Smoking may also affect test results. Before the test, your doctor will ask you to breathe into a balloon-like device to obtain a baseline, or typical, reading of how much hydrogen is in your breath after fasting. Next, your doctor will have you drink a liquid that contains lactose and water.
As your body digests the lactose, your doctor will ask you to breathe into the balloon-like device several times over a few hours to measure how much hydrogen is in your breath. This is typically done in minute intervals for approximately 2 to 3 hours. For this test, your doctor will take a fasting blood sample to obtain a baseline reading of how much glucose is in your blood.
Then, like with the hydrogen breath test, your doctor will have you drink a liquid with lactose. As your body digests the lactose, it should break the lactose down into a simpler sugar called glucose.
Your doctor will take blood samples several times over a few hours to measure how much glucose is in your blood. This test is primarily for infants and young children.
In this test, the doctor will have the infant or child drink a liquid with lactose. After waiting, the physician will take a stool sample. Your doctor will discuss the results with you after the test.
Babies with this condition are born without any lactase enzymes at all. They cannot process or absorb lactose. They fail to thrive from birth, and have severe diarrhoea from the day they are born. They are diagnosed straight after birth. Babies with this condition must be fed feeds free of lactose.
Secondary lactose intolerance occurs when the gut lining where lactase is produced is damaged. This can occur due to a bout of gastroenteritis or due to chronic irritation such as that due to food allergy or food intolerance , among other reasons. Breastfed babies experiencing symptoms of lactose intolerance but who do not have primary lactose intolerance should continue to breastfeed. Once the source of the damage is removed, their gut will heal and produce lactase again.
There is no need for women who are breastfeeding to reduce or cut out dairy foods if their baby is showing signs of lactose intolerance. Regardless of what they eat or drink, the level of lactose in breastmilk stays at around seven per cent.
For formula-fed babies, there is no benefit in using lactose-free formula unless the baby is losing weight. Lactase drops are available from pharmacies, but are not always helpful. If your baby is showing signs of lactose intolerance, such as excessive bowel motions, wind in the bowel, and pain, have your baby checked by your GP for any medical problems such as infection.
Check that your baby is gaining weight and growing normally. If all this is okay, speak to an Australian Breastfeeding Association counsellor, lactation consultant or child health nurse, to check if your baby has a lactose overload. This is common in the early weeks and can happen when a baby is taking in more milk than they can digest easily.
Breastfeeding advice is helpful in this situation. If the situation is more complex, such as if your baby has poor weight gain or blood in their bowel motions, then this needs further investigation. See your GP. Vomiting is not a symptom of lactose intolerance in babies.
Note that vomiting in the early weeks of life is quite normal, as long as the baby is not distressed by it and they are keeping down sufficient milk to gain weight and grow normally. Most people with lactose intolerance can handle small amounts of lactose, such as a glass of milk, which contains 8—10 grams of lactose. Some helpful tips include:. This page has been produced in consultation with and approved by:.
Children may feel stomach pain for a range of reasons and may need treatment. Breathing out too much hydrogen indicates that you aren't fully digesting and absorbing lactose. Lactose tolerance test. Two hours after drinking a liquid that contains high levels of lactose, 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 and absorbing the lactose-filled drink. Email address. First Name let us know your preferred name. Last Name. Thank you for subscribing Your in-depth digestive health guide will be in your inbox shortly. Sorry something went wrong with your subscription Please, try again in a couple of minutes Retry.
Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Hammer HF, et al. Lactose intolerance: Clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and management. Accessed Feb. Di Costanzo M, et al. Lactose intolerance: Common misunderstandings. Lactose intolerance. Probiotics: What you need to know. Tell your GP if you notice any patterns or if there are any foods you seem particularly sensitive to. Your GP may suggest trying to remove lactose from your diet for 2 weeks to see if it helps to relieve your symptoms.
This sample of your breath will be tested to find out how much hydrogen is present, measured in parts per million ppm. You'll then be given a drink of lactose solution and your breath will be tested every 15 minutes over the next few hours to see if the level of hydrogen changes. If your breath contains a large amount of hydrogen more than 20ppm above your baseline after consuming the lactose solution, it's likely that you're lactose intolerant.
This is because lactose intolerance can cause the bacteria in the colon large intestine to produce more hydrogen than normal.
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