Cow's Milk Allergy: A Threat to My Daughter's Life

We didn't know the severity of the effects of cow's milk on my daughter until last Friday morning. She found a glass on the table with a very little amount (almost empty) of cow's milk in it. Whenever she sees a glass, empty or not, she always thinks that she needs to drink it. That's what happened when she saw the glass on the table when she got up that morning. I immediately took it away from her but she already had a sip or two. Knowing how little she chugged down, we weren't so concern of the effects.

Swelling of Throat

Few minutes after she had a taste of cow's milk, my husband noticed that her voice was hoarse while they were watching Sesame Street online. She was saying something but he can barely understand what she was saying because of how raspy her voice was. He quickly gave her a dose of Benadryl. I encouraged her to talk to make sure she's alright. I was completely shocked to hear a croaky voice coming out from her. I couldn't understand a word she said.

We kept an eye on her the whole time. Thankfully, she didn't have a hard time swallowing the fruits I gave her for breakfast. She was not acting weird and was breathing fine. It took 5 hours for her voice to get back to normal. That's how a very little amount of cow's milk affected her.

Danger of Throat Swelling Due to Cow's Milk Allergy

After this incident happened, I researched online about this very scary allergic reaction. We know that she is allergic to cow's milk. Normally, rashes and welts appear on parts of her body contacted by milk or any other food that she's allergic to. Swelling of the throat never happened before.

Throat swelling is considered as a severe allergic reaction that is dangerous to the life of the person experiencing it. It can cause the person to stop breathing which will put his life in serious danger if not taken cared of immediately.

In the case of kids, specially babies and toddlers who don't have the ability yet to communicate clearly what they feel physically, this allergic reaction is very terrifying to a parent like me. I never thought that my daughter will have this kind of serious reaction to cow's milk (and perhaps even to other groups of food she's allergic to). To Moms whose got a child allergic to some foods, we need to be very careful of what kind of food we give our children. With processed foods, it is always important to check the ingredients on the label before putting it in our child's mouth. If we're giving them something to munch that they haven't tried before and we're not so sure if they're allergic to it or not, the best way to know is give them a very small amount instead of letting them eat the whole portion. Next step is wait and observe. From there, you know what to do next time.

Food Allergy Treatment

Wherever we go, we always bring with us the Children's Benadryl-D Liquid. Benadryl is an antihistamine that we use to treat our daughter's allergies. This medicine really helps a lot in relieving our daughter's allergic reactions such as itchiness, rashes, hives, welts, and lately, throat swelling. Half a teaspoon does all the remedy.

It is always best to ask your child's pediatrician what to give him/her to treat allergies. Some can be treated with over-the-counter medicines and some don't. Asking the expert is very vital. Beware of doing your own diagnosis and prescription.

For more information about food allergies on babies check these links:

All About Allergies

Allergic Reactions