sensitive, a 5yr old who is slightly allergic and a 2 year old who has severe reaction to all but a slight trace of dairy. Because we have such varied symptoms in reaction to the type and amount of dairy exposure we thought it would be prudent to just avoid having any in the house.

For example, Father just has classical lactose exposure symptoms- digestive scent/frequent trips to the bathroom..... I get inflamation in my joints and I can tell my immune system takes a beating. I also get 'Fathers' symptoms on top of that and it affects my milk production.

The eldest son get a body rash (and a suspected internal rash) when exposed to dairy. His reaction is cummulative, more reactive if he has had some all week but you will notice his skin right away. It also affects his immune system because dairy exposure while he has a cold creates RAD
(reactive airway disease, like athma) symptoms. He does seem to be getting less and less sensitive, but I don't like to 'play' with his health if you know what I mean.

The toddler will scream for hours inconsolably if he has ANY diary. Even an accidental sip of another childs sippy cup.


There is alot of variety to reaction.... give yourself at least a week (preferably a month!) of avoiding all dairy before you toy with thease other products. Some people can do sheep or goats milk products and have no effect as their sensitivity is specifically bovine protein.

[nameisrio]

I was allergic to the milk protein and could have no dairy products whatsoever as a kid. Got rashes as a baby, lots of stomach issues if I had any as a child. It got better as I got older, but the more dairy I had, the worse it would be. For example, as a teen, I might be OK with a piece of pizza, but if I also had ice cream, I'd be sick. Finally after about age 18, the symptoms went away, and now I can eat as much dairy as I want. I still don't drink milk or eat certain cheeses, because I never developed a taste for them, after avoiding them all those years.

[Starflower]

I seem to be both lactose intolerant and sensitive to the proteins. I just don't feel well if I eat dairy. If I decide to have something with cheese, I can use Lactaid and avoid most of the intestinal discomfort. However, it doesn't help at all with the phlegmy stuff that starts up. Often I get sick, like a cold or such, after activating this reaction, so now I just avoid dairy all the time. It's not worth it for me.

DD seems to also be sensitive like this, but she insists on eating dairy occasionally, but we avoid it whenever possible. If she eats pizza with cheese, then no other dairy the rest of the week. She seems to be able to tolerate this, but if she were to have ice cream or more pizza in the next couple days, she'd get stuffy nose and ears and often ends up with a cold.

She does like soy creams and rice creams but it's still really hard for her. So tempting. She will eat sorbet at an ice cream shop.

I'm actually to the point with dairy, that it really doesn't even sound very appetizing anymore. I had hoped that we could do goat dairy because we like goat cheese, but that didn't work for us either.

Good luck.

Oh - and about the allergist - according to mine, I am not allergic to milk products because I didn't react from the skin test. But I just plain don't feel well after eating dairy and I definitely notice getting stuffed up by the end of an hour. I guess it's considered more of a sensitivity than a true allergy because of the delayed reaction? In any case, it's annoying!

I do see an allergist for inhaled allergies such as animals, dust and pollens. I am getting shots for those things. They said that the shots don't help with food allergies anyway.

[aris99]

Thank-you all for your replies! Interesting....I never noticed this but my son doesn't seem to get a stuffy nose or cold-like symptoms from cheese. When I eat pizza I have the symptoms you have all described...stuffy nose, cold like symptoms but I never noticed my son suffering from this. I do think his intestines are damaged and he has become dairy intolerant. He has diarrhea and a distended abdomen and I know he is uncomfortable. We are trying to find a therapist to help wean him off his current diet but this is not easy...OCD/sensory issues are getting in the way.