Lactose Intolerance

Overview of Lactose Intoleranc...

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• Lactose intolerance is very common

• Drinking milk or eating dairy products can cause symptoms

• Symptoms include stomach bloating and cramps, diarrhea, passing gas, and feeling sick to your stomach

Being allergic to cow's milk is not the same thing as being lactose intolerant. People with cow's milk allergy can digest milk properly, but proteins in the milk trigger an allergic reaction.

Lactose intolerance can also start after you have an injury or surgery on your intestines or have another bowel problem.

Lactose intolerance may cause:

• Bloating and cramps

• Watery diarrhea

• Gas

• Feeling sick to your stomach

• Rumbling or gurgling sounds in the belly area

• A sudden need to pass stool 30 minutes to 2 hours after eating a meal with dairy

You usually have to drink at least 8 to 12 ounces (250 to 375 milliliters) of milk to get symptoms. If you get symptoms after only a few sips of milk, it's probably not from lactose intolerance.

Doctors will have you stop eating or drinking dairy for a while. If your symptoms stop and then return when you eat dairy again, you probably have lactose intolerance.

Other tests are rarely needed unless:

• Your symptoms don't go away when you stop eating dairy

• Doctors think that you may have another problem along with lactose intolerance

Sometimes, doctors will do a breath test. They have you drink a lactose drink and test the air you breathe out. This can show how well the lactose was digested.

You should stop eating the foods that cause your symptoms. Yogurt and cheese have less lactose in them and may not cause symptoms. You can get special milk that has less lactose in it.

People who must avoid dairy products may need calcium supplements to prevent calcium deficiency.