Korean J Asthma Allergy Clin Immunol.
2004 Sep;24(3):353-356.
A Case of Adult-onset Cow Milk Allergy
Abstract
- Cow milk is one of the most common allergens, which causes allergic diseases of the respiratory tract and skin of the infants. However, cow milk allergy after adolescent period is uncommon and previous reports were only few. We experienced a case of the newly diagnosed, adult-onset cow milk allergy, and herein report the case with the review of literature. A 22-year-old female visited our clinic for itching, urticaria accompanied by abdominal pain, and dyspnea. The patient had never experienced any symptoms related to milk ingestion, but 6 months before her visit to our clinic, she started to suffer from intermittent symptoms such as swelling around her lips and abdominal pain, which subsided spontaneously in about 18 hours. 2 weeks before her 1st visit, she experienced urticaria, abdominal pain, and dyspnea immediately after eating cheese pizza, and 3 days before the same symptoms developed after drinking milk and yogurt. She presented slightly elevated total IgE, strong positive skin response to cow milk and high concentration of milk-specific IgE by CAP test. On IgE immunoblotting, specific IgE to 26 kD and 30 kD milk proteins have been found. We recommended her to avoid cow milk and have prescribed fexofenadine, and inhalation of salbutamol if needed.
