Living with allergy can be really hard but what do you think can be harder than an allergy that prevents you from drinking one of the most basic staple of America, milk?

It seems the world evolves around dairy. When we talk about it, what always come in mind is milk and milk products. In the hierarchy of food requirements, it is a daily dietary need.

Milk is found in any creamed/milked recipes: salads, soups, pastries, cakes, candies, cheese - name it all. It is what keeps infants alive in the absence of mother’s milk! When dairy is a top grosser item in grocery stores, it is ironically, also a top-allergy causing substance around. For some, this can be pretty hard especially for the moms who do not know what to give to their children who are allergic to milk.

What is the synthesis that makes dairy a cause of allergy?

Two terminologies must be tackled when talking about dairy allergy to avoid confusion. First is Lactose Intolerance and the other is Milk or Dairy Allergy.

Lactose Intolerance is present in people who produce low levels of enzyme called lactase in the intestine. With this enzyme lacking in the stomach, a person will not be able to metabolize larger amounts lactose or milk sugar present in dairy products. The result is retention of water causing diarrhea in intestines.

The retained water ferments, causing gas pain, flatulence and bloating. These symptoms of the lower abdomen could last from 12 to 48 hours (the time food process is completed in the intestine). With this length of time, secondary symptoms could be caused by other food intakes. The immediate intolerance could be felt at once because of peristalsis or muscle movements pushing the food and causing pressures inside.

Normally part of aging process, people may end up having lactose intolerance and this does not exclude the vulnerability of infants who are more delicate to reactions.

Milk Or Dairy Allergy is when the immune system reacts to milk protein. The two proteins in milk are casein and whey. The body naturally reacts to foreign substances producing protective antibodies to counter these detected “foreign elements” which includes viruses, bacteria and other allergens.

When milk proteins leak into the bloodstream, the antibodies detect it the same way causing several allergic symptoms. It has an obsolete association with protein intolerance, and lately been considered hypersensitivity.

Now, having defined the two basic facts about milk and the body reactions after taking it, the solutions to relieve its symptoms are easier to deal with.

Handling Dairy Allergy is easier to manage for adults because they can avoid it altogether. As of infants, it is not as easy because it can even leak even in breast milk. In this case, a doctor’s help will do.

Practically the best solution is to use “soy milk” as alternative. For adults, goat milk with lower concentration of casein protein is more tolerable than cow’s milk. If there are still any reactions, then that is the time to stop taking any, after determining that it is really the cause.

For people prone to milk/dairy allergies, the initial treatment is to stop taking allergenic diets for at least 3 weeks. These food groups include: wheat, dairy, eggs, corn, soy, citrus fruits, nuts, peanuts, tomatoes, food coloring and preservatives, coffee, and chocolate. This will not cure the ailment but it will help the examining doctors to determine the reaction properly.