Lactose Intolerant Babies: What Should Parents Do?

Your baby's inability to digest some types of lactose may be due to lactose intolerance. This condition is not harmful but it causes other effects such as nutrient deficiencies. To limit this situation, you can use a number of ways to control the amount of milk used, and at the same time, you should get a doctor's advice to choose the right milk for your baby.

Lactose intolerance occurs when your small intestine does not produce enough lactase enzyme to digest lactose lactose. Normally, the enzyme lactase converts milk sugar into two simple sugars, glucose and galactose. These are two types of sugar that are absorbed into the bloodstream through the lining of the intestines.
If lactase enzyme is lacking, the lactose in food will move into the colon instead of being metabolized and absorbed. In the colon, bacteria normally interact with undigested lactose, causing the signs and symptoms of lactose intolerance.
There are three types of lactose intolerance. Because different factors cause lactase enzyme deficiency:
Primary intolerance: This is the most common type. Newborns are the recipients of nutrition from milk, so they need the enzyme lactase. When babies replace milk with other foods, the amount of lactase enzyme that is reduced is usually reduced, but is still high enough to digest the amount of milk in a typical adult diet. But in the case of primary lactose intolerance, the production of the enzyme lactase decreases sharply with adulthood affecting the digestion of dairy products.

Secondary lactose intolerance: This condition occurs when the small intestine decreases production of the enzyme lactase after illness, injury, or surgery involving the small intestine. In addition, there are several diseases associated with secondary lactose intolerance including: intestinal infections, celiac disease, bacterial overgrowth, and Crohn's disease. Congenital Lactose Intolerance: This is rare for babies born with lactose intolerance due to a lack of the enzyme lactase. This disorder is passed from generation to generation in a genetic pattern called autosomal recessive, meaning that both mother and father must pass on the same gene variant to their children. Furthermore, premature babies may also be lactose intolerant because of insufficient lactase enzyme levels.

Your doctor may suspect lactose intolerance based on your child's symptoms and response to reducing the amount of dairy foods in his diet. Your doctor can confirm the diagnosis by conducting one or more of the following tests:
Hydrogen breath test: After drinking a liquid that contains high levels of lactose, your doctor will measure the amount of hydrogen in your breath at regular intervals . Inhaling too much hydrogen indicates that the body does not fully digest and absorb lactose. Lactose tolerance test: Two hours after drinking a liquid that contains high levels of lactose, a blood test will be performed to measure the amount of glucose in the blood. If the body's glucose level does not rise, it means that the body is not digesting and absorbing it.

In people with lactose intolerance due to an underlying condition. Treating this condition can restore the body's ability to digest lactose, although that process can take months. For other causes, the discomfort of lactose intolerance can be avoided by following a low-sugar diet.
To reduce the amount of sugar in the diet should:
Limit the use of milk and dairy products Use dairy products in small portions in regular meals Eat and drink lactose-reduced ice cream and milk Add an enzyme liquid or powdered lactase into milk to separate lactose

For children who are breastfeeding, if the child has diarrhea, the mother will continue to breastfeed the baby, and at the same time do not apply a diet for the child. Because, when on a diet, children are at risk of prolonged diarrhea and possibly malnutrition.
The composition of breast milk is full of nutrients that can help babies recover quickly from diarrhea. Moreover, the immune factors in breast milk are quite abundant, which enhances the defense of the immune system, including intestinal mucosal immunity. Nucleotides in breast milk have the effect of helping to regenerate the damage in the intestinal lining when infected. Therefore, breast milk is suitable food for babies after treatment with oresol solution for lactose intolerant babies. Because, lactose in breast milk is still digested and absorbed in the absence of lactase enzyme.
For children with diarrhea due to lactose intolerance, the most important measure is to exclude foods containing lactose, or can use lactose-free milk or lactofree until the baby stops having diarrhea. After a period of 1 to 2 weeks, the intestines are restored, the lactase enzyme is produced enough to respond to the digestion and absorption of lactose, then the baby can be fed a normal diet again.

In case, the child has diarrhea due to other causes, parents should use lactofree milk to help relieve diarrhea quickly. Using this type of milk will help children quickly overcome diarrhea while ensuring adequate nutrition for children.
In addition, it is necessary to add more calcium to the diet of children at this stage, because in the diet without lactose will prevent the absorption of calcium to help develop bones and other functions in the body.
In case, the child has persistent diarrhea, the mother should take the child to medical facilities for early diagnosis and treatment by pediatricians. If in the situation of being hospitalized late for some reason, it will cause the child to develop secondary lactose intolerance. Moreover, for children with lactose intolerance, there should be nutritional solutions in choosing the right milk for the child, in order to provide enough nutrients for the child to recover quickly.
Vinmec International General Hospital is the address for receiving and examining respiratory diseases that infants and young children are susceptible to: viral fever, bacterial fever, respiratory infection, pneumonia in children, .... With modern equipment, sterile space, minimizing the impact as well as the risk of disease spread. Along with that is the dedication from the doctors with professional experience with pediatric patients, making the examination no longer a concern of the parents.
Customers can directly go to Vinmec Health system nationwide to visit or contact the hotline here for support
References: mayoclinic.org, webmd.com