Casein is part of many dairy products. So, if after consuming such products, bloating, vomiting, rash are observed, then you may be allergic to casein. This means that the body has an abnormal immune response, is often found in breast-feeding children and remains in adulthood. If you are allergic to casein, it is recommended that you do not 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 is in it that the essential amino acids are located. As part of milk, it is contained in bound form, but when it enters the human body, it curds in the intestine under the influence of enzymes and precipitates with fats.
This precipitate can be 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 offal of milk have a high nutritional value, and it is also a source of phosphorus and calcium.
What does it contain?
The greatest amount of casein is found in cow and goat milk. Casein makes up 80% of the composition of such milk, the remaining 20% - whey products. In the milk of other animals, its amount in the composition is less than 80%. In second place in the capacity of casein 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, yogurt, ice cream and others.
Why is it harmful?
Due to the fact that the protein of casein is complex-structured, some organisms cannot bind 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 body. But casein is not always to blame for an allergy to dairy products. In adults and children, there may be a reaction to other whey proteins of 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.
Causes of Allergies
Casein allergy can be caused by the following reasons:
- the impossibility of splitting a complex protein by the body;
- reaction to whey proteins.
In some people, the body does not absorb only certain proteins, it can be one or more proteins at a time. Then, when they enter the body, the immune system begins to produce antibodies, as a result of which it 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 consuming any milk.
It is important to know that food allergies can be inherited from parents or grandparents. If one of the relatives has a similar ailment, then the likelihood that the child will also be intolerant will be higher than that of other newborns.
A baby may have a reaction to breast 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 the mother did not adhere to proper nutrition during the period of feeding. Provoke an allergic reaction can nuts, shrimp, chocolate. In this regard, mothers should think through their nutrition well.
Symptoms
In adults, an allergic reaction may manifest such symptoms:
- hives;
- itching
- rash;
- trouble breathing
- swelling of the mucosa.
Symptoms of casein allergy in children can occur in a wider form:
- loose stools;
- spitting up
- rash;
- weight loss;
- change of behavior;
- bloating;
- labored breathing;
- secretion of mucus in the nasopharynx;
- growth slows down.
How is it manifested?
How is casein allergy manifested? It can manifest itself both in a mild form and in a form that can be life threatening. All this is a form of food allergy. 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 membrane, 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 occur in the following symptoms: regurgitation after eating, constipation or diarrhea, blood in the stool, rash, loss of appetite, irritability, poor sleep, bloating, mucus in the nasopharynx, underweight.
Diagnosis of casein allergy in a child
To diagnose an allergy to milk protein in children, you need to use the exclusion method. 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, since the mother must constantly monitor the products that are consumed and objectively evaluate the symptoms. A little more accurate is the study of IgE levels. Such a method consists in observing labeled allergens in the blood serum that bind to allergen-specific IgE. The result is "complexes" that count and conduct research on the result. The test will be more reliable during the period of exacerbation. But this test has drawbacks: there are cases of false positive or negative results. You can not use the method with children under the age of six months, as their immune system is not mature enough, it does not have the required level of IgE. They also conduct provocative tests, they are used in difficult cases. To conduct such a test, the child needs not to consume dairy products for a month, after which milk or products with milk are gradually introduced into the diet, and doctors monitor the body's reaction. In the absence of reaction, the dosage is increased several more times. If the test does not give a confirming result, then the child can safely consume dairy products. A similar test should be carried out exclusively in a hospital under the supervision of doctors.
What tests to pass to an adult?
To diagnose the presence of allergies 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, this level can be in other conditions. Not in all cases, the method of skin tests is used, it is based on applying an allergen to a scratch on the skin (it is done before the test, in the form of a small strip). Then the doctor looks at the reaction of the body. Often used the method of immunoblotting. It is based on an assessment of the reaction of an enzyme immunoassay. Gluten-free foods, milk, nuts, eggs, and seafood are added to foods common to humans. Research can show if 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 such are products containing casein. If we talk about the baby, then in this case, the mother needs to remove dairy products from her food in order to exclude an allergic reaction. Begin the treatment process, according to the symptoms of the disease.
How to replace?
In cases where an allergy begins with milk whey proteins, milk must be thermally processed. At high temperature, these proteins are destroyed. Other milk products are allowed. With confirmed allergies to casein, it will not be possible to thermally destroy the protein. In this regard, there is a need to use vegetable oil from: soy, almonds, rice or to exclude dairy products from the diet. What to drink with casein allergy? 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 fractions of casein, it is it that is the causative agent of an allergic reaction. Since casein has a different form in goat’s milk, it is more easily absorbed by the body and is much less likely to cause disturbances. Goat milk also contains half the amount of lactose; therefore, it is less oily and is easily tolerated by patients with milk intolerance. In those rare cases when a person is completely allergic to any milk, it is necessary to exclude all its types and products containing it. 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, all of them contain these elements.
General Nutrition Tips
An important point in the treatment of the disease is dieting. You need to adhere to general nutrition tips: study the composition of the product before buying, know which products may contain casein. You also need to record 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 casein may be part of some cosmetics, 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 is not possible with an allergy to casein in a child.
Nutrition 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 to artificial feeding. If you are allergic to breast milk casein, you need to choose the right dry mix, since not every mixture 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 mixtures can be given.
Baby Nutrition Tips
At the age of 5-7 years, the digestive system of the 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 baby’s nutrition. Since food at school or kindergarten can cause a reaction. It is necessary to warn the teacher or teacher about the peculiarities of the child’s nutrition and give a list of allowed products. The diet of a child and an adult is not very different from each other, but it is extremely important to observe it. So that the child does not feel different than everyone else, you need to use imagination, you need to know how to feed the child with an allergy to casein. You can cook 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 protein, 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 to your taste. Wash, peel and chop the fruit in a blender. Freeze the resulting mass in molds. If desired, cocoa can be added for taste.
The better to eat a pregnant woman
So that during pregnancy, the woman’s body receives the necessary amount of minerals and vitamins, 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. Intolerance often disappears after the baby is born.
Adult Advice
Sometimes an allergy to casein in an adult does not go away in childhood and stays with a person for life. Then an adult needs to live with allergy to certain foods. You need to make a list of allowed and prohibited foods and monitor the body's response to new dishes. If you are not sure whether one or another new product can be eaten, then you need to eat a very small amount of it and monitor whether an allergic reaction manifests itself or is absent. If no reaction is observed, then the next day you can already use a larger amount of this product, and then again observe.
Treatment methods
Until preventive methods and treatment of the disease have been identified. If a person develops an allergic manifestation to casein, then additional medications must be taken. Systematically need to take antihistamines. In severe forms, hormones are prescribed. Local manifestations of allergies can be stopped with drops, ointments, creams. In addition, experiments with milk treatment are carried out while in the hospital, patients took a small amount of milk and suffered symptoms, over time, the dosage increased. Some patients managed to cure an allergy to casein in this way, but this method of treatment cannot be used on its own.
What is the connection with gluten?
Gluten is also a complex protein, it is found in many cereal products. It enters our body through bread, pasta, cereal, pastries and other products from flour. 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 to life only inconvenience, so you need to adapt to this rhythm of life.