Common manifestations of cow's milk allergy in children.

Cow's milk allergy was diagnosed in 79 patients, all of whom had signs and symptoms of allergies other than milk intolerance. In addition to difficulties with infant feeding and diarrhoea, clinical features included constipation, vomiting, intestinal colic, growth retardation, and psychological disturbance, as well as eczema and asthma. All were reversible after milk withdrawal, which suggests that the allergic basis of such symptoms may have been underestimated. In most cases, one or both parents were atopic and the child had been bottle-fed from birth. There were no breast-fed children of non-atopic parents in this series.