Understanding the Causes of Cow's Milk Allergy and How to Overcome It

Medical conditions, lifestyle, or the lack of breast milk sometimes make mothers unable to provide breast milk to their babies, so the choice falls on formula milk. However, if the child is allergic to cow's milk, he will not be able to consume regular formula milk. The following are some of the symptoms and signs of a child experiencing a cow's milk allergy.

Symptoms of Cow's Milk Allergy in Children

To find out if your little one is allergic to cow's milk, try checking his condition after drinking milk. If after consuming cow's milk his face looks red, a rash appears, his stomach bulges, vomiting, diarrhea, watery eyes, stuffy nose, wheezing, or shortness of breath, you should suspect that your little one has a cow's milk allergy. But keep in mind, symptoms and signs of allergies do not always appear immediately after drinking cow's milk. Symptoms may appear some time later.

Immediately check your little one to the pediatrician if he experiences these symptoms, to determine whether he suffers from allergies. The doctor will do an allergy test, either through blood or skin tests, to find out what substances trigger an allergic reaction in your little one.

If the test results show that he is allergic to cow's milk, there is no need to panic. You just need to avoid giving cow's milk or its processed products, such as cheese or butter, to your little one. For mothers who are breastfeeding, avoiding the consumption of foods containing cow's milk and its processed products also needs to be done, because what is consumed by the mother can affect the content of breast milk consumed by the child.

Choosing Milk for Children with Cow's Milk Allergy

Many parents are worried when they find out that their child has a cow's milk allergy. This worry arises because parents are afraid that their child's nutritional needs to support their growth and development are not being met properly.

But actually you don't need to worry too much, because there are various ways to meet the nutritional needs of children who suffer from cow's milk allergies. One of them is by giving hypoallergenic formula milk. Hypoallergenic formula milk is safe for consumption by children who suffer from cow's milk allergy, because the protein in milk has been broken down into smaller particles so it does not trigger allergic reactions.

Currently, there is also hypoallergenic milk that does not come from cow's milk, but contains amino acids directly. This amino acid formula is safer for consumption by people with cow's milk allergy, while also being able to provide energy and nutritional intake to support child growth and development properly.

If there are no obstacles to breastfeeding, the risk of allergic reactions to cow's milk in children can actually be minimized by exclusive breastfeeding, which can then be continued until the child is 2 years old. Even so, mothers still need to pay attention to the food they eat so that allergenic substances are not absorbed into breast milk and consumed by children.