Severely milk-allergic kids can be desensitized

[Celebration]

http://in.reuters.com/article/health/idINCOL37365220080303

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Children who have a potentially life-threatening allergy to cow's milk can often "learn" to tolerate milk through a carefully orchestrated, supervised program in which they sample milk in progressively higher doses, research suggests.

After one year, more than one-third of cow's milk allergic children who completed the program had become completely tolerant to cow's milk and more than half could tolerate limited amounts of milk, the research team reports in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

"Desensitization, or 'specific oral tolerance induction,' can be achieved in a significant percentage of children with very severe allergic reactions," Dr. Egidio Barbi from 'Burlo Garofolo' University of Trieste told Reuters Health.

....................................

Their strategy consisted of two phases. During phase one, the children spent 10 days in the hospital where they were given drops of diluted milk in increasing doses and concentration each day. During phase two, the children followed a similar protocol at home. Parents received written instructions on how to gradually increase the milk dose and were taught how to spot and treat any allergic reactions. Parents could also contact a doctor involved in the study at any time.

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The fact that most of the children could tolerate at least some cow's milk after the protocol "is important because the danger associated with accidental exposure to small amounts of cow's milk is significantly reduced," Barbi and colleagues write.

[Warpy]

1. My mother kept trying to do that to me

because every 50s June Cleaver wannabe knew that if her kids didn't drink milk, they'd die.

So the stuff would be forced down my reluctant throat, I'd get diarrhea, and I'd be off it for a blissful few days until the shits stopped and the whole process would start again unless she turned her back long enough for me to pour it down the sink.

Milk is horrible stuff.

[Celebration]

2. Oh yikes

This has to be very well controlled.

Of all things, my mother tried to force me to eat cold cereal when I was a kid. I threw up on Sugar Crisp and after that just refused to open my mouth when it was in front of me.

It wasn't the milk, though. I do pretty well on milk, but if I overdo it, yes, mucous forming. I avoid it if I have a cold.

[cosmik debris]

3. That's outrageous!

Giving children toxic substances? Don't they know that the children could be damaged forever?

We better alert Dr. philb about this!

:)

[Celebration]

4. sounds almost like homeopathy

diluted drops of a substance that otherwise would be bad for you

[lizerdbits]

5. My youngest nephew seems to be allergic

He's not quite 1 but my sister tried yogurt and he got a rash all over his face (since at that age 3/4 of the food winds up on the face). Then my older nephew spilled milk on the kitchen floor and the younger one crawled through it before my sister could grab a towel and got a rash all over his chest. So they're keeping him away from it now and hope he'll grow out of it which according to her pediatrician often happens when allergies show up that early.

It would be interesting if they could repeat this and get some immunological data to see what's happening in that respect.