Lactose Intolerance: Diagnosis & Treatment

Diagnosis

Your doctor can confirm the diagnosis by conducting one or more of the following tests:

• Lactose tolerance test. The lactose tolerance test measures your body's reaction to a liquid that contains high levels of lactose. Two hours after drinking the liquid, you'll undergo blood tests to measure the amount of glucose in your bloodstream. If your glucose level doesn't rise, it means your body isn't properly digesting the lactose-filled drink.
• Hydrogen breath test. This test also requires you to drink a liquid that contains high levels of lactose. Then your doctor measures the amount of hydrogen in your breath at regular intervals. However, if your body doesn't digest the lactose, it will ferment in the colon, releasing hydrogen and other gases, which are absorbed by your intestines and eventually exhaled. Larger than normal amounts of exhaled hydrogen measured during a breath test indicate that you aren't fully digesting lactose.
• Stool acidity test. For infants and children who can't undergo other tests, a stool acidity test may be used. The fermenting of undigested lactose creates lactic acid and other acids that can be detected in a stool sample.

Treatment

There is no such treatment for the production of lactase, but you can avoid the discomfort by:

• Avoiding large servings of dairy products
• Eating and drinking lactose-reduced ice cream and milk
• Drinking regular milk after you add a liquid or powder to it to break down the lactose

I will be talking about such health issues in the upcoming blogs. Stay connected.