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Lactose intolerance in infants is a condition that results from a malfunction in the gut. Treatment is to eliminate lactose from the diet.
Lactose intolerance in infants – symptoms
Lactose intolerance in infants is usually not caused by birth defects. Much more often it is simply an acquired ailment. Lactose intolerance in infants is associated with impaired bowel function. Therefore, the treatment of food intolerance in infants is causal, i.e. by eliminating the component of the diet that causes specific symptoms. In this case, it is lactose – a disaccharide that occurs, among others, in in mother’s milk. What are the symptoms of lactose intolerance in babies?
Lactose intolerance in infants – symptoms
The most common symptoms associated with lactose intolerance in infants are diarrhea. They are very characteristic because the excretion of the stool is watery and gives off a very unpleasant odor. Other symptoms of lactose intolerance in infants are abdominal pain, chronic flatulence, and the characteristic sounds of food moving through the intestines.
Constantly repeated diarrhea can dehydrate the child’s body, disturb the acid-base balance. This, in turn, may contribute to stopping the infant’s weight gain due to malnutrition. The morphological examination performed may, in turn, suggest anemia, which is a symptom not specific to lactose intolerance in infants. Anemia is a natural consequence of a number of the underlying symptoms of this ailment.
You can diagnose lactose intolerance in infants by noticing changes in the baby’s skin. Symptoms of lactose intolerance in infants are similar to those of a protein defect – red blemishes or reddish, diffuse lesions appear on the body and face of a child.
Lactose intolerance in infants – causes
Lactose intolerance in infants is secondary, so it means that it is due to another condition that the baby suffers from. This ailment is the impaired proper functioning of the intestines. This in turn is due to decreased activity of the enzyme that breaks down the disaccharide lactose into the monosaccharides galactose and glucose.
An enzyme that is involved in the breakdown of lactose is lactase. Its highest concentration is found in the intestinal villi – these are small projections located in the mucosa of the small intestine wall. If the action of lactase is reduced, this leads to a situation where the lactose is not completely digested. Undegraded lactose it enters the lumen of the large intestine, where intestinal bacteria are found. They break down this disaccharide through anaerobic processes. In turn, the products resulting from the course of anaerobic processes are gases: hydrogen, methane and carbon dioxide. The resulting gases will determine the symptoms mentioned above. However, the cause of lactose intolerance in infants may also be due to genetic factors that determine the complete absence of lactase.
Unfortunately, long-term inflammation of the intestines can lead to irreversible changes in the intestinal lumen – they can damage the functioning of the intestinal villi. They are responsible for increasing the surface of absorption of nutrients, which can be drastically reduced in the case of inflammation. This can lead to an increase in the intestinal peristaltic movements, resulting in persistent diarrhea. The causes of lactose intolerance in infants may be the use of certain medications, celiac disease, helminthiasis, viral or bacterial infections or Crohn’s disease.
Lactose intolerance in infants – treatment
Treatment of lactose intolerance in infants is causal. This means that the elimination of lactose from the diet usually alleviates or completely eliminates ailments. Lactose is a disaccharide that occurs in both breast milk and milk of animal origin, so the most effective solution is to wean your baby and feed him with formula. However, to make sure that we are dealing with lactose intolerance in infants, appropriate diagnostic tests should be performed.
It is possible to perform a test consisting in measuring the level of galactose in the child’s urine or its modification – testing the concentration of glucose and galactose in the blood after oral administration of a lactose solution. In addition, genetic tests can be performed and, if the symptoms are very bothersome, it is possible to collect a fragment of the intestine for histopathological examination. However, it is quite invasive for a toddler.
Lactose intolerance in infants – prognosis
The prognosis for lactose intolerance in infants is closely related to the cause of lactose intolerance. Often, however, after the elimination of lactose-containing food ingredients, the symptoms disappear.
Lactose intolerance in infants – prophylaxis
The child’s body should be monitored. If the symptoms of lactose intolerance are clearly noticeable, the mother’s milk should be replaced with modified products devoid of this disaccharide. The elimination of lactose from the infant’s diet significantly improves its condition. When introducing new products to a toddler’s diet, check the presence of lactose.
| The name of the ailment | Lactose intolerance in infants |
| Wstęp | Lactose intolerance in infants is a condition that results from a malfunction in the gut. Treatment is to eliminate lactose from the diet. |
| symptoms | Watery diarrhea, flatulence and abdominal pain, signs of protein blemish – reddish lesions on the face and body. |
| The reasons | Congenital defects, insufficient functioning of lactose decomposing lactose, gas production in the process of intestinal fermentation, Crohn’s disease, viral and bacterial infections, helminths. |
| Treatment | Treatment is to eliminate lactose from your daily diet. |
| Prognosis | If lactose is eliminated from the infant’s diet, it brings a great improvement in the health of the child, and therefore the prognosis is very good. |
| Prevention | Observation of the child’s body, an appropriate diet that excludes lactose. |
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