Every mother cares about the he alth of her child. Therefore, it is so important for her to carefully monitor the baby in order to detect the primary symptoms of possible pathologies and start treating them in time. It is quite rare, but it is considered a dangerous condition for a child - congenital lactose intolerance, when the baby cannot absorb mother's milk. Children with this disease need special dietary nutrition. Because they cannot consume dairy products, they need to ensure that the fragile body absorbs vitamins D and calcium in sufficient quantities in other possible ways.
Lactose deficiency will be discussed in detail in this article.
Description of pathology
Lactose intolerance is a pathology, as a result of which the child's body is not able to independently absorb the protein contained in milk. This diagnosis is made inthe first months of a baby's life, since the baby is fed only breast milk during this period. You need to know that the signs become more vivid, it all depends on the amount of milk - if there is a lot of it, then the consequences of such nutrition are more difficult to bear. Lactose deficiency can continue into adulthood.
What is lactase, lactose and lactose intolerance? Lactase is a special enzyme that is produced by intestinal cells. It is he who can break down lactose, which is the main ingredient in milk of various origins. Lactase should break down complex sugars into simple ones so that they are quickly absorbed into the intestinal wall of the child. These are the so-called galactose and glucose. Sugar is very important for our body - it is one of the main sources of energy. When there is very little lactose produced in the intestines, or lactose synthesis has stopped altogether, such undigested milk eventually leads to diarrhea. In such a milky environment, bacteria are always planted, which, producing waste products, form gases - the main cause of bloating and colic.
How is lactose intolerance classified?
By type, lactose deficiency is divided into primary and secondary.
First view
In this case, lactase is produced in the intestines, its quantity is in order, but its effectiveness is at a reduced level, this is the main reason why milk is not absorbed by the body. There are very rare cases when such an enzyme is not produced at all
UThe primary type of lactose deficiency has one subspecies - transient. It is quite often observed in premature babies and may be the reason that lactase begins to be produced only from 37 weeks, and at a period of 34 weeks such an enzyme is just beginning to be produced by the body. The transient type of insufficiency often disappears quickly within a couple of weeks after birth, when the baby grows and gets stronger.
What else is lactose intolerance?
Secondary insufficiency
With this type of lactase deficiency, enterocytes are affected, it is because of this that the production of the enzyme is disrupted. Very often, the cause of this type of disease is allergic reactions in the intestines, as well as various inflammatory processes. Timely approach to treatment and diagnosis can cope well with this ailment.
Symptoms of lactose deficiency
How does the disease manifest itself? The following signs are possible:
- In addition to bloating, there is often rumbling in the stomach, gas and seething.
- Painful colic due to air in the intestines.
- The most noticeable symptom of the disease is severe bloating after each feeding.
- Baby may feel pain when having a bowel movement.
- Need to pay attention to the baby's stool. There is a smell of sour milk from feces. If this is a secondary form, then the child's stool may be green, there may be lumps and mucus. This is a common symptom of lactose intolerance in children under one year old.
- In some cases, the child mayfights happen, this is impossible to miss. The baby becomes very capricious, begins to squirm all over. He will start trying to pull his legs up to his stomach and crying a lot.
- Baby vomits all the time and spit up frequently.
- Severely dehydrated body in a child. This sign begins to appear already in its first days, if we are dealing with a pronounced lack of lactose.
- Baby behaves very sluggishly and has no interest in the world around him.
- Baby doesn't sleep well.
Despite the above symptoms, lactose deficiency in children has little to no adverse effect on appetite. The child may pounce on his chest with great zeal, but after a while he will begin to cry and pull his legs to his stomach at the same time.
In the first days, lactose deficiency almost does not manifest itself in any way - the signs are cumulative and appear on the rise. First of all, bloating makes itself felt, then the baby begins to feel pain in the tummy, and at the final stage, the stool is broken. Symptoms of lactose deficiency in children under one year old should be known to all parents.
Extremely important: almost all of these signs are characteristic in the first place during primary lactose intolerance. Secondary insufficiency, in addition to these signs, is expressed primarily in the presence of green stools, mucus and lumps in the feces.
Which test for lactose deficiency?
Diagnosis of disease
Not enoughsome signs of the disease in order to accurately diagnose the disease. For a correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment, various laboratory tests are needed. The doctor usually provides referrals for the necessary tests.
Carbohydrate analysis of feces
Needed to determine the concentration of carbohydrates. This is the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to find out how much carbohydrate is in your stool. Based on these results, it is possible to determine how well lactose is digested. The normal content of carbohydrates in children under one year old is not more than 0.25. Minor deviations of 0.5% are the norm, but if this number exceeds 1%, then this will be a serious case. There are also disadvantages to this analysis - according to the results, it is possible to identify the presence of lactose intolerance, but it is impossible to find out the cause of such a pathology.
What else to take the test for lactose deficiency?
Biopsy of the small intestine mucosa
This analysis will determine how active lactase is in the actions of the digestive tract. This is a simple method for detecting milk protein intolerance.
Analysis of feces for dysbacteriosis
If an allergic origin of the child's illness is suspected, the child may be referred for another blood test.
Dr. Komarovsky conducted statistics, during which he found out that 18% of the total number of newborns suffer from lactose intolerance. This is almost every fifth baby who was born in our country. With this diseaseadults can easily tolerate this disease, since they do not need to consume milk alone, and they have the opportunity to go on a diet that would exclude lactose. With young children, this method will not work, because mother's milk for them is the basis of nutrition. So, it is better to detect the disease and then use all the necessary methods as early as possible so that the child has time to adapt.
Genetic test for lactose deficiency
Molecular genetic testing for predisposition to lactase deficiency is important in the diagnosis. The analysis will help in the differential diagnosis of the causes of lactose malabsorption and in the selection of an appropriate diet.
Treatment
If the diagnosis of the baby is still confirmed, then this does not yet mean that you need to abandon mother's milk in his diet. Mom can also safely continue to breastfeed the baby, while giving him medicines that contain lactase before feeding ("Lactase Enzyme" and "Lactase Baby"). Such a disease should be treated as soon as possible, thus, it will be possible to protect against complications in the future.
Doses prescribed by a doctor are strictly individual. As the enzymatic system of the infant begins to develop, the doses of the medicine will gradually decrease. What you need to do in order to prepare the medicinal formula before feeding:
- Whatever brand of drug you buy, the steps are usually the same. Need to express some milk - quiteabout 10-15 will be enough.
- Pour the right amount of powder into the milk. It must be borne in mind that Lactase Baby is much faster and easier to dilute in liquid than Lactase Enzyme.
- It is necessary to let the mixture brew in order for fermentation to occur, it takes about 3-5 minutes. At this time, lactase will break down the milk carbohydrates contained in liquid foremilk.
- Give your baby ready-made formula before feeding, and then continue to feed him as usual.
- Give your baby medicine diluted in milk before feeding.
Features of complementary foods
Children with altered stools with lactose deficiency are introduced complementary foods a little earlier. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the diet is varied and balanced in nutrients.
What can I feed my baby?
It is very important to prepare cereals and mashed vegetables without milk, use diluted lactose-free mixes for this.
Juices from fruits and berries can be given as early as 6 months, but it is also important to monitor the possible occurrence of an allergic reaction. It will be possible to add various dairy products little by little, such as cheese, live yoghurts.
Milk and other dairy products in the diet of a child who is older than one year should be replaced with low-lactose meals. If they cannot be obtained, then you can give the baby lactase capsules.
If a milk protein intolerance is present, the child should not eat any food thatcontains condensed milk and other milk fillers. And you will have to forget about many sweets.
Lactose deficiency should only be treated under medical supervision.
What else should be eliminated from the diet?
Must minimize or eliminate consumption:
- caffeine. Do not drink tea and coffee, they contain this substance;
- sugar;
- baking;
- do not take alcohol in any form and strength;
- you need to carefully read the labels on products in stores, do not eat products with dyes and preservatives (this will be extremely difficult to do, since the main assortment of stores contains these substances);
- food with a high content of hot spices, pickles - cucumbers, mushrooms and others;
- no matter how insipid it is to eat dishes without seasoning - but it is necessary during breastfeeding;
- do not eat things that can cause allergies in a child, for example, various exotic fruits or berries, and you can not eat red vegetables;
- don't eat yeast bread;
- legumes;
- grapes.
Diet for lactose intolerance is very important.
What can you eat?
You must adhere to the following recommendations:
- a good habit is to often drink different compotes from dried apricots or prunes (it is better to start with prunes, because dried apricots can be allergenic);
- fresh vegetables and berries (exclude allergens from them), vegetablescan be eaten boiled, stewed and raw;
- eat as many grains as possible, a great way is to eat germinated wheat germ;
- if you really want something tasty, you can eat almonds, jelly or marshmallow, but do not abuse;
- from six months you can already start eating exotic fruits in small quantities, you can also eat some chocolate in the morning, but only black, as it contains the least milk;
- when the child is six months old, you can slowly return to the diet of fried foods, but only with a small amount of vegetable oil.
Foods for lactose intolerance should be carefully selected.
Successful recovery largely depends on the nutrition of the child and mother, as well as taking medications that contain the right amount of lactase.
