Do they grow out of it?

[Caitlin's Mum]

My DS is lactose intolerant but I have heard of some babies growing out of this. Is this true and when might that happen? He is nearly 1 so I was hoping to stop the formula soon. We give him lactose free milk on his cereal so I will just continue to give him this instead of formula I suppose.

[Milly]

Hi there!

Is is truly Lactose Intolerant or does he just have Cow's Milk Allergy? Lactose Intolerance is actually pretty rare and I would seek a second opinion on that as Cow's Milk Allergy is commonly misdiagnosed as Lactose Intolerance. If he has Cow's Milk Allergy, then yes he will grow out of it. I had this as a kid and can now drink milk and eat regular dairy quite easily. If he has true Lactose Intolerance then he may not grow out of it. I would talk to your Healthcare Practioner again to get another diagnosis to really see what will happen. Here is a link on Lactose Intolerance that may be of interest. It is talking about it in the context of breastfeeding, but it will still have relevance to your questions even if you have bottlefed and there is some handy info on there. Anyway, it may be of some help. http://www.breastfeeding.asn.au/bfinfo/lactose.html

Additionally, if he got secondary lactose intolerance (say from a bout of Gastro) then yes he will get over that. So, it depends if he has had it from birth or acquired it later from such an illness. Anyway, see the link as it may help.

All the best with sorting it out. :)

[sam's mum]

My cousin's son was allergic to cow's milk when he was younger. If someone kissed him after they had a drink a milk he would blow up and stop breathing - but he grew out of this. I am not sure if this happens in all cases though.

[3cherubs]

My DD ,she is 1 is lactose Intolerant and we are having to still give her L/Free formula as she was sick from the L/free milk (carton one)and also the yoghurt.
They said to wait until she is 2.