Milk allergy is the most common allergy in infants and young children, affecting around 2.5% of children under the age of 3. There are actually 2 categories of milk allergies: IgE mediated and non-IgE mediated. We often see non-IgE mediated milk allergy in young infants and many will outgrow it by their first birthday. This article, however, will be focusing on IgE mediated milk allergy.
When a person with milk allergy is exposed to the proteins in milk, the proteins bind to IgE antibodies that trigger the immune system, causing a reaction. Up to 70% of children with this allergy can tolerate milk baked into foods. Once the milk has been heated, it changes the structure of the protein enough so that the body doesn’t respond to it. Tolerating baked milk while young is a good sign that a child may outgrow their milk allergy. Up to 75% of children will outgrow their milk allergy.