Introducing cow's milk progressively could prevent the allergic reaction

Cow's milk allergy is the most common food allergy and the first cause of childhood allergy. The general recommendation is to avoid its consumption until after one year the child ends up tolerating it, however new research, specifically the last one carried out by a group of pediatric allergists, belonging to the Spanish Society of Clinical Immunology and Pediatric Allergy (SEICAP) , ensures that introducing cow's milk progressively could prevent allergic reaction.

According to allergists,

The scheduled introduction of cow's milk at an early age allows patients to be desensitized, that is, to avoid the allergic reaction.

They have also been able to observe that when this specific induction therapy is carried out before the age of three, there is a greater chance of avoiding the allergic reaction than when doing it with older children.

The main novelty is not only its high efficiency, but the sooner it is done, the more effective it is.

The study was carried out in the Allergology services and units of eleven Spanish hospitals with allergic children between 24 and 36 months of age. The results reveal that in 9 out of 10 children their tolerance to cow's milk it increased after being ingested progressively, while the avoidance of food, the usual therapy, only obtained results in 1 in 10 children.

Milk proteins are usually the cause of the allergy so it is known as allergy to cow's milk proteins and is the first that usually appears in life.

When detected, it is indicated to avoid any food that contains milk proteins such as milk and its derivatives and formula milks. But as they have proven, constantly avoiding the foods that produce the allergy does not often cause the disappearance of the pathology. With the consequent risk, in addition, of severe anaphylactic reaction even by small doses that may go unnoticed in food.

When making the gradual intake, it is tried to increase the tolerance threshold, being necessary the maintenance of the milk intake to avoid possible relapses.

In this way, the door opens to new therapies to treat cow's milk allergy in children, and also working with the introduction introduced in cases of egg allergy.