Now more than ever, more and more people are looking for information on Google about pathologies before going to see a specialist. Once a word is put on their ailments, some of them go further and then start following specialized accounts on social networks such as Instagram and even... TikTok!
On Instagram, the hashtag #proteinedelaitdevache is put forward by several influential accounts
Take the case of cow's milk protein allergy. There is a whole series of hashtags on Instagram as well as on TikTok relayed by accounts talking about this subject: #allergieauxproteinesdelaitdevache (singular, plural), #allergieproteinesdelait but also the acronym #aplv.
Although this pathology seems to represent a niche in France to date, and the subject is much more present in Latin America, and especially in Brazil (the same hashtags translated into Portuguese are six times more present than in French on Instagram, 679 vs 118), there are several accounts of parents who mention allergy and obtain a high volume of likes.
Among them, we must highlight the accounts The_mis_in_colors (107K followers), wonder.moms_ (86K followers), victoria34200 (12K followers) who together represent 71% of likes with only 5 publications. Other accounts of French mothers even report that their children suffer from this allergy in their bio, such as constance_lifestyle (3K followers). Again, in Brazil, we find 16 times more moms who mention allergy in their bio than in France, the most engaging being jessicasoousa (88K followers).
On TikTok, mainly Brazilian accounts mention the APLV
One could have mistakenly imagined that cow's milk protein allergy was not a topic on TikTok. And yet, the #APLV is approaching 3M views on the platform. Indeed, a variety of profiles, mostly Brazilian, talk about pathology.
There are specialists, like these pediatricians who respond to Questions from Internet users or come back to the differences between cow's milk protein allergy and lactose intolerance.
There is also this mum which offers funny content featuring situations that only parents of allergic children can experience.
We decided to contact her to find out the reasons that led her to mention the disease on social networks.
“I have several allergic children. I mention the disease on Instagram and TikTok it's true, but in a different way. I do it to take care of myself and also to help other people because I have been helped myself. My goal is not to get views or likes. I don't post regularly and therefore don't do this professionally. It's true that Brazilians tend to use social networks a lot. The APLV is not really known to the general public, but these social networks help to better understand allergy and its consequences. Mothers are increasingly speaking out on this topic, making it more visible. It also helps people become aware of what APLV is and its consequences.”, Heloize_Mln, a biologist with 2.5K followers on Instagram and 3K followers on TikTok.
Finally, many accounts also offer milk-free recipes.
As demonstrated above, pathologies such as allergy to cow's milk proteins are increasingly a subject on Instagram and TikTok, although more present and mentioned to date in the Latin American market and in particular in Brazil.
