Treatment and therapy

The therapy for milk allergy is based on a consistent change of diet. Especially children with milk allergy require a diet completely free of milk and milk products in order to enable the child to develop without any complaints. There are no drugs or other therapeutic options that treat the cause of the disease.

So for the time being, the only thing that remains for those affected is to radically avoid products containing cow’s milk or cow’s milk protein. Of course this is a challenge, especially for babies.Despite this dietary restriction, the baby must be provided with all important nutrients. Usually the allergy loses its effect with increasing age as the immune system continues to develop.

Therefore, one often speaks of an outlet diet, because one has to do without these products only for a limited period of time. There are now very good cow’s milk-free replacement foods for babies. They are fed like normal baby food.

However, the special food is prescribed by the doctor. It ensures that the baby grows and thrives without suffering from the serious allergy symptoms. A possible therapy attempt for the cow’s milk allergy lies in hyposensitization.

Hyposensitization, also called allergy vaccination or immunotherapy, is intended to treat the overreactions of the immune system to milk protein. In practice, this means that the patient is given milk in increasing doses. If the allergy is particularly severe, one starts with a mixing ratio of milk and e.g. water of 1:100, later 1:10 or dropwise.

Those affected also take milk daily after the hyposensitization, so that the habituation effect is not lost. In the classic form of hyposensitization, weekly injections are given in which the milk concentration increases progressively. This is done over 16 weeks until the so-called maintenance dose is reached.

The patient then receives a monthly injection with the maintenance dose over three years to maintain the habituation effect. In addition, there is short-term hyposensitization, in which a dose increase of the milk quantities occurs much faster in the initiation phase. With ultra-rush hyposensitization, the dose is increased even more rapidly in order to achieve rapid habituation to the milk.

In all forms of hyposensitization, monthly injections are given for three years after the maintenance dose has been reached. Once the allergy-related symptoms have been identified, it is imperative to see a doctor to analyze the symptoms and start appropriate therapy. In general, the family doctor is the most important contact person in the case of milk allergy, as he or she knows the previous course of the disease and the medication.

For children, the pediatrician is the first point of contact. After the initial checkup with the family doctor or pediatrician, a specialist colleague can be called in, depending on the symptoms. An allergologist is a doctor who has completed additional training in allergy.

An allergologist can be useful if the family doctor or pediatrician cannot find a suitable therapy for the milk allergy. ENT specialists can be helpful if there are complaints in the nasopharynx and a pulmonologist can be helpful if there are complaints in the nasopharynx and a pulmonologist can be helpful if there is asthma. Ophthalmologists or gastroenterologists can help if specific complaints of the eyes or gastrointestinal tract are not easily treatable. In general, however, the first point of contact should be your family doctor or paediatrician to draw attention to milk allergies. In case of doubt, the family doctor or pediatrician can issue appropriate referrals to other specialists.