(RxWiki News) Food allergies can show up in many ways. For young children, a dairy allergy may show up as congestion in the ear, nose or throat.
Recent research found that taking dairy out of a child’s diet improved congestion symptoms for some children. An elimination diet may be a way to help some young children find relief.
"Talk to your pediatrician about your child’s diet."
The researchers, led by Angela Paddack, MD, of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, suspected that a dairy allergy could cause congestion problems in young children.
They looked at 101 children with suspected cow’s milk protein allergy under the age of 2 that were coming to clinics with ear, nose and throat problems.
The researchers asked the families of these children to remove dairy from the diet of the child.
They found that 91 percent of the children showed improved symptoms after taking dairy out of their diet.
Sixty percent of the ear and nose problems went away when dairy was taken out of the child’s diet.
The authors concluded that their findings support the idea that dairy allergy may play a role in chronic congestion problems for young children.
Finding out that children under age 2 have a dairy allergy is hard.
A diet without dairy may be a low-cost way to improve ear and nose symptoms for some children. Dairy products are those that contain cow’s milk, like ice cream and cheese. Some infant formulas are made from cow’s milk.
Changing a young child’s diet should only be done under a doctor’s supervision.
This study was published in the August issue of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery. The authors report no competing interests.
