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Do you ever find yourself completely congested for no apparent reason? You don’t have a cold. It’s not allergy season. You are otherwise in good health, but your nasal passages seem blocked. Is it possible that drinking milk, eating cheese and eating ice cream could stuff up your sinuses? Could cutting back on dairy products make a difference? This reader thinks so.
Did Milk Protein Cause Sinus Pain?
Q. Years ago, I used to wake up every morning with “face aches,” aka sinus pain. I went to many different doctors, all of whom prescribed antibiotics for a sinus infection. Then I became allergic to these drugs.
An article I read said that many sinus issues are caused by an allergy to the milk protein casein. As an experiment, I stopped drinking milk and never had face aches again. I use unsweetened almond milk for my morning oatmeal and all is well.
The Controversial Milk-Sinus Connection:
A. The role of milk protein allergy in causing sinus inflammation is controversial. Allergies sometimes can cause nasal congestion as well as hives, rash or swelling. Some research has linked cow’s milk protein allergy to ear, nose and throat problems in young children (Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Aug. 2012).
There has been little if any research on whether this also holds for adults. Many skeptics insist that dairy products don’t stuff up your sinuses. On the other hand, we don’t see any trouble in avoiding cow’s milk if you find it makes you feel better. Many people around the world do quite nicely without dairy products.
Readers Share Their Perspectives:
Valerie describes the dilemma:
“It’s always hard to know what to do and what not to do. Perhaps an individual’s reaction to dairy isn’t an allergy but a simple chemistry issue. And let’s not forget the power of suggestion, as well as placebo effects.
“Regardless of causation, it’s well established in folklore that dairy (unfortunately, including ice cream!) can stimulate production of mucus, phlegm and congestion. COPD patients expectorate more secretions; folks can have post-nasal drip and congestion; and those prone to sinus issues experience facial pain and sometimes headache.
“As a child, I was tested and found to be allergic to 50+ things, including milk. I was constrained from drinking it or having ice cream. However, cheese was never an issue. And when I’d sneak milk, the sky never fell! Also, my choir director advised everyone to drink dilute lemon juice to clear our throats prior to performing, not just those who were sniffling or coughing.”
Jane is also caught in a dilemma:
“I have advanced osteoporosis and MUST consume dairy; calcium supplements (even calcium citrate) just don’t supply adequate calcium. I avoided milk for a few months, since I seem to have a casein sensitivity, but I consider the relatively minor sinusitis an inconvenience compared to the protection the dairy products provide. I am not a big meat eater, so the dairy provides protein, also. It all seems to be a fair trade-off.”
Lora describes a different kind of problem:
“In our family, we get significant sinus issues anytime we drink milk. Allergy tests have not shown dairy as an allergen. When they were young, my children would reliably wake with a sinus infection the day after drinking it. We can eat cheese, yogurt, kefir and sometimes ice cream without significant issues. However, we consume small amounts and only a couple days a week (2 days on, 4-5 off). Even milk chocolate counts towards the days on, and we can do this and only if sinuses are clear.”
Diana reports success with an elimination diet. She says milk can stuff up your sinuses:
“I believe that dairy is linked to a lot of sinus and skin issues including acne. I’ve experienced both. During my teenage years, I drank a lot of milk, and hence I had a lot of acne.
“I’ve pretty much eliminated dairy and no longer have sinus issues. My functional medicine doctor believes that many people have sensitivities that don’t show up in traditional allergy tests.”
Linda came up with a simple solution:
“When I worked in a sewing mill, I started drinking hot water as my beverage. I am milk-intolerant, and tea tended to annoy me. So even when I went out for breakfast, I would ask for a cup of hot water. It will certainly clear your sinuses.”
Antibiotics and Sinusitis:
Antibiotics are often overprescribed for sinus congestion. A review of research in the New England Journal of Medicine (Sept. 8, 2016) concluded that antibiotics are rarely helpful for acute sinusitis. Please share your own sinus struggles in the comment section. Have you found a way to overcome congestion or sinusitis?
Ken
Milk definitely causes sinus congestion in some people. Within 5 – 10 minutes of eating ice cream, consuming milk via latté, milk chocolate or pastas with heavy cream, I suffer from severe nasal and eustachian tube congestion. I’ve given up dairy and only consume non-dairy forms of milk. This also happens when I consume wine. I don’t know if it can be called an intolerance, allergy or sensitivity but I’m certain that sinus problems are caused by dairy products in some people.
Peter
When we talk about ” milk “, it should be specified what form of milk.
Such as:
raw milk
homogenized milk
homogenized and Pasteurized milk
Pasteurized milk
The homogenization process can de-nature the protein.
Fermented milk products (such as: yogurt, buttermilk, real cheese ) are partially digested by bacteria.
Happy T
My husband had chronic sinusitis, and his doctor was often proscribing antibiotics for sinus infections. His congestion grew so problematic that he was honking and snorting so much that it was embarrassing in restaurants. He went to an ENT who tested him for allergies, found few, then diagnosed him with silent reflux. The chronic reflux, of which my husband was unaware, had irritated his sinuses so badly that they were always congested. A diet eliminating carbonated beverages, including beer, minimizing alcoholic beverages, avoiding tomatoes and several other foods really changed things for him. NO more snorting half the day, no more infections. Milk had nothing to do with his sinus problems.
RaeLynn
I have read much about the different proteins in the milk of Asian and African cows vs American Holstein cows. I wish someone would do a well-based scientific study – it does seem that many people react more to milk that is from general cow populations that would include Holsteins, and it has become popular in some circles to drink milk with A2 protein. (Jersey cows also have a higher proportion of A2 protein, but it is not 100%.) However, absent scientific proof, it would not do harm – except a possible week or two of discomfort if one reacts to all milk, and to some degree financially/the pocketbook, since it is quite a bit more expensive – though this might be balanced by better health and lower medication/medical bills – to try it on a person by person basis to see if it does work better.
After reading one article, I am thinking I will try it to see if it might help my diabetes. There is no claim on this, only that it may not produce as much inflammation, which is highly implicated in diabetic damage, and that one study seems to indicate that A2 doesn’t permeate the colon as A1 does, and that there is some correlation, though scientifically not conclusively proven, in development of type 1 diabetes by those who consume A1 milk protein. Hard to say, though, since that is the predominant milk in the USA. There is one study that rats consuming A1 have higher inflammationvs A2. So, since I drink milk anyway, other than my pocket book, I see no harm in trying a switch. There are a few companies that use only Jersey cows, which have a higher percentage of A2, and a company in Australia that produces only A2 milk. You would have to either go by the brand name, or read the label, if you wanted to try this.
C
This is definitely the case for my daughter and me. She reacts much faster to having milk than I do however. Her nose will be stuffy within 24hrs. Sometimes I can get away with a little bit. We have found that Organic milk gives much less of a reaction.
Agree with others in that cheese does not give as much of a reaction. However, ice cream affects her just like milk.
Both of us have shown milk allergy and I take shots. She used to but has stopped.
Ann
I know it is controversial, but I think my personal issues with sinus congestion from milk occur from an alteration in the milk proteins when it is pasteurized. I find I can tolerate a limited amount of commercial cheese and yogurt, — carefully spread thru the week, but not liquid milk. I congest in about 40 minutes after drinking it. However, I can drink clean, “raw” (aka unpasteurized) milk without any congestion whatsoever. Only explanation that makes sense to me is that the pasteurizing alters some of the protein structure.
Jeanne
I solved my nasal drip problem by switching to A-2 milk. Expensive but worth it!
SJ
Mayo Clinic did a study on sinus infections years ago and found that most were fungal not bacterial. So doctors who don’t culture first and prescribe antibiotics are not really helping the patient long term.
Patients need to be informed and ask questions: are you sure this is not a fungal infection?
Neill
When I moved to the countryside of North Carolina, I had yet to correlate milk consumption with stuffiness in my sinuses. We settled on a beautiful spot half a mile from Dairy Farmers who sold raw whole milk. It was sometimes still warm which is not how milk should be consumed. I noticed that I didn’t get the congestion when I consumed raw milk. Go back to regular pasteurized milk and immediate return of congestion. Just sayin’.
Nan
The netti pot really helps with sinus congestion. If I use it two or three times a week I’m much less likely to end up with a sinus infection. I feel better now and need antibiotics less often.
Julie
Milk is a common food allergy, and in addition one of the common symptoms for milk allergies is anxiety. If you have anxiety, it might be connected to what you are eating.
Mary J
I follow the blood-type diet, and one of the assumptions is that poor tolerance of a given substance is a function of one’s blood type. For my type, I substituted goat and sheep products for cow products.
Mark
I had high cholesterol and was on statins. I went plant-based to get my numbers down, and it worked beautifully, even lost some weight. But, it came with positive side affects I didn’t anticipate: much reduced allergies, no body odor, feeling better all the time, etc. Milk is for calves. I get so frustrated when people feel sickly and I suggest a change in lifestyle will cure them and they say: “I could never give up cheese/milk/meat/eggs.” So, these things are worth the health complications?
Brenn
For years I suffered from sinusitis and hay fever. It started at age 38 as seasonal allergy, then progressed to summer colds to all year long sniffling. I used to joke that I had snot dripping off my elbows.
It became intolerable. I ate lots of dairy, especially milk and cheese. When I read about the dairy connection, I immediately cut it out of my diet.
Magically my allergies abated. Gradually I learned baked goods (milk) also caused a flair up, so off with them! Now I take no OTC allergy pills. The ceritizine caused crazy brain fog (anticholinergetic) which also cleared up. Now if I wake with an itchy throat or a bit of stuffiness (rare) I take stinging nettles and a quercetin supplement. Immediate relief!
Dana
By trial and error, I too discovered a correlation between consuming milk products and sinusitis, sinus infections, and a chronic runny nose that I couldn’t control even by “sniffing in.” I asked my ENT doctor about it and he “poo-poohed” the idea. But I continue to avoid dairy products and it seems to make all the difference. Every once in a while I venture back and have a little ice cream and sure enough, the sinus problems return. Thank you for the article!
Gale
Dairy has been a life long source of congestion for me also. I was treated repeatedly for sinusitis and now allergic (rash) to sulfonamides and cephalosporins. I finally acquiesced and eliminated 95-98% of dairy. I have only had one sinus infection (pain, congestion, drainage, fatigue, loss of appetite) in 2-3 years. Yeah! I allow myself ice cream and cheese twice a year after the season of choral performances are past. But I pay for one of two servings of pleasure with 2 or 3 weeks of congestion, face ache and post nasal drainage. Life is all about the trade offs.
Noah
I found the title to this article quite misleading.
It is little more than a hodge-podge of individual anecdotes.
I did not get any even close to definitive information about whether “Milk and Other Dairy Products…Can…Stuff Up…My… Sinuses.”
Luke
Going vegan really helped my chronic sinus problem. Milk is poison. It’s for cows. Not humans. Vegan milk (soy, non-soy varieties) like ordinary milk is supplemented with calcium (cow milk loses its calcium during pasteurization processes and must be replaced); vegan milk also contains D3. Vegan milk is naturally zero fat, low in calories, but very rich and creamy taste. Skim milk is nasty like water. Whole milk is high in fat and it smells bad too.
Mal
When my son was little he was always snuffling and clearing his throat. When he was ̀ I read that milk might be the cause so we took him off milk. The snuffling etc stopped. So did his bedwetting.