After diagnosing your patient with CMPA, you may recommend a strict cow’s milk protein free diet for the breastfeeding mother or a special formula for infants and young children with food allergies. In case breastfeeding is not an option, two types of formula are particularly recommended for infants with CMPA.
In extensively hydrolyzed formulas (eHF), the allergy-triggering substances in cow’s milk, the proteins, are broken down into small pieces by a process called hydrolysis. As a result, they are less allergenic than whole milk formulas and are very well tolerated by most children with cow’s milk or soy protein allergies.
An amino acid-based formula (AAF) is manufactured from synthetic, free amino acids that constitute the most elemental non-allergenic building blocks of proteins and therefore do not contain any intact protein or peptides derived from milk. They are therefore recommended when a baby does not tolerate an extensively hydrolyzed formula or when the baby has severe and complicated symptoms.
