Kids and Lactose Intolerance

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11-year-old Gabby Bunnell does the same sorts of things most other kids do…except when it comes to choosing snacks. Most days it's popcorn:

It's one of the snacks I eat that doesn't really make my stomach hurt.

If she eats cheese sticks and ice cream like her younger sister:

It just hurts really bad and makes me feel like I want to lay down and you don't want to do much

Gabby is deficient in the lactase enzyme so she's not able to digest milk sugar – or lactose. Her mom, Becky recognized the symptoms when Gabby was very young since she too is lactose intolerant:

I knew something was up and as she grew we would try different things and she'd have reactions. Gas, bloating, pain, that kind of thing when she would eat ice cream or cheese or drink regular milk

It's unusual for lactose intolerance to develop before age two – it's typically diagnosed in late adolescence or adulthood. It can be confused with a milk allergy, which tends to occur in infancy and is usually outgrown by age 3. Symptoms can be similar – but in addition to digestive problems a milk allergy can cause hives, wheezing, runny nose and watery eyes.

A milk allergy is negative or adverse response, immune response to the milk protein. Intolerance is just the body is not able to digest the lactose.

Lactose intolerance can be diagnosed by eliminating milk products to see if symptoms improve…or your doctor can do a hydrogen breath test.

The good news about lactose intolerance is if you don't have symptoms, you're not doing any harm to your body by continuing to consume dairy products

Lactose intolerance can be simply treated by avoiding – or reducing – dairy.

If I see macaroni and cheese and it looks kind of good then I'll only get a little bit of it so it won't upset my stomach

But that may come with a cost to the child:

From a bone health standpoint and health standpoint in general, they do need to worry about their vitamin d and calcium intake, and so if they are not getting it with dairy products they need to supplement that.

Parents can counter that issue by buying lactose free dairy products, foods fortified with vitamin d and calcium, and foods naturally high in both nutrients……

I think i just found dinner

Cod, salmon or tuna are good choices for vitamin D, while dark, leafy greens are high in calcium.

I'm going to put that in a salad, do you want to try a little piece?

There are over the counter aids that may help as well:

They actually have lactase drops and they have the lactase enzymes that you can add to food or take just before a meal so they can help you digest the lactose..

Since there are so many options for managing a child with lactose intolerance…it's not a diagnosis to be feared. For WebMD, I'm Sandee LaMotte.