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My daughter, aged nigh on 8, really gets 'phlegmy' after any dairy, clearing her throat continuously and complains, after a while, that her throat gets sore.

I have done some research, but from what I can see, being lactose intolerant usually leads to to rashes etc. Has anyone heard of this? I sometimes experience this too but I think it could be mainly dehydration based (I never drink enough water). She does drink lots of water, so I cannot really link it to that.

Any ideas?

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Lactose intolerance does not cause rashes, it's decidedly more.... intestinal. Rashes would be a symptom of milk allergies. – M. Dudley May 18 '11 at 3:27
Why has thiis been downvoted? Anyone care to comment? – Hairy May 20 '11 at 13:55
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I vote to close. This is a general health question and really has nothing to do with parenting a child. – Javid Jamae May 20 '11 at 16:15
It is off topic as it's a medical question. This is something you should ask your doctor. FWIW, most humans are lactose intolerant to one degree or another...especially with cow milk. – DA01 Dec 29 '11 at 2:02

3 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

Cow milk contains many things in addition to lactose. For example, the primary proteins in milk (caseins) can sometimes produce an aversive reaction.

Unfortunately, the best advice for all allergies is to avoid the offending substance. It might be worth trying goat milk and/or cheese if you haven't already and you don't want to completely avoid milk products.

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we're trying out soya milk products, including Yoghurts, this week, to see if she is ok after a week; she's none too impressed about not having cheese mind. My Mother is lactose intollerant and only drinks Goats milk and eat goats cheese. Is this a herditary thing? – Hairy May 18 '11 at 6:34
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Susceptibility to allergies has a hereditary component. Your mother is apparently not lactose intolerant, since goat milk has the same amount of lactose as cow milk. Goats and cows do have different forms of casein, so it sounds to me like your mother probably has a (cow) casein allergy (or an allergy to something else commonly found in cow milk but not goat milk). – Rex Kerr May 18 '11 at 14:56
@Hairy the ability (or lack thereof) to digest lactose is an evolutionary thing: scienceinafrica.co.za/2002/june/lactose.htm – DA01 Dec 29 '11 at 2:04
up vote 1 down vote

Dairy products can cause phelgm production, it's one reason to avoid them when you have a cold or chest congestion. It may be your daughter is just more susceptable to that, I'd think if you had allergies you'd have the rashes and other symptons noted previously.

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We found that Organic Milk didn't have this effect. We're not sure why it works - perhaps something to do with non-Organic-Milk producing cows having anti-biotics to keep them well. A pleasant side effect is that the bathroom is a whole lot less smelly too.

Yes, it's a bit more expensive, but this is easy to try for 4 weeks as a process of elimination.

The next step is Rice Milk and Soya Milk - but they are a bit of an acquired taste.

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We're going the soya route now. My mother swears by Goats milk, but we're keeping that particular 'ace' up our sleeves for now... As an aside, I actually really like Soya milk! – Hairy May 23 '11 at 6:38

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