Milk is often blamed for nasal congestion, but milk does not actually cause extra mucus production. If you consistently develop a stuffy nose after you drink milk, you may have a milk allergy. Milk allergies are mostly found in young children under the age of three years, but can occur at any age. A stuffy nose from a milk allergy will be accompanied with other common food allergy systems. If the only symptom after drinking milk is nasal congestion, you may have another condition. Talk to your doctor about chronic nasal congestion.
Nasal Congestion
Nasal congestion describes a stuffy nose. Most nasal congestion is the result of inflamed and swollen sinus cavities. The sinuses are made of soft tissue that is lined with mucus membranes. When sinus tissue is irritated, it can swell, cutting off your ability to breathe through your nose and properly discharge excess mucus. Nasal congestion can cause sinus pressure that leads to pain throughout your head. If you have a dairy allergy, nasal congestion should subside a few hours after ingesting milk products.
Milk Allergy
A main symptom of a milk allergy is nasal congestion. Milk allergy is the result of a malfunction of your immune system to whey or casein proteins. These proteins cause your immune system to overreact when they're ingested. This causes production of histamine, a chemical released in soft tissues during an allergic reaction. Histamine in the sinuses leads to inflammation and swelling. Most milk allergy symptoms, such as nasal congestion, form a few minutes after you ingest the milk.
Other Symptoms
Along with a stuffy nose, you will develop other symptoms from a milk allergy. These include eye irritation; stomach cramps; abdominal pain; vomiting; nausea; diarrhea; skin rash; eczema; hives; shortness of breath; chest tightness; wheezing; coughing; and tingling in the skin. If any of theses symptoms become severe, call your doctor or 911 immediately.
Considerations
Other conditions can cause nasal congestion after drinking milk, such as nasal deformities. You may have a deviated septum, meaning your center nasal bone is crooked, causing nasal obstruction. Another cause is nasal polyps. Nasal polyps are non-cancerous tumors that form along the lining of the sinuses, reducing your ability to breathe through your nose.
