In some cases, a hydrogen breath test is done to test for lactose intolerance. For the test, your child breathes into a container that measures breath hydrogen level before and after he or she drinks a beverage that contains a known amount of lactose.
If your baby has diarrhea or cries and fusses soon after consuming lactose, or if they are not putting on weight, talk to your doctor. To determine if your little one is having trouble digesting milk, your pediatrician may request a stool acidity test, in which a sample is examined for lactic and other acids.
Some infants seem to have difficulty digesting their milk. They may be fussy, spit up or have green stools with mucus and small flecks of blood. These tummy troubles are often caused by an intolerance to cows' milk protein.
If you think your baby is lactose intolerant, see your doctor. How is lactose intolerance treated? Your baby could try lactose-free formula for 1 to 4 weeks and then graded back on to breast milk or a standard infant formula once there have been no symptoms for a week and the bottom has healed.
Loose stools
Sometimes your child might pass loose, watery, yellow and green coloured stools after two hours of consuming milk or any other dairy product. This could be a sign of lactose intolerance in the baby.
Ignoring lactose intolerance can exacerbate the symptoms or cause additional health problems. It may also affect someone's quality of life and mood. Lactose intolerance, which results from the inability to break down lactose properly, may develop in childhood or early adulthood.
Lactose intolerance is a problem with the digestive system — it means your child doesn't have the enzyme needed to digest lactose, which is the sugar naturally present in milk. Milk allergy, however, is a problem with the immune system, where the body reacts to the protein in milk.
The delayed type of cow's milk allergy may mimic colic with fussiness and digestive gripes. However, certain features make cow's milk allergy more likely than pure colic. These include blood in the stools, diarrhoea or constipation, poor growth, excessive vomiting, associated eczema or wheezing.
Babies who are highly sensitive usually react to the food the mother eats within minutes or within 4 to 24 hours afterwards. Some symptoms show up 3 to 4 days later. If you stop eating whatever is bothering your baby, the problem usually goes away on its own. Talk with your baby's doctor about any symptoms.
Babies who have digestive disorders will generally show symptoms in the form of fussiness, flatulence, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, to dehydration. Entering the age of 6 months and over, baby's nutrition is not limited by only breast milk.
Drink 250 ml milk in a short time. Then wait about 30-60 minutes and watch for symptoms such as abdominal pain, bloating, or diarrhea. If you observe these symptoms, you are likely to be lactose intolerant.
Babies often spit up bits of food, but vomiting beyond the typical mealtime regurgitation should be examined by a doctor. Reflux symptoms, often accompanied by signs of distress (such as back-arching and restlessness), can be a symptom of cow's milk allergy.
Lactose overload is often seen in young babies when their mums make too much milk. They take large amounts of breastmilk and may be 'windy', crying or hard to settle after feeds. Your baby may have more wet nappies and poos than normal in 24 hours. The poos may be green and frothy or explosive.
A milk allergy. If your baby is allergic to cow's milk, their poop may be blood tinged from milk protein in breast milk (if you eat dairy) or formula. It may also contain mucus. Your baby may have other symptoms, too, such as abdominal cramps, constipation or diarrhea, and hives.
Colic is a possible sign of cow's milk allergy. Colic-type symptoms may occur as a delayed reaction within a few hours or days of consuming cow's milk protein. Babies with cow's milk allergy may have a range of symptoms of which colic could be just one. Other symptoms include skin reactions and hay fever-like symptoms.
If you suspect your baby is sensitive to the cow's milk protein in your diet you can remove dairy products and see if it makes a difference. It can take up to 21 days for all traces of cow's milk protein to leave your system so it's best to wait for two to three weeks to evaluate the results.
If breast milk is causing problems for your baby, you'll notice that their fussiness occurs rather predictably after feeding time. This happens because digesting milk after a meal causes your baby's discomfort to worsen, and red-faced, grimacing cries are likely to result.
A true milk allergy differs from milk protein intolerance and lactose intolerance. Unlike milk allergy, intolerance doesn't involve the immune system. Milk intolerance requires different treatment from true milk allergy.
Lactose intolerance is a condition in which you have digestive symptoms—such as bloating, diarrhea, and gas—after you consume foods or drinks that contain lactose. Lactose is a sugar that is naturally found in milk and milk products, like cheese or ice cream.
If your baby's fussy, one of the possible reasons could be that she's allergic to cow's milk protein. A milk protein allergy can cause digestive discomfort and frequent spitting up. An allergy to the protein in cow's milk affects 2 to 3 percent of children under age 3.