Although lactose intolerance usually causes clear digestive symptoms, many people are unaware of the condition, and blame the symptoms on other digestive problems such as indigestion. Lactose intolerance is particularly common in Americans of African, Hispanic or Asian descent, and less common in Caucasians.
For a diagnosis of Lactose Intolerance, the following list of conditions have been mentioned in sources as possible alternative diagnoses to consider during the diagnostic process for Lactose Intolerance:
The other diseases for which Lactose Intolerance is listed as a possible alternative diagnosis in their lists include:
Causes of Lactose Intolerance may include these medical conditions:
Some experts believe that people who are sensitive to milk products, but can digest them in small quantities without experiencing severe gastrointestinal symptoms, are not lactose intolerant, but have lactose maldigestion. These people may produce lactase in very small amounts, but enough to allow them to digest very small amounts of dairy products. (Source: excerpt from Lactose Intolerance: NWHIC)
Vitamin B12 deficiency under-diagnosed: The condition of Vitamin B12 deficiency is a possible misdiagnosis of various conditions, such as multiple sclerosis (see symptoms of multiple sclerosis). See symptoms of Vitamin B12 deficiency or misdiagnosis of multiple sclerosis.
Read these general articles with an overview of misdiagnosis issues.
When checking for a misdiagnosis of Lactose Intolerance or confirming a diagnosis of Lactose Intolerance, it is useful to consider what other medical conditions might be possible misdiagnoses or other alternative conditions relevant to diagnosis. These alternate diagnoses of Lactose Intolerance may already have been considered by your doctor or may need to be considered as possible alternative diagnoses or candidates for misdiagnosis of Lactose Intolerance. For a general overview of misdiagnosis issues for all diseases, see Overview of Misdiagnosis.
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