Ear infections in babies linked to cow milk intolerance

Dear WDDTY

Regarding the tendency for "nursery" babies to get more ear infections (vol 4 no 10). In my experience as an allergy therapist, I find that repeated ear infections are usually caused by intolerance to cows' milk products.

Although it is perfectly possible for babies to get ear infections because their mothers are consuming cows' milk products and passing them through the breast milk (see Second Opinion, p 12), at least breast fed babies get cows' milk only as a relatively small proportion of their diet.

Babies who get 100 per cent cows' milk formula bottles get exactly that.

I would guess that more babies in nurseries are 100 per cent bottle fed for obvious reasons and that the 100 per cent breast fed ones are less likely to go to nurseries just because their food supply would be elsewhere. V J Kearney, Knaresborough, North Yorkshire......