Lactase insufficiency in infants

To diseases that have a blurred symptomatology in the baby, is lactase insufficiency. Lactase is an enzyme that forms in the intestine, splitting milk sugar - lactose. These two concepts are often confused, but in meaning they are completely different, although they are related.

If this enzyme is not produced in the body, then soon there are signs of lactase deficiency in the baby and a close mom will notice them - the kid becomes restless due to pain in the tummy, his chair changes.

There are two degrees of lactase deficiency in infants, and the causes are hereditary factors (primary congenital insufficiency), or various previous diseases (acquired secondary insufficiency). The latter variant is found in the overwhelming number of cases.

Lactase deficiency in infants - symptoms and treatment

Experienced mother in a few weeks from birth can understand that something is amiss with her baby. But experience is not at all, and it is acquired gradually. Care should be given to the condition of the infant if:

1. The stool of the baby with lactase insufficiency is more than 10 times a day, while the feces have a greenish tinge and consistency of the foam. In children receiving complementary foods, there may be numerous inclusions of undigested food.
2. And vice versa - the chair is too rare (constipation) or absent at all for several days, when without help the kid can not defecate.
3. During feeding, the child after a couple of minutes of active sucking turns away from his chest because of pain in the tummy. He presses his legs, strains and cries, although there is enough milk in his chest.
4. The child has frequent rezi in the tummy, increased gas formation and a bad mood almost constantly.
5. Even during feeding, the tummy becomes very hard and noticeably increases in size, delivering visible discomfort to the baby.

How to treat the disease?

But not always the above symptoms speak of lactase deficiency. To confirm this, it is necessary to conduct an analysis that can be taken from the infants in the laboratory. This diagnosis reveals the presence and amount of carbohydrates in the stool, that is, how much they are digested and digested by the intestine. Standard study takes two days.

Based on the result of the analysis and the general examination, the treatment of secondary lactase deficiency in the infant is prescribed, but only if the symptoms actually occur, and not the problem can be seen only by analysis.

Artificial children are advised to change the mixture to low-lactose or lactose-free. There is an opinion that if the mixture is replaced with goat's milk, then with lactase deficiency in the baby it will be the best treatment. In fact, both cow and goat milk contain lactose, although in different amounts, which means that this will not be a solution to the problem.

With lactase deficiency in the baby, the mother's diet will not help much, and it is not advisable to wean the baby from the breast. But there is a way out - it is to introduce into the diet the missing enzyme lactase, which can be purchased at the pharmacy network. She is bred with mother's milk and given to a baby. Already on the second day from the beginning of therapy, the result will be noticeable - the child will become less restless, gas formation will decrease, and the stool will become less frequent - 2-4 times a day.

As an addition to the treatment, there may be a slightly modified feeding scheme. Lactose, intolerance of which is observed in the child, is contained in the front milk, which flows the first minutes, and in the back it is almost absent. Before feeding, you need to dissolve the "harmful" milk for a couple of minutes, and then apply the baby.