An accurate diagnosis according to a precise important process for food choices in complete safety and without unnecessary food restrictions. The possibilities of therapy and prevention
Milk allergy is the most common food allergy in children and beyond, in Europe and in Italy. People with cow’s milk allergy develop antibodies against some of its proteins. In the most serious cases, even ingesting very small quantities of milk and dairy products can be enough to trigger an allergic reaction that can be fatal. The latest data indicate an increase in severe reactions and cases of anaphylactic shock across the continent. However, it is said that to avoid tragedies such as that of the allergic girl who died in Milan from anaphylactic shock, it is always necessary to eliminate any product that contains milk proteins from the diet, because not all milk allergies are created equal and an essential precise diagnosis in order not to subject patients to unnecessary food restrictions, especially when it comes to children: some patients in fact tolerate milk proteins once cooked, for example in baked goods such as biscuits.
Increase in cases
As he explains Antonella Murarohead of the Specialization Center for the study and treatment of food allergies and intolerances in the Veneto Region, Cases of anaphylactic shock in people allergic to milk have also increased in Italy compared to a decade ago: in children under one year you registered a seven-fold increase compared to 2010, in children over four years there was a five-fold increase. The good news that 70 percent of children tend to recover between the ages of five and seven; however, as age increases, the opportunities for contact with milk proteins also increase, so the danger of serious reactions increases.
Accurate diagnosis
Attention, never rely on DIY to find out if the limitations can be loosened: in other words, it is forbidden to venture into cooking milk to understand if the child tolerates it, the diagnostic procedure must be correct and, as Muraro specifies, it provides for accurate collection of the clinical history and classic and molecular allergy tests (such as the prick and the RAST test, which evaluates the presence in the blood of the immunoglobulins typical of allergy sufferers, IgE, ed). Recently arrived in the United States a molecular testing to further evaluate the type of allergy, because it has been observed that not tolerating linear ‘pieces’ of milk proteins, especially casein, is associated with more serious and persistent allergies over the years. In Italy the test is not yet available, so the diagnostic process continues with provocation tests, under medical supervision and in a protected environment, giving the child baked and/or less cooked products and/or dairy products in different dosages: in this way it is possible to understand the patient’s reaction threshold and also evaluate whether he could be a candidate for‘immunotherapy, which in the case of milk allergy very promising. With therapy you try the desensitizationthat is, we try to get the immune system used to tolerate milk proteins giving it in gradually increasing quantities, following very rigorous protocols and under medical supervision: again, do-it-yourself is very dangerous and can expose you to anaphylactic shock, it is forbidden to try it alone.
Prevention
There is also news regarding the possibility of preventing milk allergies: Contrary to what was thought in the past, it seems that in children at high risk, for example because they suffer from eczema, the early introduction between the fourth and sixth month of milk and egg allergens can facilitate the development of greater tolerance, concludes the allergist.
February 6, 2023 (change February 7, 2023 | 10:09 am)
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