Clinical Signs of Cow’s Milk Allergy in Infants: IgE vs Non-IgE Mediated Reactions
- 08/04/2022
Video description
Information for Healthcare Professional Use Only
This short video explains how IgE-mediated and non-IgE-mediated cow’s milk allergies (CMA) present differently in infants, emphasising the importance of recognising symptom patterns across body systems for accurate diagnosis and management.
Highlights
- IgE-mediated CMA causes rapid onset symptoms, typically affecting the skin (hives, redness, swelling), gut (oral itching, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea), and respiratory system (hay fever-like symptoms). Severe cases may result in anaphylaxis.
- Non-IgE-mediated CMA results in delayed symptoms, often across multiple systems:
- Skin: Persistent eczema, redness, itching.
- Gut: Vomiting, reflux, loose stools ("poonamis"), soft stool constipation, blood in stool, and anal redness.
- Growth: Severe cases may show faltering growth (poor weight/height gain). - Respiratory symptoms are not typically recognised by National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) for non-IgE CMA, but Milk Allergy in Primary Care (MAP) guidelines acknowledge congestion in affected infants.
- Multiple symptoms across systems—rather than a single isolated sign—are a hallmark of non-IgE-mediated CMA. You may also be interested in this webinar about CMA diagnosis and management.
IMPORTANT NOTICE:
We believe that breastfeeding is the ideal nutritional start for babies and we fully support the World Health Organisation’s recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life followed by the introduction of adequate nutritious complementary foods along with continued breastfeeding up to two years of age.
We also recognise that breastfeeding may not be an option due to certain medical conditions. Parents should only feed infant formula for special medical purposes under supervision of a healthcare professional after full consideration of all feeding options, including breastfeeding. Continued use has to be assessed by the healthcare professional in relation to the baby's progress bearing in mind any social and financial implications for the family. Infant formula should always be prepared, used and stored as instructed on the label in order to avoid risks to a baby’s health.
Dr Helen Howells
BM Honours DCH DRCOG DFSRH
DOHNS mMRCGP (2015) MSc Allergy with Honours
GP with Extended Role in Paediatric Allergy