Lactose Intolerance
What is Lactose Intolerance?
Lactose intolerance is a clinical condition which is due to the intestine’s inability to digest lactose, the main carbohydrate, or sugar, found naturally in milk and milk products. This inability to digest lactose is because the intestine does not make enough of the enzyme lactase, which is what is needed to digest and breakdown lactose. Enzymes help the body absorb foods and not having enough lactase is called lactase deficiency.
There are generally two forms of lactose intolerance:
- Primary Lactose Intolerance: An extremely rare genetic condition which requires medical intervention.
- Secondary (Transient) Lactose Intolerance: This is much more common. It occurs when the small intestine cell lining is damaged. The cell lining is where the lactase enzyme lives; damage to these cells can mean an interruption and reduction of lactase activity.
Sometimes Lactose intolerance can be mistakenly called an allergy when it is not. Lactose intolerance does not involve your immune system, it involves sensitivities to one part of food – Lactose - and causes reactions in the digestive system, which is still maturing in infants and young children.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms often occur 30 minutes to 2 hours after you eat or drink milk products and may include any of the following:
- Abdominal pain
- acute and irritable diarrhoea that can be frothy
- Nausea
- Excessive wind
- Bloating
- Irritable behaviour
- Restless sleep
- Nappy rash
Often symptoms occur when your body’s threshold to tolerate lactose has been passed. For example, often small amounts of lactose in yoghurt can be tolerated without any symptoms, but a glass of milk may tip you over the edge, resulting in a symptom.
With these very general symptoms, it can be difficult for parents to recognise lactose intolerance. It may be useful to keep a food diary and note down problem symptoms, but most importantly, see your healthcare professional for advice.
How is Lactose Intolerance Treated?
Simply put, you avoid lactose. However it’s not quite as simple as that. The amount of lactose that can be tolerated will vary from person to person. By simply avoiding milk and milk products, you are removing a key food group from your diet and there could be health consequences as a result. Milk and milk products are a great source of calcium, which is important for your bones and teeth. If you are not sure how to test your lactose tolerance, consult the expertise of a dietitian or other nutrition expert.
This section is for your information only and is not intended to take the place of medical advice. See your doctor or another healthcare professional for advice specific to your baby.
