Sensitivity to milk and other foods is not uncommon in children, and the sensitivity does tend to be outgrown. Although there is a good chance that a sensitivity will diminish in time, physicians have no way of knowing for sure whether a sensitivity will persist. When I weaned my son from breast milk and began feeding him cow’s milk, he began to have digestive problems. I stopped the cow’s milk, but now I am worrying about replacing the vitamins and min­erals he would normally get from that milk. What should I do? A number of substitutes for cow’s milk are available, including meat-base and soy-milk formulas. Your physician should be able to prescribe one. If the child shows signs of other allergies, an allergist can advise you on the necessary medication and treatment.

/ have had digestive upsets from milk, citric and ascorbic acids, aspirin, coffee, and tea. The doctor told me to eliminate from my diet all foods that disagree with me. Is he right? It is true that the best treatment for a food allergy is simply to avoid eating the food. Other than this, about all that can be done is to find substitutes for the offending substances. Most people who are allergic consider themselves fortunate that they have been able to identify the foods that caused the reactions.

Swelling of the salivary glands may be a manifestation of an aller­gic reaction to a food. Once you have identified the food or foods responsible for this reaction, the only recourse is to avoid them. Other causes of salivary-gland swelling —for example, stenosis, or narrow­ing, of the salivary duct and infection—should be ruled out. Your doctor will help determine the exact cause.

For best results, it is helpful to eliminate those foods you suspect are aggravating your allergy. Obtain a diet from your physician and make it a habit to read the labels of foods you buy. If you are not sure of a food’s ingredients, don’t eat the food. Experience has shown that an allergist is more attuned to allergy-related food problems than is a nutrition-oriented physician.

Sensitivity to soybean is an increasingly apparent problem. Most children outgrow this sensitivity. While they remain sensitive, though, soybean should be avoided in any form. Soybean-containing foods can be avoided by reading labels.