Does this sound like lactose intolerance?

[07whatever]

My 10 year old woke in the night and vomited everywhere. He's since vomited again twice.
He had a fair amount of dairy yesterday (milkshake, cheese, sandwich, chocolate) and has been passing wind a lot.
This also happened a month ago. He vomited that much that I had to take him to the hospital because he was dehydrated.
He gets tummy pain when he's ate more than a little bit of dairy, headaches, passing gas a lot and vomiting. This usually starts around 3/4 hours after eating and can last up to around 24/48 hours.
I will be taking him to the GP tomorrow, but in the meantime, I'm wondering if it could possibly be lactose intolerance?
He's such a trooper bless him, currently sat watching Home Alone and complaining of tummy ache. Apart from Calpol is there anything else I can give him to ease the pain?

Buscopan helps with muscle cramps.

I find a hot water bottle on my stomach helps.

If he can tolerate it a hot bath.

It sounds like it.

I can tolerate some dairy, particularly if it is part of a meal.

You can actually get lactase drops to add to food if he wants to continue having milkshakes.

Wind, upset tummy, I get diarrhoea. If it is not too much information I have the urge to go to the loo but then I pass some hard stool and then a very soft / liquid stool.

A bit personal, and he might be reluctant to tell you, but does he have mucus is his poo?

I can only tolerate a tiny bit of lactose. Hard cheese and natural yoghurt are best. Cream, ice cream, more than a few cups of tea with dairy milk, soft cheese all bring on the symptoms you've described. This didn't come on until my 30s, although I have never liked drinking milk.

Milk chocolate isn't great, dark choc is fine.

Yes, mucus in his poo. He's got diarrhoea now, too. I'm trying to get him to drink little and often and still just vomiting it up.
Thank you for your comment. It is interesting that it only started in your 30s, did you go to the GP to get a diagnosis or anything? How long typically do your symptoms last?

Lactose intolerance is actually really rare. Its more likely he's reacting to the protein in the dairy. So trial a full dairy free diet and see if all the symptoms stop

I have lactose intolerance which came on in my 40s

Within 30 mins-2 hours (depending on the food) I get diarrhoea and then have stomach cramps, wind, and bloating for up to a day. There is a sulphurous smell.

I would exclude dairy for a week or two, then try hard dairy (eg hard cheese) with lactose tablets taken with the first mouthful. Or try lactose free cheese with no tablets,eg Cathedral City do a nice cheddar.

If he tolerates that, try soft dairy (cream, cheesecake, ice-cream, milk) with the lactase tablets. Or lactose free options with no tablets.

If that works, try normal dairy without the tablets and if he reacts, you have your answer.

It may be different for kids but the GP sent me to allergy clinic, I was told it wasn't dairy allergy and then I asked GP what about lactose intolerance and they said they didn't bother testing for that. I tried lactase tablets and all was good. They still don't work for all food, I might still get some impact but much lessened.

Good luck!

Yes it does sound that. There is no real test though - if Dr's suspect they will just tell you to eliminate lactose or dairy.

Personally I would cut out lactose first before full dairy as no dairy is much more restrictive long term. I would just go ahead and do it today.

Switch to lactose free milk, butter and cheese- easy to do most as supermarkets sell own brand lactose free milk ,(don't buy Aldis though not good, lidls is fine ) and Arla cheese/cream/milk. If he is intolerant you will notice a difference in a few days.

Taking lactase enzymes can help digest some things - he might find he can tolerate things like pizza. But I wouldn't muck about with them until you are certain what the issue is.

We've been through this - years of sore tummies and omephrozole when it was as simple as cutting out lactose - it was transformative!

Dd was 12 when we worked it out. It changed her life. Nobody else in family is lactose intolerant- it can come on after a tummy bug and you can also grow out of it.

Both me and pp are saying you need to work out if it's dairy or just lactose he might be intolerant to do. That is your first step.

If you cut out dairy completely you won't know which it is.

Thank you all, this is really helpful. I highly doubt he will be eating anything today as he is in quite a bad way, vomiting, diarrhoea, headache and feeling very sorry for himself!
I will grab some bits when I nip to Sainsburys shortly and give them a go.

but she will know that its something linked to dairy

I think I'll cut out the lactose first and see if that has any impact on him, then if he remains the same I'll keep investigating. Thank you!

@07whatever you have just described my symptoms and I am diagnosed as both dairy allergic and lactose intolerant (love to be awkward!).

Mine came on at around the same age as your ds. I think I was maybe 11 or 12. Before that I could and would eat cheese etc a lot.

Mine is worse when I am poorly...I have tried the milk ladder varies tines over the years and have had periods where I can have dairy but not lactose ie using lactose free dairy milk. But then I get poorly with a cold etc and I am back at square 1.

If he is diagnosed with lactose intolerance make sure you check anything he is prescribed by a GP, a lot of tablets (Inc paracetamol) use lactose as a binding agent sonit is vital to check everything he will ingest and not just food iyswim.

I have a dairy intolerance, came on in my 30s, the GP said it’s quite common but didn’t test - I did an exclusion diet cutting all dairy completely then reintroducing it gradually.

I now have soya milk in tea and wouldn’t ever have a glass of milk, a milk shake or a yoghurt but I can have a bit of cheese as long as I keep track of what I’ve had in a day. I got to know my own limits quite quickly and now I can judge what I can have quite easily.

70% of the world's population is not 'really rare'.

He probably has a limit so he might've been able to have the cheese sandwich without issues but not the milkshake on the same day. Lactose intolerance usually makes you have diarrhoea and tummy ache.

I’m late in life lactose intolerant, and my son is too. We’ve never had such an extreme reaction to dairy; never any vomiting.

Wonder if it could be more of an allergy than intolerance? Allergies can present with vomiting instead of anaphylaxis. I have a cousin with a nut allergy that presents like this.

Either way it’s certainly worth excluding dairy to see how things go.

Edit: could of course be a stomach bug, bearing in mind how ill he is feeling.

Not the vomiting, but everything else sounds like DH (the only think you haven't mentioned is the smell 🤢)

He initially cut out all dairy, and it was transformational! After a few months, we gave the lactose free stuff a try, and the milk, cream and cheese are fab. He uses mayo in place of butter in sandwiches. He doesn't take the lactase tablets at home, but if out and about, he often takes one just in case.

He gets tummy pain when he's ate more than a little bit of dairy, headaches, passing gas a lot and vomiting. This usually starts around 3/4 hours after eating and can last up to around 24/48 hours.

Sorry if I'm missing something, but you had to take him to hospital a month ago and and you are only now thinking of seeing the GP, despite the above symptoms???

As others have said, some people are intolerant of the lactose (sugar) in dairy whereas others, its the protein. My cousins child has a protein allergy, but it was picked up as a baby. She is now 12 and can tolerate small amounts of dairy without issue. They swear by Swedish glaze ice cream and she drinks nut based milks.

Have you been keeping a food diary? If not, start now. If you get a diagnosis, ask for a referral to a dietician. Not sure if the GP will do that, but worth asking.

In that case as he is really sick I would cut out dairy completely - priority is feeling better and no dairy is best option for this. Give it a week and if all good reintroduce dairy lactose free.

This sounds the same as my DD but her main symptom is vomiting when she has pushed things.