How to define lactose intolerance in children?

If your little one happens to have this issue it is because the little one’s body is facing trouble in digesting the lactose content of the milk that he or she is getting from the mother or from the formula milk that you have been giving your little one. You can suppose lactose is the sugar that you will be able to find in milk or anything that has been made using the milk. You should not confuse this issue with another seemingly similar issue called milk allergy but consider that issue a whole different thing than that of lactose intolerance in children.

What are the prominent Causes of Lactose Intolerance in children that parents should know?

Lactose intolerance can happen to your kid if his or her small intestine is unable to make a special type of enzyme named as lactase. We usually know that enzymes have the job of helping in the digestion of food, so this enzyme lactase here has the job of breaking down any lactose it gets through any kind of milk and helping the kid’s body to be able to digest it without a hassle. Therefore, if your kid’s body does not have this enzyme to help it with digestion how would the body be able to break it down? This way the lactose will just sit in the gut and will upset your little ones’ tummy/

What are the risk factors associated with lactose intolerance?

Don’t get confused and believe that lactose intolerance occurs only in kids as the issue can affect adults as well. However, as milk is the only thing you can give to newborns lactose intolerance can be troublesome with children, especially newborns. Anyone can get this issue anytime in their life, but you can consider the following risk factors that expert’s people who are at risk of having this issue are as follows.

• Those who have received any Injury to their small intestine:
• Those who are suffering from any Digestive diseases or any type of infection:
• Those who Were born prematurely may get a temporary intolerance to lactose and may get better with time
• Kids born in African American, Jewish, Mexican American, American Indian or Asian American cultures usually have higher rates of getting lactose intolerance.
• If your family has a past history of having people with lactose intolerance, then it’s likely that your kid can also receive their gene.

What Are the Main Symptoms that parents should keep an eye on for lactose intolerance in children?

If you are an American parent, you would probably have to wait till your kid reaches age 5 to see the symptoms of lactose intolerance however if you are an African parent, you will be able to see some symptoms of this issue even before your little one crosses age 2.

If you are wondering how soon you will see the symptoms after the kid has eaten so let us tell you that you will be able to see the symptoms of lactose intolerance in your offspring anytime from 30 to even 2 hours later. So, keep your kid under your observation if you have a tiny doubt that they are suffering from this disorder.

If we have to talk about the obvious symptoms of this issue, we would not be able to list the main symptoms as each kid has their own symptoms, but we can surely mention some common ones here:

• Your kid may complain of an upset stomach and may also feel nausea
• Your kid has tummy cramps or tummy aches
• Your kid has bloating
• Your kid’s tummy has got gas
• Your kid is releasing loose stools or is experiencing diarrhea
• Your kid has got vomiting

How can parents get a diagnosis for lactose intolerance in children?

Some doctors also prefer to run some tests for the diagnosis of this issue that we have mentioned below:

 Hydrogen breath test

There are many different types of tests the doctors opt for the kids that come to get a diagnosis for lactose intolerance and one such test is a hydrogen breath test. Your kid will have this issue if the doctor sees a larger amount of hydrogen in the breath of the kid. On the contrary, your kid will not have this issue if the doctor finds no trace of hydrogen in his or her breath.

Lactose intolerance test

Another test the doctor could opt for is called the Lactose intolerance test. When doing this test, they will offer your child any type of liquid containing so much lactose and your kid will be required to drink it. Thus, the doctor will get a chance to see the amount of lactose

Stool acidity test:

Measuring the quantity of acid in the stool is also a form of test that a doctor would like to run for lactose intolerance in children. However, this test is fit only for infants and toddlers since it may; not yield accurate results for older children.

What treatment options do parents of lactose-intolerant kids have?

Like other diseases, this issue of lactose intolerance does not have a simple treatment option. Yes, you can only manage this issue with proper knowledge and make your baby’s life less affected by this irritating interface issue. Here are a few tips that will help you and your little cub get out of the mess lactose intolerance creates for their digestive system.

Don’t go too fast

There is no actual need to rush the treatment you can go slow and gentle with your baby.  Your kid does not have to stay away from milk his or her whole life, so the trick is to slowly introduce milk or milk-made items into your kid’s food and see if they are experiencing any symptoms. Also, be on the watch for things they better digest and things they don’t as it will help you in planning a menu for them

Go for combination food

If your kid is rejecting milk alone, you may need to give it in combination for instance you can give your kid milk with his or her favorite cereal or crackers.

Go for low-lactose or lactose-free food items

Gone are the days when you have to entirely ban dairy for your lactose-intolerant kid as there are so many lactose-free and low in lactose options available in the market. So, try to give your kids those food items that have less or zero lactose.

Get a lactase pill prescribed by the doctor:

If your kid has got really bad symptoms, you may start them on lactase pills prescribed by the doctor

In conclusion, this issue may make your head spin as a parent, but it can be easily diagnosed and managed if the parents do proper research and go to expert doctors.