I know this has been discussed repeatedly, but I never paid attention to the discussions before! My pediatrician has just said that my 3 year old son appears to have a lactose intolerance. When my son was a baby, he couldn't tolerate milk at all. We started him on milk at age 1, and he tolerated better it than he had when he was younger. However, he has constantly had frequent, loose BMs, and an almost constant diaper rash. With toilet training, this has become much more of a problem than it was with diapers.
We've started cutting back on the dairy products, using milk with lactase added, and giving him Lactaid tablets. It seems to be helping. My son likes the tables just fine, and likes talking about getting lactase to digest his lactose, and seems to understand that the lactase keeps him from getting a sore bottom and tummy aches.
I'm curious about what other parents do with this, though. Do you let your children eat all the dairy products they want, and just give them tablets, or do you try to restrict their dairy product intake?
Does the level of tolerance vary; do some people have worse symptoms than others? In reading about it, I was surprised at the high percentages of different groups that have a lactose intolerance.
Is there some point at which children become uncomfortable about being different and taking the tablets before they eat? At least we don't have to worry about really catastropic results; he'll probably just end up with diarrhea.
My son has also had a lot of runny noses unrelated to colds. I've heard that lactose intolerance can also cause excessive mucus. Has anyone else seen that?
Can anyone recommend a good source of written information? I was trying to find some literature on this, but the library books were all checked out, and the bookstores didn't have anything in stock.
Yes, it's true that milk causes mucous production to increase. I'm told it should be avoided when you have a cold, whether or not you are intolerant.
As for what to give your son when he doesn't have a cold, why don't you look into soy milk and soy products. I think they taste good, although I don't think they taste like milk. They are expensive. But they may not be necessary: ask your doctor, given his present diet, if he needs to have dairy foods at all. I understand that protein and fat are not so important after two or three years. -- Tom Reingold t...@samadams.princeton.edu rutgers!princeton!samadams!tr "Brew strength depends upon the amount of coffee used." -Black&Decker
smil...@apollo.HP.COM (Sue Miller) writes: >Does the level of tolerance vary; do some people have worse symptoms >than others? In reading about it, I was surprised at the high >percentages of different groups that have a lactose intolerance.
Yes, levels of tolerance can vary alot, and may get better or worse as you get older.
>Can anyone recommend a good source of written information? I was >trying to find some literature on this, but the library books were all >checked out, and the bookstores didn't have anything in stock.
You can call the Lactaid hotline for information; they will also send you pamphlets (1-800-257-8650). -- Steven Kahn, room 6-103 st...@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab Laurel, MD 20723-6099 +1 301 953 6812
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