Causes of Lactose intolerance

Health encyclopaedia - Alphabetical Topic List

| A |

| B |

| C |

| D |

| E |

| F |

| G |

| H |

| I |

| J |

| K |

| L |

| M |

| N |

| O |

| P |

| Q |

| R |

| S |

| T |

| U |

| V |

| W |

| X |

| Y |

Lactose intolerance usually develops slowly over time. As some children grow, their body begins to produce less lactase, but symptoms of lactose intolerance may not appear until adulthood. The exact cause is not known.

In other cases, injuries (e.g. post- infective diarrhoea) to the mucus membrane of the small intestine can cause a temporary problem in producing lactase. Also digestive diseases of the small intestine (e.g. ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease) can cause lactose intolerance.

Very rarely a baby is born without the ability to produce lactase.