My first daughter
Opened by Mary Williams on 01/12/2005 9.55.39

My first daughter


Introduction
Hi! I have a 8 month old baby with a milk allergy. She's still breastfeeding and comes up in hives when I try to wean her to babymilk and other milk-containing products.
My GP didn't know much and asked me to give him the name of a hydrolysed milk another parent with the same problem gave me. She didn't react to it.
The doctor doesn't seem to be taking me very seriously. Is it normal for GPs to think allergies are not a big thing in babies? Please reply as I am very worried about my daughter. Thanks
Posted by Mary Williams on 01/12/2005 9.56.15

Comments:
Hi Mary,
I'm sorry to hear about the troubles your baby is having.
There are two types of milk:
hydrolysed - protein is broken down. Some hydrolysed milks do contain a broken down cow's milk protein. This includes cow and gate pepti-junior, I think, although you'd need to check with your doctor.
elemental amino acid based formula e.g. Neocate.
This does not contain any cow's milk, soya, or any other allergens. My child has this and thrives on it. The protein is broken down into its elemental forms, and presented to the child as the building blocks of the protein of amino acids, rather than a changed form of protein.
The only issue is that it could be expensive for GPs to prescribe these milks on the NHS. Although this isn't the place for a cynic like me to rant about the state of the NHS and so on, unfortunately in my opinion, but I suspect that some doctors may not be keen to prescribe hydrolysed or amino-acid based milks due to the cost out of their budget, which could be earmarked for other things.
I'm not saying that this is what's happening in your case, but it is worth bearing in mind.
I would suggest that you get a second medical opinion.
I'm very lucky to have a very supportive medical team but I appreciate that not everyone has the same luxury.
Best of luck and let us know how it goes.
Posted by Jennifer Stirrup on 21/11/2006 15.54.14
Have you tried moving her to soy formula, or something like Neocate, Nutramigen or Alimentum? My son, now 4 1/2 yrs old, was diagnosed with a CMA as an infant as well. We were able to use Nutramigen, but not all with CMA are. Good luck to you!
Posted by Carrie Black on 21/09/2006 21.32.37
I think it's very important that medically and scientifically proven methods are used to confirm diagnosis. I know that Skin Prick Tests, Patch Tests, RAST are the most common in these cases. Did your child at least have one of them? Good luck!
Posted by Michela D'Amelia on 08/02/2006 11.00.02
If your daughter is allergic to some food, this food should be removed from her diet. Your GP should take allergies very seriously. Allergies can cause discomfort and more serious health problems. Even if allergy cause only discomfort it should be taken seriously.
Posted by John Smith on 29/12/2005 16.26.14
Is your daughter so allergic to cow's milk that she reacts on a bit of milk spilled on her skin? Milk allergy can manifest in the skin reactions after ingestion. Cow's milk allergy is caused by the milk proteins. In hydrolyzed milk, these proteins are converted into smaller molecules (amino acids and small peptides) which do not cause allergic reactions.
Posted by John Smith on 20/12/2005 16.26.00