>Could someone explain  the difference between lactose intolerant and
>milk allergy.  Me, my husband and three kids all have  bad reactions to
>milk  products (i.e. milk, ice cream yogurt, custards, etc)
>
>We get severe cramps, gas and diarrhea.  My doctor just told me to stay
>away from milk. My kids had trouble digesting milk, even breast and soy
>milk.  Now we just avoid milk products all together.   We even have
>problems with calcium supplements.
>
>Does this sound like lactose intolerance or milk allergy?
 
I am new to this group and have never responded, but I although I am not an
M.D. I am lactose intolerant and my son has milk allergy.  If my
explanation is incorrect someone please correct it.  When I was born I got
cramps, diarrhea, etc. after drinking milk.  I had no milk until about one
year old.  The reason is that about that time the body produces enough
lactase which is the enzyme that breaks down the milk protein lactose.  The
body reaches its peak in cases like mine about 3 yrs old and the production
grdually decreases until it is at a very low level in the early twenties or
so.  Then the symptoms of lactose intolerance start to appear again.  This
is what happened to me.
 
Our son was born with a milk allergy and when ingesting milk he would break
out in hives over his entire body and also vomit on certain ocassions. (His
symptoms are still the same at age 5 but not nearly as severe when he
accidently ingests milk which is rare.)  His situation (I think) is that
his body pretty much sees milk protein as a foreign substance and does all
it can to get rid of it.  (The human skin is an organ and the body uses it
to get rid of things the body considers foreign or toxic.)
 
So it seems that yours sounds like lactose intoerance which by the way
seems to be culturally more common in Jews of Eastern European descent (my
case).
 
In my son's case breast milk worked great for him, although with children
with milk sensitivities it is very important that the mother does not
ingest any milk products herself.
 
Rachele Shaw
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