Lactose intolerance is the situation where the body will not be able to easily break down or digest the lactose because lactose is a sugar found in milk and milk products. If your child is lactose intolerant then he or she might be having some unpleasant symptoms after eating or drinking the products associated with milk. The common symptoms of this case will be gas, diarrhea, and bloating.
Lactose intolerance is very different from having an allergy to the milk and will be also different from the protein intolerance of the cow milk. So, people need to learn the basic differences between all of these problems with the help of experts at childcare hospital so that diagnosis and treatment can be proceeded accordingly.
What are the common causes behind the lactose intolerance?
- Lactose intolerance happens when the small intestine will not be making enough of the digestive juices or enzymes and without it, the body will not be able to digest the things properly. It can easily happen to both children and adults and some of the common causes are
- Digestive diseases or any sort of infection
- Injuries related to the small intestine
- Family history of such issues and in such cases the overtime body will be making very less of the enzymes which will lead to issues in the teen or adult years of the child
- If the babies are born very early or are also known as the premature babies. But in this case, the tolerance will be a short-term problem that will go away as time passes
- In some cases, this can even happen to the newborn which is known as the problem of congenital lactase deficiency
Who is consistently at risk of lactose intolerance?
- Your child will be consistently at a very high element of risk if he or she is:
- A premature baby is known as a short-term problem that will go away
- If your child is African-American, Mexican American, American Indian, or Asian American
- If the children have a family history of lactose intolerance and symptoms will be happening during the adult years
Some of the common symptoms associated with this particular problem as per the ladies specialist hospital experts have been explained as follows:
Upset stomach or consistent nausea after 30 minutes – 2 hours of having the food items containing lactose
- Consistent cramps or bloating
- Abdominal pain issues
- Consistent gas or diarrhea
- Consistent problems of vomiting that will be happening in teenagers most common
How severe the symptoms are will always be dependent on the level of tolerance possessed by the children but even eventually it will also be dependent on the level of lactic produced by the human body. These symptoms in this particular case will be different depending on multiple health conditions which is the main reason that you should consistently remain in touch with the experts at healthcare centers for a comprehensive diagnosis.
The following are the common points to be taken into account for the lactose intolerance diagnosis:
- Proper diagnostic testing: This is the testing that will be checking out how the lactose has been absorbed by the system of the children and after fasting your child will be drinking the liquid that will cause the loose stools in this case will be tested for lactose for the next 24 hours
- Hydrogen breath test: When the children drink a liquid that has a lot of lactose the breath will be checked at regular times to measure the amount of hydrogen possessed by it. A high level of hydrogen in this case very well means that children are facing the problem of lactose intolerance
- Biopsy: This will be the test that will be based upon undertaking the comprehensive upper endoscopy and taking the sample from the first part of the small intestine so that enzyme analysis will be carried out simultaneously.
The treatment in this particular case will be very well dependent on the symptoms, age, and general health of the children along with the severity of the condition. So, taking things very seriously with the help of experts is important for parents so that they can provide their kids with the required treatment and further will be successful in managing these symptoms very easily. Normally people think that whenever they stop eating the items with lactose then definitely, they will be all good but it is not so because the healthcare provider might also suggest some of the other treatment options in this case in addition to the prescription of medications. So, taking things seriously with the help of expert advice is important rather than resorting to the treatment on your own.
Following are the most common tips to be taken into account by the parents so that everybody can successfully manage the lactose in the child’s diet:
- It is always important to begin very slowly and limiting the food items with lactose is always a good idea because this will help determine the diet very easily. If children are suffering from any sort of symptoms, people need to improve their handling capacity along with the food items that they should avoid
- Having milk and milk products with other food items is important in the cases of children who are facing very few numbers of symptoms. Providing your children with milk and cereal is a good idea in this case but it should be supported by proper consultation with the experts
- It is advisable to choose dairy products that come with very low levels of lactose because they can include hard cheese as well as yogurt which can provide you with a good number of benefits
- It is advisable to look for free milk and milk products because it can be easily available nowadays and further will be very beneficial in comparison to regular products
- Consistently remaining in touch with the healthcare provider is important so that you can discuss the concerns about medication accordingly and further will be able to deal with things very successfully.
Hence, discussing the concerns openly with the doctors like gynaecologist in Vijayawada along with the child care specialists is important so that children can be provided with the best possible treatment because with timely diagnosis issues can be easily tackled. So, parents must remain aware of their children so that they can provide them with the best possible facilities at all times without any problem.