News

Recently our very own Advisory Board member, Dr Adam Fox, spent some time with our friends at Mumsnet to answer all their lactose intolerance and cows’ milk allergy questions.

The questions came through thick and fast and many people wanted to know about allergies and their newborn babies.

Mumsnetter Julezboo mentioned that her son was born five weeks early and after a difficult first 12 weeks, he was diagnosed with a cows’ milk allergy. She wanted to know from Dr Fox if his early birth could have caused his allergy.

Dr Fox quickly replied that prematurity is not a particular risk factor for food allergies.

Another Mumsnetter, Tak1ngchances, is in the process of trying to conceive her first child. However, she had a severe cows’ milk allergy as a child. While she grew out of it, she’s worried that she might pass this on to her baby.

Dr Fox replied that while you can pass on an allergic tendency to your children, you can’t give them a specific allergy. For example, if both parents have allergic conditions (like eczema, food allergies or hay fever) then the chance that your child will also develop some sort of allergy is very high – up to 80%. However they won’t necessarily develop the same allergy as you.

Dr Fox advises that, where possible, breastfeeding a baby for the first 4- 6 months is the only thing that has shown to reduce the risk of allergy problems in the future.

Does your child have a cows’ milk allergy? Please share your experiences with us by leaving a comment below.

Please note that as Lactofree products are made from real diary, they are not suitable for cows’ milk allergy sufferers.