FEEDING INFANTS WITH COW’S MILK AND SOY ALLERGY: SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF EFFICACY

Allergy to cow’s milk protein and/or soy is common among allergic diseases in infants. they appearat an early infant stage and remain important in clinical practice from one up to three years.according to clinical research, cow’s milk allergy affects about 1.9–4.9% of babies and infants, respectively,and in addition some of them also suffer from soy protein allergy. dietary prevention ofallergic protein by its elimination in food is a significant part of treatment, and allows adequate developmentof babies and restricts the risk of progressive allergic diseases. securing exclusivebreastfeeding is one of the basic principles in successful therapy treatment. however, there arecases when breastfeeding does not prevent the development of cross milk protein allergy. onlyadequate special feeding formulas can provide both energy needs and sufficient quantity of proteins(8.9–11.5%) in food when breastfeeding is not possible. knowledge of effective compensationmechanisms become apparent by analysing the situation in europe and usa in the area ofdifferent available feeding formulas using both the medical insurance system and randomised formulaproviding tolerance of the mixture at about 90–95%. the goal of research was to determinethe correlation between the availability of a special mixture, parental adherence and treatmentoutcomes. applying special formulas is a routine part of treatment, and there is no doubt about itsefficacy. no compensation mechanisms exist in present-day latvia, and the current complicatedeconomic situation in latvia reduces the ability of parents to choose and buy appropriate formulafood. therefore, a substantial part of therapy treatment is unavailable to infants. dietary preventionof allergic diseases in infants and small children in latvia needs special consideration alsobecause of poor knowledge of parents regarding the real situation.