It can be difficult having a child with any sort of food allergy, but since cow's milk is so ubiquitous in the Western diet, it can be especially challenging - not to mention coping with Christmas, Easter and Birthday parties.
To reiterate how difficult diagnosing and living with CMA can be, I spoke to Dr Smith, who has two sons, Alex and Samuel. (I've name changed as she wanted to preserve her family's anonymity). She talks about coping with a child with a cow's milk allergy that didn't resolve until her son was 4.
Tell me about yourself?
I have two boys, Alex who is 4, and Samuel a newborn. Alex has cow's milk allergy, amongst others. However, he has recently outgrown it, and we went for a Mr Whippy to celebrate!
What symptoms did your son have?
Alex was breastfed so we had no idea he was allergic to cow’s milk until he tried some baby rice with formula mixed in at almost 6 months old. He had only licked the spoon a few times before he started fussing and crying. At first I thought he didn’t like the unfamiliar taste but after cleaning his face I realised that under all that cereal he had hives all around his mouth. The hives were spreading rapidly in front of my eyes and I knew he was having an allergic reaction. I rang my husband who was working close by who came to collect us. We lived very close to the local hospital and were at the Emergency Department within 10-15 minutes of me noticing the rash.
Alex was crying all the while so my logical mind knew that his breathing was fine at that point but the medical side of me was really worried about the possibility of anaphylaxis. By the time we got to the ED his entire body was covered with hives and his eyes had started to swell. The triage nurse took one look at him and we were rushed through to resus. He was given medications and luckily responded well to them. Within an hour the red, blotchy, screaming baby I brought in was cooing at the ED staff.
