Lactase insufficiency in infants

Lactose is a carbohydrate that is found in all dairy products. Most of the lactose is contained in breast milk, and least of all - in fermented milk products. Lactose is very important for the normal development of a child - it provides a significant part of its energy needs and contributes to the development of the brain.

For the assimilation of lactose by the body is responsible lactase enzyme. It splits lactose into two components: galactose and glucose. If lactase is absent (alactasia) or is released in small amounts (hypolactasia), then lactose is not split and not absorbed by the body. This condition is called lactase deficiency.

Lactase insufficiency is of two kinds. Very rare primary (true) lactase insufficiency. Primary lactase insufficiency may be congenital, when the lactase deficiency is due to genetic causes. Usually in a child with a primary congenital lactase deficiency, one of the older relatives also suffers from this disease.

The primary lactase deficiency is also referred to as the so-called transient lactase deficiency in premature or immature children - their lactase activity is reduced because of immaturity of the intestine. In this case, lactase intolerance passes with time.

Among babies is much more common secondary lactase insufficiency. It arises from the damage to the cells responsible for the production of lactase, and most often develops against a background of acute or chronic intestinal diseases.

How to determine if your child has lactase deficiency? One of the first signs is anxiety of the child during or after feeding. At first the child greedily starts to suck, but after a while throws a breast, starts to cry and presses legs to a stomach.

If lactase deficiency progresses, there are increased gas and bloating, intestinal colic, rumbling in the abdomen. This is because uncleaved lactose enters large intestines in large quantities and there serves as a breeding ground for bacteria.

Stool with lactase deficiency liquid, foamy, with a sour smell, in appearance something resembling a yeast. In severe cases, the child stops gaining weight or even begins to lose weight, because lactose is not absorbed.

In order to accurately diagnose, special tests. The most common of these is feces analysison carbohydrates, and also coprogram (the analysis of acidity of a feces and the maintenance in it of fat acids). Sometimes a lactose curve, a hydrogen test, and in the most extreme cases a biopsy of the small intestine.

How is lactase insufficiency treated? With secondary lactase deficiency, eliminate the root cause (a disease that led to it). The doctor may advise temporarily to reduce the amount of lactose to give the mucosa of the small intestine time to recover.

Does this mean that the child should stop feeding dairy products - breast milk and milk formulas? In most cases, no. If lactase deficiency does not appear clinically (ie, there are no symptoms, and the diagnosis is based on tests), then you can continue to feed the child in the usual way.

If the child continues to gain weight normally, but other symptoms of lactase deficiency are observed, the doctor can prescribe Lactase preparations, which will need to be given to a child before breast-feeding or with a mixture. The drug should be prescribed only by a doctor, do not self-medicate!

If a child does not gain weight or the date loses weight, you may be advised to take lactase partial or even complete replacement breast milk or milk formula low-lactose or lactose-free mixtures.

As you can see, secondary lactase deficiency is not so terrible as it may seem. In many cases, you do not even have to change the baby's nutrition or the changes will be insignificant. The doctor cancels the lactase and allows you to return to the usual diet, when symptoms disappear (normalized stool, abdominal pain and flatulence will stop), weight gain will go at a normal pace, and the analysis of feces for carbohydrates will be within the norm.