Paramedic Perspective — Lactose Intolerance
Within the last three years with hectic work schedules and balancing a normal life, Bob Reddy, has learned a lot as a paramedic. After much thought about the stories he grew up on from his grandfather, he found his calling and his love for medicine here at Moraine Valley, he was able to write his own history with trails and errors in the medical field.
At the age of 26, Reddy learned that people become lactose intolerant for various reasons like aging or result from injury; but the primary cause is that their body has an inability to produce an enzyme called lactase in their gastrointestinal tract, which converts the lactose in sugar, and then into energy.
He has seen a lot of interesting cases where he gained the knowledge for similar future calls. When it comes to lactose intolerant patients, he has learned to care for his patients and assist them in being as comfortable as they can be while being transported to the hospital.
One unfortunate patient of his was an elderly lady at a nursing home who had an issue with a number of gastrointestinal issues, lactose intolerance, and dementia.
“There’s isn’t much we can do for this type of patient,” Reddy said. “except take a set of vitals and provide as much comfort as possible before getting to the emergency room.”
With dementia patients, the problem is they often forget their illness history and when presented with food like ice cream, they do nothing but indulge themselves. That’s the worst problem for them because the poor lady had been experiencing a lot stomach pains in the form of cramps, etc.
With a whole new experience under his belt with the help of this poor, elderly lady, he had the chance to do a little bit of research in regards to lactose tolerance. In these types of cases, there are not may precautions to avoiding situations of lactose intolerance other than avoiding dairy products. Many people are unaware that they have the issue, so if the situation arises where it does happen, Reddy recommends consulting a primary physician who will provide dietary alternatives. It is often difficult to stay clear from a dairy-free diet without knowledge of these alternatives. But if dairy is something a person is unable to give up, it’s better to see exactly how much dairy your body can handle.
“In my opinion. if you MUST consume any kind of lactose,” Reddy stated. “Do it in moderation and learn your body’s limit.”
By learning the amount of dairy ones body is able to handle, it becomes easier to know what foods in the dairy family a person can consume without any severe symptoms.
With all the vast knowledge from his research, Reddy learned to tell his patients that are lactose intolerant to take medications to help alleviate the symptoms. “But I would indeed recommend a lactose free diet for the sake of health and knowing that there are many alternatives to dairy products,” Reddy stated.
