First of all before i start all the questions, i have a 5 year old who has been having stomach problems for a while now, i wrote this in another thread, and from what a couple of people have said on that thread and from looking on the internet think that there is a good chance she could be lactose intolerant, so ive got loads of questions
i want to take lactose out of her diet for now and see if it helps, is it a problem to take it out of a childs diet if they end up not being lactose intolerant? how long would it be before i start to notice anything if it turns out to be the lactose? is it just dairy products which contain lactose or other things too? do i have to keep everything out of ehr diet that has lactose in it? what would i replace things like butter and cheese with? are there special cheeses and butters or not?
sorry about all the questions, but if i decide to take lactose out of her diet to see if her stomach problems stop i want to do it properly and while i can find websites what explain what it is and the symptoms etc i cant find one that explains everythig i would need to know
so i hope someone can either answer all my questions or that someone knows a good website with more information
thanks for any help anyone can give me
sarah

there are tests for lactose intolerance that can be done by a doctor. i remember having them when i was little. i would take her to the doctor and seeing what he/she has to say.

My DS#2 is lactose intolerant, and what I've found out is there are varying levels of intolerance. For example: my DS cannot have regular milk or ice cream, but he can tolerate cheese (as long as it's not processed like Kraft singles) and yogurt. Some people are much more intolerant though.

If you want to try the exclusion method, that is not give her any lactose, you would notice pretty quickly if there is a difference. A few days with no dairy products won't hurt her. And if you're concerned about her getting the calcium she needs, you can give her orange juice with calcium added. If you determine that she is in fact lactose intolerant, you can buy lactose free milk to give her. There is a very slight difference in taste, but not enough that most kids would notice. Every once in a while I give it to DS#1, and he's never noticed. And recently I found lactose free ice cream. If she is lactose intolerant, you can then re-introduce things ONE AT A TIME to see what she can eat. With DS#2 we know within about an hour if he's eaten something he shouldn't have.

Take everything out of her diet that includes any type of dairy product. Cheese, milk, most crackers, snacks, etc. Try to really read the labels. If after a week you've noticed a huge difference you know what you may be dealing with.

Then you can add back in the crackers and snacks - basically cooked milk products. Some kids can handle those but not handle the basic milk and cheese. See what happens. If she can handle those then add in cheese.

If that's okay, add the ice cream and/or milk back in. If the stomach aches start again at some point you've got your answer.

Tums are a great way to get calcium into kids. My kids love the fruit flavoured ones.