In one study, 75% of children with cow's milk allergy could tolerate baked milk1
Meet Elizabeth. She's 9 years old. Elizabeth has a history of eczema that was diagnosed at her 6 month check up. After having a glass of milk just before her 3rd birthday, Elizabeth experienced gastrointestinal symptoms, vomiting and her eczema got worse. Since this incident, Elizabeth's mom has been hyper-vigilant to ensure that Elizabeth avoids milk and any foods that might contain milk.
When Elizabeth came in for her annual check up later that year, she tested positive for a specific IgE profile which confirmed sensitisation to milk. Her doctor suggested that Elizabeth should be tested for milk components as the next step to understand what proteins she was sensitised to and to determine if she was a good candidate for an oral food challenge.
Her milk component test results showed that she was only sensitised to the α-lactalbumin protein, a protein that when baked or boiled, can break down and lose its allergic properties1.
Elizabeth's doctor explained that she had a high risk for reaction to fresh or unbaked milk, but only low risk of reaction to baked milk. Her doctor referred her to an allergist to take a baked milk challenge to see if she is safe to eat milk in baked forms2.
After passing the Oral Food Challenge, her doctor recommended regular consumption of milk in baked forms, like muffins, but continued avoidance of fresh milk.3 Her doctor said that she may outgrow her allergy and would be retesting her in about two years.
The milk component tests provided meaningful information about Elizabeth's sensitisation to proteins in cow's milk. This technology allows for a new level of specificity in food allergy diagnosis down to protein level.
1. Nowak-Wergzen A, Bloom K A, Sicherer S H, et al. Tolerance to extensively heated milk in children with cows milk allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2008; 122 (2): 342-347, 347 3, 341-342. 2. Boyce JA, et al. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of food allergy in the United States: report of the NIAID-sponsored expert panel. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2010;126 (6):S1-S58.; Hays T. Special consideration for managing food allergies. J Parenter Enteral Nutr. 2012;36 3. Kim J S, Nowak-Wegrzyn A, Sicherer H, et al. Dietary baked-milk accelerate resolution of cow's milk allergy in children. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2011 July; 128(1): 125-131.e2. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2011.04.036
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