CloseLorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.
Lactose intolerance is a digestive problem caused by your baby or child's inability to produce enough of the enzyme lactase. Lactose is the natural sugar found in milk and lactase breaks it down for the body to use as energy.
If your baby or child's digestive system does not make enough of this enzyme, the undigested lactose can sit in the stomach and colon where bacteria can feed on it, causing gastrointestinal pain and symptoms such as wind, bloating and diarrhoea.
If your baby or child is suffering from lactose intolerance our specialist dietitians can help assess, diagnose and treat your baby or child. To book an assessment please contact us.
Symptoms of lactose intolerance can vary in each baby or child depending on the amount of lactose digested and the amount of lactase the body is making. Symptoms of lactose intolerance can develop between 30 minutes to three hours from consuming the food or drink product containing lactose, so sometimes it can be difficult to distinguish the trigger for your baby or child. Symptoms of lactose intolerance are:
If your baby or child has one or more of the symptoms above, they could have lactose intolerance. Our specialist dietitians can assess, diagnose and treat your baby or child for lactose intolerance. Our dietitians are experts in allergies and intolerances and can diagnose your baby or child and ensure they get the treatment they need. To talk to one of our dietitians to see if they can help, please contact us.
Lactose intolerance can sometimes be hard to detect due to the symptoms being similar to other conditions and allergies such as cows milk protein allergy. Our dietitians can help treat your baby or child with lactose intolerance from the symptoms they are presenting with to ensure they get the treatment plan they need. Keeping a milk, food and symptom diary for your baby or child can be useful for our dietitians to help them diagnose when they make an assessment. If your baby or child does have lactose intolerance, our dietitians can help you reduce the lactose in the baby or child's diet whilst still getting enough energy, calcium and iron, all of which are essential for healthy growth and development. It is important you do not start cutting milk or other foods out of your baby or child's diet until you have been given a diagnosis, otherwise it could cause more harm than good.
There are other tests for lactose intolerance that can be requested from your GP such as the hydrogen breath test, lactose blood sample test and milk tolerance blood test. It is worth noting that these are rarely carried out on young babies and children due to their difficulty and side effects.
We provide the treatment your baby or child needs for their lactose intolerance. It is essential that cutting the lactose from your baby or child's diet does not compromise the amount of calcium or energy they are receiving, as this can result in malnutrition and faltering growth. It is only advised for your baby or child to follow a lactose free diet after a diagnosis has been made by our dietitians. Our dietitians will ensure your baby or child's growth and development is not compromised in the treatment of their lactose intolerance. If you would like our dietitians to assess diagnose and treat your baby or child please contact us.
