Lactose intolerance and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) lead to severe digestive issue.
But because of their overlapping and similar symptoms, it can cause a delay or downtime in getting the proper treatment. Overall, it can hurt the quality of your life. Remember that different factors cause lactose intolerance and IBS; thus, they are relieved differently.
To determine if you’re suffering from lactose intolerance and IBS, you must be familiar with the differences and similarities between the two diseases.
What Is The Difference Between Lactose Intolerance And IBS? Symptoms And Treatments
Overlapping Symptoms
Both lactose intolerance and IBS can cause the following symptoms:
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
- Abdominal bloating, pain, and gas
Lactose intolerance can also cause nausea, worsening between thirty minutes and two hours after eating dairy products or drinking milk. Meanwhile, IBS can cause your stool to have mucus or make you feel like you cannot empty your colon completely.
These symptoms can change gradually during an extended period. Or it can disappear, flare up, and get better over time.
The Difference
Lactose intolerance is a digestive order that takes place when you cannot digest the natural sugar in milk, called lactose. This condition occurs when your body does not make enough lactase, which is used to break down lactose.
Although lactose intolerance is not a lethal health condition, it can seriously keep you from getting the correct amount of essential nutrients such as vitamin D and calcium, which people get from dairy products.
On the other hand, IBS can flare up due to many different reasons, such as medication, food, and stress. Experts think IBS transpires when the muscles surrounding the colon don’t work accordingly to move waste along.
While the root cause for IBS is still a mystery, the following can increase your risk for IBS:
- long-term emotional trauma or stress
- infections in your intestines
- your genes
Best Milk Diet For Ibs And Lactose Intolerance
Treating Lactose Intolerance
The primary treatment for this condition is to stay away from foods containing lactose. Although you might be able to take a small amount of lactose at a time, you must try to keep away from the following:
- Whey protein
- Sour cream
- Butter
- Yogurt
- Ice cream
- Cheese
- Goat’s milk
- Cow’s milk
Always scan food labels to ensure they don’t contain lactose. Cereal, bread, chocolate, cakes, cookies, and most gravies and sauces often contain it. Instead of using milk products, you can use dairy milk alternatives such as almond or cashew milk.
These alternatives are also milk products but without the lactose ingredient. What’s more, you can try taking enzyme supplements before you consume dairy to cut down the chances of experiencing the symptoms.
Treating IBS
You can control the symptoms of IBS by making some lifestyle and diet changes, which includes:
- increasing physical activities
- avoiding gluten
- eating more fiber
- reducing stress
- adapting a low FODMAP diet
- Probiotics
- Antidepressants
- Laxative
- Eluxadoline
- Fiber supplements
- Linaclotide
- Plecanatide
- Lubiprostone
- Rifaximin
Look for a free BuzzRx discount card to cut down your prescription medication expenses. Moreover, you might need to try a few different treatments to see what works best for you.
When To See A Doctor
Both lactose intolerance and IBS are not associated or linked with any grave medical consequences. However, both can impact the quality of life.
So, if you are experiencing symptoms like constipation, bloating, excessive gas, stomach cramping, or diarrhea regularly that you can’t point out by eliminating dairy products from your diet, call your doctor right away for a proper diagnosis.
The other guideline is called Manning. It concentrates on changes in stool consistency, mucus in the stool, incomplete bowel movements, and pain alleviated by defecation. On the other hand, when diagnosing lactose intolerance, doctors will usually recommend eliminating dairy products.
Some tests can confirm and verify if the patient has the condition. For example, the hydrogen test requires you to blow in a balloon-like bag so that the doctor can see how much hydrogen is present. If your breath has a massive amount of hydrogen, then you are deemed lactose intolerant.
Final Words:
Both lactose intolerance and IBS are unpleasant. Both conditions can be very distressing and painful. That’s why getting a proper and correct diagnosis is a must.
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