Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffAll food allergies are caused by an immune system malfunction. Your immune system identifies certain milk proteins as harmful, triggering the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to neutralize the protein (allergen). The next time you come in contact with these proteins, these IgE antibodies recognize them and signal your immune system to release histamine and other chemicals. Histamine and other body chemicals cause a range of allergic signs and symptoms. Histamine is partly responsible for most allergic responses, including runny nose, itchy eyes, dry throat, rashes, hives, nausea, diarrhea, labored breathing and anaphylactic shock.
There are two types of protein in cow's milk that can cause an allergic reaction:
- Casein, which is found in the solid part (curd) of milk that curdles
- Whey, which is found in the liquid part of milk that remains after milk curdles
You or your child may be allergic to only one milk protein or allergic to both casein and whey. These proteins are not only present in milk — but also are found in processed foods. Additionally, most people who react to cow's milk will also be allergic to sheep, goat and buffalo milk. Less commonly, people allergic to cow's milk are also allergic to soy milk.
- Atopic and allergic disorders. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec13/ch165/ch165c.html?qt=milk allergy&alt=sh. Accessed June 9, 2009.
- Food allergy: An overview. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/PDF/foodallergy.pdf. Accessed June 9, 2009.
- Sicherer SH. Food allergens: Overview of clinical features and crossreactivity. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed May 22, 2009.
- Chapman JA, et al. Food allergy: A practice parameter. 2006; 96: S1.
- Kurowski K, et al. Food allergies: Detection and management. American Family Physician. 2008;77:1678.
- Tips to remember: Food allergy. American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. http://www.aaaai.org/patients/publicedmat/tips/foodallergy.stm. Accessed June 9, 2009.
- Keet CA, et al. Food allergy and anaphylaxis. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America. 2007;27:193.
- Food allergy in infants and children. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/understanding/children.htm. Accessed June 9, 2009.
- Thygarajan A, et al. American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations on the effects of early nutritional interventions on the development of atopic disease. Current Opinion in Pediatrics. 2008;20:698.
- Milk allergy. Food Allergy Initiative. http://www.faiusa.org/?page=milk. Accessed June 10, 2009.
