Milk Allergies Tough For Kids to Shake

news you may not knowCareful - It Packs Quite A Kick...

There's nothing like it, really. A fresh-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookie, still so hot the chip oozes out onto the fingertips. Fabulous - but, not quite complete. There's still the drink to be considered. And, of course, there's but a single reasonable choice. A tall glass of ice-cold milk - the perfect combination for any kid.

Or...

New research from Johns Hopkins says not so fast. For kids that have milk allergies when they're young, the perfect combination may have to wait.

The review of over 800 children treated for milk allergies yielded surprising results. Conventional wisdom has been that most children outgrow milk allergies by the age of 3. However, the researchers found that less than 20% of the children outgrew their allergy by age 4. And, in another finding that flies in the face of previous beliefs, they found that roughly 25% of children do not outgrow their allergies until they are teenagers.

Common symptoms of milk allergies include skin-related reactions, vomiting and other gastrointestinal complications, and respiratory difficulties, such as wheezing, coughing, and difficulty breathing.

This is significant news. Mothers struggling with chronically ill children often face a difficult road of nebulous diagnoses and treatments. So, be brave. If you suspect your child may have an allergy to milk, try something drastic: pure, fresh, wonderful water. Ah...

The cookies? Alas, for those with milk allergies, the temporary alternative may be the dairy-free, gluten-free, casein-free, “chocolate chip cookie.”

To read more about the study, see this from Reuters. To read more about milk allergies, including suggestions on foods to avoid and alternate diet recommendations, see this from Kids Health.