A good resource on CMPA (Cow's milk protein allergy)

I hear a lot of moms talk about how they decided their kid has a milk allergy, so they took it upon themselves to switch their kids diet and/or formula to soy-based formula. I am an open-minded person and I do take advice from other mom's a lot, especially since Mimi is my first baby. However, as a parent you should realized all kids are different and you need to educate yourself before you make decisions about your child's health. So with that I share the following......

An exerpt from Cow's milk protein allergy in children: a practical guide

Cow's milk protein allergy (CMPA) affects from 2 to 6% of children, with the highest prevalence during the first year of age [1]. About 50% of children have been shown to resolve CMPA within the first year of age, 80-90% within their fifth year [2,3]. The rate of parent-reported CMPA is about 4 times higher than the real one in children [4]. So, many children are referred for suspected CMPA based on parent perception, symptoms such as cutaneous eruption, insomnia, persistent nasal obstruction, sebhorreic dermatitis or positive results to unorthodox investigations. Moreover, parents often put their children on unnecessary diet without an adequate medical and dietary supervision. These inappropriate dietary restrictions may provoke nutritional unbalances, especially in the first year of age. Therefore, an accurate diagnosis of CMPA is important in order to avoid not only the risk of rickets, decreased bone mineralization [5], anaemia, poor growth and hypoalbuminemia, but also that of immediate clinical reactions or severe chronic gastroenteropathy leading to malabsorption.

1. Host A: Frequency of cow's milk allergy in childhood.

   Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 2002, 89(6 Suppl 1):33-7.

2. Wood RA: The natural history of food allergy.

   Pediatrics 2003, 111:1631-1637.

3. Host A, Halken S, Jacobsen HP, Christensen AE, Herskind AM, Plesner K: Clinical course of cow's milk protein allergy/intolerance and atopic diseases in childhood.

   Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2002, 13(Suppl 15):23-28.

4. Rona RJ, Keil T, Summers C, Gislason D, Zuidmeer L, Sodergren S, Sigurdardottir T, Lindner T, Goldhahn K, Dahlstrom J: The prevalence of food allergy.

   A meta-analysis J Allergy Clin Immunol 2007, 120:638-46.

5. Black RE, Williams SM, Jones IE, Goulding A: Children who avoid drinking cow milk have low dietary calcium intakes and poor bone health.

   Am J Clin Nutr 2002, 76:675-680.