According to a study by researchers from the Jiménez Díaz Foundation and the Hospital de La Paz (Madrid), Children allergic to milk have a 15% chance of suffering from serious accidental allergic reactions, that is, those that affect more than one organ or can endanger the patient's life, such as anaphylaxis, hypotension or intense bronchospasm.
This research has been published in the "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology", and was conducted on a sample of 88 children allergic to cow's milk with an average age of 32 months. It has been shown that the frequency of these allergic reactions in this group was 40% in one year, 15% being serious, many suffered at home and in everyday life circumstances.
These are worrisome conclusions if we consider that food allergy is a problem of increasing prevalence that especially affects children.
Cow's milk is one of the most frequently implicated foods, with an approximate incidence of 2% in the first year of life. The risk for these allergy sufferers is mostly to consume milk proteins, which can be a hidden ingredient in many processed foods.
To avoid these risks, it is necessary an effort, awareness and involvement of many sectors, from health professionals, and parents to the food industry and public administration, which must enforce the regulations on food product labeling to avoid those hidden risks.
