What is CMA??
When infants and children are fed cow’s milk proteins this can trigger allergic reactions. By avoiding cow’s milk proteins completely, the symptoms caused by this reaction can also be eliminated.
Cow’s milk allergy (CMA) is the most common food allergy in infants and young children – about 2 % to 5 % of all children suffer from this condition. CMA generally affects children of under the age of 2 to 3 years.It is an overreaction of the immune system to one or more proteins contained in cow’s milk. The symptoms caused by CMA are varied and may affect several organ systems, e.g. the skin, the digestive or the respiratory tract, possibly resulting in skin rash, eczema, vomiting, diarrhoea, colic, wheezing or excessive crying. The allergic reactions can set in very rapidly (e.g. severe breathing problems, vomiting), but they can also be delayed or require a larger portion of food (e.g. a glass of milk) to set them off. An example of a delayed reaction would be a skin rash or diarrhoea which can take up to 3-5 days to appear. Infants/ children with Cow’s milk protein allergy requires adequate dietary support to be determined with the advice of a health care professional.