Items on prescription for allergy sufferers

Zziggi

I wonder if anyone knows the answer to this- i know that people with coeliac disease can get items on prescription eg. Special bread, flour etc etc. does anyone know if you can get items on prescription if you have dairy allergy?

The background is both my children have a dairy allergy. As babies I got special powdered dairy-free milk on prescription. As they became toddlers I found they could tolerate goats milk and I've been buying this ever since for them. However goats milk is now over £1.40 per litre (compared to 55p cows milk), goats cheese, yogurt and cream are similarly triple the price of the cows version. Things are exceedingly tight at the minute. I absolutely don't want to be cutting down their milk intake as kids need it as part of a healthy diet but I'm struggling to make ends meet. Is there any chance I could get goats milk on prescription as it is a medical need?

Thanks in advance

sheeps68

In a word no!

soolin

Although coeliacs can get prescriptions for certain 'staple' foods we still have to pay for those prescriptions. So the 2 packs of gluten free pasta will cost me £7.40 whereas i could buy them in Tesco for around £3 the pair.

I know children and many adults do get free prescriptions and it is possible to buy annual season tickets- but I am merely posting to show that this is not free food.

I also do not consider myself to have a true allergy as I do not go into anaphyltic shock if i eat gluten.

Beetlemama

You mention that as they got older they can have goats milk, can you have a dairy allergy but be able to drink goats milk? maybe an allergy or intolerance to cows milk? I read about 80% of babies with mild allergy or intolerance to cows milk eventually grow out of it by school age, how old are your kids and when did they last try it - if it's safe to test of course, if they go into shock and collapse when they contact it then best not, lol, but if they have loose stomachs (you know what I mean) then maybe it's worth asking the Dr if it's an idea?

formaldehyde_perfume

Soya milk is a lot less expensive than goats milk. Tesco do their own value unsweetened version, or there are the standard type brands like alpro. If it is a lactose intolerance then there is also lactose free cows milk available at most supermarkets.

Or there is rice milk, that's down to £1 in tesco so comparable with soya milk brands.

rinabean

Kids don't need milk. If they did then you would be able to get it on prescription. They need calcium, fat and vitamin D, but dairy isn't even the best source of these. It's just convenient.

If you just want them to have milk for their cereal, yoghurts for lunch, etc., soy-based alternatives are cheaper than goat's milk, but unless they're fortified they don't have the same level of nutrition (though the fortified ones are easy to find). But these are also not actually necessary.

They say you shouldn't give rice milk to kids - it's either the tiny levels of arsenic in it or the lack of fat, or both (I can't remember). Soy or oat milks would be better, and they're cheaper, too.

Prinzessilein

I would advise against giving soy milk to a child with known allergies, as they may also have a soy allergy. (Milk, eggs, nuts and soy are the most common food allergies in children).

I would ask the GP to refer the children for further testing...to see if they have outgrown the allergy, and to check for other allergies such as soy.

MissBx

How old are you children? My son is 2 and has various food allergies including a cows milk protein allergy and he gets a powered milk on prescription still that is available for toddlers over 18 months

Zziggi

The kids are 9 and 10. They also cannot have cows milk protein. I had powdered milk on prescription until the youngest was about 4 but they seemed able to tolerate goats milk. I was told to move them to goats as the preference to cows milk which they can't have. I think they have got used to the taste of goats. I had thought about trying soya milk as it is cheaper but their cousin has a much more serious set of allergies which includes soya which is why I want to avoid soya.

Anyway, I just thought I'd ask about the milk.