Hi-I'm a single dad and want to know if my year old daughter's Lactose-Allergy is permanent or temporary?

A few months after my wife passed away last year (I've been raising my children myself since then-My son is 7 and my daughter is 13 months ) I noticed that my daughter has more than the usual freuency of bowel movements per day and the coloring was also changing. I paid no attention for a week (I thought that this was maybe normal, I didn't have any in-laws to ask and no such experience). then I noticed very tiny patches of blood in the stool which were so light in color that at first I doubted that they were blood at all.The next day I immediately called our paediatrician.She told me to stop feeding her regular baby milk and give her No-Lactose versions instead and that my daughter had become allergic to Lactose.The blood patches disappeard but I don't know how long my baby has to be deprived of regular Milk.
I have this terrible feeling in me that I am depriving my daughter of something which is an essential part of her growth and have heard that Lactose is essential for the Brain.
Answer:
First off, I am very sorry about your wife and I give you major compliments and cudos for raising your children by yourself. That takes a lot of hard work and determination and that is awesome that you are willing to do that. I don't think many parents today would be willing to do that. Especially men. So def. props to you. My family and I have raised and are now helping raise 2 year old twins. A boy and a girl. The little girl grew lactose when she was a few months old. The pediatrician said that we would know by the age of 2 years old whether or not she would be lactose. When she became 2 years old she was able to go back on regular milk and seems to be doing fine. At age 2 is normally when you can find out what their allergies are and intolerances. Now with certain members of my family we grew into our allergies. So it is possible for her to grow back into her lactose allergy when she is older. It just depends on her system. Everyone is different. My mom grew lactose when she was in her 30's. I grew into outside allergies and certain pet allergies when I was 20. So it just depends on everyone's systems and environment. Good luck with your daughter and I hope you find your answer. PS. dont feel like you are being neglectful. My 2 year old is vibrate as can be and there is nothing she is lacking. Im sure you daughter will be happy and vibrant and love her father dearly for caring so much. Good luck again to you.

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most lactose intolerance is transient, and your daughter should grow out of it, but please bear in mind that two thirds of the world is intolerant to lactose, most eastern countries find ways to compensate, for example in India the cuisine contains yoghurt, but the people dont really incorperate fresh milk in the diet. heating milk to boiling point changes the chemical composition of lactose, making it more easily digested. also asian eat no dairy, deriving calcium from soya beans, as in tofu, and green veg. they are the healthiest in the world , having less heart disease and longer life expectancy. it is so common, that the correct term should be lactose tolerant, when speaking in terms of an dietry anomally.
as your daughter grows, you can try giving her tiny amounts of full fat cheese, and full fat cream, as most lactose is present in the whey, not the curd of the milk. also, right now, try to give her as much calcium rich food as possible, the best sources being green leafy veg and oily fish such as sardines.all of my children had transient lactose intolerence, given that they are mixed european and african descent, as many people of african descent cannot tolerate lactose.i introduced hard cheese, real butter, full fat thick cream and yogurt to them slowly, and as they grew the tolerance increased. all my kids can drink milk now and are perfectly ok.
my doctor explained the reason some cannot tolerate lactose. in countries where the climate is cold, the instances of colds and influenza are more likely, so the digestive system creates a protection by using high amounts of colestrol to protect against cold related illnesses. in hot countries, where flu is rare, but malaria is rife, the body rejects food that causes this high cloestrol level, therefore protecting itself against heat related , or tropical, diseases. thats why a cold can make a native african very sick, but a bout of malaria, which can kill a european, is as common and disregarded as a chest cold or flu is in the west.
dont feel guilty, my last baby had an intolerance for the first 13 months of his life and my health visitor wouldnt take me seriously. as a result, my poor baby suffered terrible pain and it ruined his babyhood. i would have switched him to soya milk from birth ( he was even intolerant to breastmilk) if i could have known ,and had a happy thriving baby instead of a baby i had to rock all night while he screamed in pain because i was poisoning him. now he is three, and a happy, thriving little boy who enjoys his food. thats more important than being hung up on one nutritional deficiency, to me.

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the lactose allergy can go either way. what concerned me was the statement that you made when you noticed blood in her stool. PLEASE bring her to the pediatrician.

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Lactose Intollerence is usually permanent....My granddaughter has the same condition...when she was a year old we began giving her soy milk....today she is 7 years old %26 very healthy. but, if you are still not sure ask a doctor what would be healthy to give your 13 month old daughter.

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Take your daughter to a pediatric allergist. Have her allergy tested. What you describe sounds like a dairy allergy to me. If it is your daughter will need to be off ALL dairy products. Period. No milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, no dairy as an ingrediant. There is NO cure for a dairy allergy, ONLY avoidance. Blood in the stool is NOT a good thing. Baby will grow JUST FINE without consuming cow's milk. Just make sure she gets her calcium. It is in many things, fruits, veggies, alternative milks, juices, etc...Not drinking cow's milk is NOT THE END OF THE WORLD. You just have to learn to make substitutions

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Many things come as a surprise. Never get worried. Use lactose free milk and you will be fine. My daughter is lactose intollerant too.

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