Casein is found in many dairy products. So, if after eating such products, bloating, vomiting, rash are observed, then you may be allergic to casein. This means that the body has developed an abnormal reaction of the immune system, is common in breastfed children and remains in adulthood. If you are allergic to casein, it is recommended not to consume cow's milk.
What is casein?
Casein is a protein. It has a complex structure, is found in dairy products: cheese, cottage cheese, milk and others. It is an important element of products, since it contains essential amino acids. In the composition of milk, it is contained in a bound form, but when it enters the human body, it curdles in the intestines under the influence of enzymes and precipitates with fats.
This sediment can stay in the body for a long time and slowly dissolve. Therefore, it is important to know what a child should not be allergic to casein. Thanks to casein, milk and milk by-productshave a high nutritional value, and it is also a source of phosphorus and calcium.
What's in it?
The highest amount of casein is found in cow's and goat's milk. Casein makes up 80% of the composition of such milk, the remaining 20% are whey products. In the milk of other animals, its amount in the composition is less than 80%. In second place in terms of casein capacity are cheeses of different varieties and cottage cheese. A large amount is found in cheeses: Gouda, Cheddar, Mozzarella and others. Casein is also found in dairy products such as: sour cream, cream, kefir, curdled milk, ice cream and others.
Why is it harmful?
Due to the fact that casein protein is complex structure, some organisms cannot digest it, as a result it is perceived as a foreign substance. After that, the immune system begins to secrete antibodies to casein, thereby causing an allergic reaction. The severity depends on the individual characteristics of the organism. But casein is not always to blame for dairy allergies. Adults and children may have reactions to other whey proteins in the product. Often you can find it is milk intolerance, and not an allergy. Intolerance is associated with an insufficient amount of the lactose enzyme.
Allergy Causes
Allergy to casein can be caused by the following reasons:
- the impossibility of breaking down a complex protein by the body;
- reaction to whey proteins.
In some people, the body does notassimilates only some proteins, it can be one or more proteins at the same time. Then, when they enter the body, the immune system begins to produce antibodies, as a result, this leads to the activation of inflammatory cells.
Animal milk has approximately the same set of proteins, so with milk intolerance, allergic reactions will occur after drinking any milk.
It's important to know that food allergies can be inherited from parents or grandparents. If one of the relatives has a similar illness, then the likelihood that the child will also have an intolerance will be higher than other newborns.
The baby may have a reaction to mother's milk, this reaction is provoked by the fact that mothers used cow's milk during pregnancy. As you know, it is cow's milk that can penetrate the walls of the placenta and enter the bloodstream of the fetus.
Also, an allergy to casein in a child may be due to the fact that during the feeding period, the mother did not adhere to proper nutrition. Nuts, shrimp, chocolate can provoke an allergic reaction. In this regard, mothers should think carefully about their diet.
Symptoms
In adults, an allergic reaction can manifest itself with the following symptoms:
- urticaria;
- itch;
- rash;
- breathing problems;
- swelling of the mucosa.
Symptoms of casein allergy in children can manifest in a broader form:
- liquid stool;
- regurgitation;
- rash;
- weight loss;
- change behavior;
- bloating;
- shortness of breath;
- mucus secretion in the nasopharynx;
- growth slows down.
How does it manifest?
How does casein allergy manifest itself? It can manifest itself both in a mild form and in a form that can threaten life. These are all types of food allergies. It is characterized by: rash, itching, redness, swelling; from the digestive tract note: abdominal pain, heartburn, nausea, diarrhea; respiratory system: swelling of the larynx and mucous membranes, shortness of breath, suffocation; cardiovascular system: tachycardia, hypotension.
Each sign of manifestation depends on the individual characteristics of the body's sensitivity to each allergen. An allergy to casein in a baby can appear in the following symptoms: regurgitation after eating, constipation or diarrhea, blood in the stool, rashes, loss of appetite, irritability, poor sleep, bloating, mucus in the nasopharynx, weight loss.
Diagnosis of casein allergy in a child
To diagnose milk protein allergy in children, the method of exclusion must be used. Every morning you need to introduce a new product and monitor the condition of the baby. Of course, such a method cannot be 100% accurate, as the mother needs to constantly monitor the foods that are consumed and objectively assess the symptoms. A little more accurate is the study of the level of IgE. This method consists in monitoring the labeled allergens in the blood serum, whichbind to allergen-specific IgE. As a result, "complexes" are obtained, which calculate and conduct a study of the result. The test will be more reliable during an exacerbation. But such a test has drawbacks: there are cases of false positive or negative results. You can not use the method with children under six months of age, as their immune system is not mature enough, it does not have the required level of IgE. Provocative tests are also carried out, they are used in difficult cases. To conduct such a test, the child needs to avoid dairy products for a month, after which milk or products with milk are gradually introduced into the diet, and doctors observe the reaction of the body. If there is no reaction, the dosage is increased and so on several more times. If the test does not give a confirmatory result, then the child can safely consume dairy products. Such a test should be carried out exclusively in a hospital under the supervision of doctors.
What tests should an adult take?
To diagnose the presence of an allergy in an adult, you need to take tests to detect the level of IgE. A routine blood test may show an increase in eosinophils, but this is not an accurate sign of an allergy to casein, such a level can be in other conditions. Not in all cases, the method of skin tests is used, it is based on applying the allergen to a scratch on the skin (it is done beforehand before the test, in the form of a small strip). Then the doctor looks at the reaction of the body. The method of immunoblotting is often used. Hebased on the evaluation of the enzyme immunoassay reaction. Foods with gluten, milk, nuts, eggs, and seafood are added to foods that are familiar to humans in which there is casein. The study can show whether an allergic reaction occurs to casein or other whey proteins.
What to do?
The main and very first thing to do is to eliminate the allergen from the diet, and these are products containing casein. If we talk about the baby, then in this case, the mother needs to remove dairy products from her diet in order to exclude an allergic reaction. Start the treatment process according to the symptoms of the disease.
What to replace?
In cases where an allergy begins to whey proteins, milk must be thermally processed. At high temperatures, these proteins are destroyed. Other milk products are allowed. With a confirmed allergy to casein, it will not be possible to thermally destroy the protein. In this regard, it becomes necessary to use vegetable oil from: soy, almonds, rice or exclude dairy products from the diet. What to drink if you are allergic to casein? Some people with allergies can switch to goat's milk; in some forms of the disease, goat's milk does not cause an allergic reaction. This is due to the fact that goat milk lacks one of the casein fractions, which is the causative agent of an allergic reaction. Since goat milk contains a different form of casein, it is more easily absorbed by the body and is much less likely to cause problems. Also goatmilk contains half as much lactose, therefore it is less fatty and easily tolerated by patients with milk intolerance. In those rare cases when a person is completely allergic to any milk, all its types and products containing it must be excluded. Since milk contains a lot of calcium and phosphorus, you need to find products that can replace the intake of these important elements in the body. You can use drugs with calcium and phosphorus, as well as eat vegetables, nuts, seafood, they all contain these elements.
General nutrition tips
An important point in the treatment of the disease is diet. You need to follow general nutritional advice: study the composition of the product before buying, know which products may contain casein. You also need to keep a record of reactions to a particular product, eat each new dish only in the morning, so that you can track the reaction of the body. It is important for girls to know that some cosmetics may contain casein, it will also cause an allergic reaction on the skin. In addition to irritation, such cosmetics can lead to a deterioration in the general condition. In the case of young children, you need to know what not to do if the child is allergic to casein.
Baby feeding tips
A newborn can receive casein through breast milk, then the mother must follow a dairy-free diet, even if she herself is not allergic to milk. If the diet does not help or the mother cannot exclude dairy products, then the child should be transferred toartificial feeding. If you are allergic to casein in breast milk, you need to choose the right dry formula, since not every formula is suitable for a particular child. When choosing, you need to look at the composition of amino acids. Safe mixtures can be those that have a deeply cleaved protein in their composition. Children who are predisposed to allergies need mixtures in which the protein is partially destroyed. After six months of age, soy-based formulas can be given.
Nutrition tips for baby
At the age of 5-7 years, the digestive system of a child is able to fully digest dairy products without an allergic reaction, even if it was previously observed. If at this age the body is not ready to absorb milk, then parents need to control the child's nutrition. Since food at school or kindergarten can cause a reaction. It is necessary to warn the educator or teacher about the peculiarities of the child's nutrition and give a list of allowed foods. The diet of a child and an adult is not very different from each other, but it is extremely important to follow it. So that the child does not feel like everyone else, you need to use your imagination, you need to know how to feed a child with an allergy to casein. You can make pancakes with soy or rice or almond milk. You need to cook like regular pancakes, replacing only cow's milk. All you need: 2-3 proteins, 2 tablespoons of sugar, 1.5 cups of milk. Serve with syrup or jam. You can also make ice cream without milk. We will need bananas, raspberries, strawberries, gooseberries, peaches or any other fruit for yourtaste. Wash, peel and grind fruits in a blender. Freeze the resulting mass in molds. Optionally, you can add cocoa for taste.
What is the best food for a pregnant woman
In order for a woman's body to receive the necessary amount of minerals and vitamins during pregnancy, you can take medications, but only as directed by a doctor. In some cases, intolerance can develop during pregnancy due to hormonal changes in the body. Often intolerance goes away after the baby is born.
Advice for adults
Sometimes an allergy to casein in an adult does not go away in childhood and remains with a person for life. Then the adult needs to live taking into account the characteristics of allergies to certain foods. You need to make a list of allowed and prohibited foods and monitor the body's reaction to new dishes. If you are not sure whether it is possible to eat this or that new product, then you need to eat a very small amount of it and monitor whether an allergic reaction will appear or not. If no reaction is observed, then the next day you can use a larger amount of this product, and then observe again.
Treatments
Prophylactic methods and treatment of the disease have not yet been identified. If a person develops an allergic manifestation to casein, then additional medications must be taken. Systemically you need to take antihistamines. In severe forms, hormones are prescribed. Local manifestations of allergies can be stopped with the help of drops, ointments, creams. Additionally, experiments are being carried out withtreated with milk, while in the hospital, patients took a small amount of milk and tolerated the symptoms, over time, the dosage increased. Some patients have managed to cure casein allergy in this way, but this method of treatment cannot be used on its own.
What's the connection to gluten?
Gluten is also a complex protein found in many grains. It enters our body through bread, pasta, cereals, pastries and other flour products. Gluten allergy is also chronic and cannot be cured. In this case, a diet is also necessary, which must be strictly adhered to. Any allergy brings only inconvenience to life, so you need to adapt to this rhythm of life.
