by Hajnal Farkas

Created on: January 16, 2010   Last Updated: January 18, 2010

My husband and I suffer from lactose intolerance. It was quite obvious for us that our sons won't tolerate lactose either. Both of them had the same symptoms: stomach ache and diarrhoea. I had to change their nappies 7-8 times every day. We went to the GP and he prescribed Pregestimil formula milk which is glucose and lactose free. Well, if you have smelled dog food in supermarkets... this formula milk had exactly the same smell. My son didn't accept it so next day we went back and asked for a new one. He prescribed Enfamil O-Lac. This formula milk has changed its name a few months (years) ago from Enfamil LactoFree Lipil to Enfamil O-Lac. I tasted it and it has very similar taste to normal milk. 

Enfamil O-Lac can be used for infants from birth onwards with digestive problems such as diarrhoea, bloating and wind due to lactose intolerance. It comes in on orangey-golden can which contains 400 g powder formula milk. The dosage is similar to all the powder formula milks on the market: one scoop to 30 ml boiled water. There is a very detailed chart on the can about how many bottles should you give to your baby and how many water and how many scoops of powder do you need to put in the bottle. Besides the ingredients there is a nutritional information chart with all the minerals and vitamins the formula milk contains. I collected only the vitamins: A, D, E, C, B1, B2, B6, B12, K. 


Although it is available without prescription as well for about 30 pounds a bottle I suggest visiting your GP for a prescription. We get it for free now. Otherwise we wouldn't be able to afford it as a bottle lasts for about 5-6 days. 

This formula milk is manufactured by Mead Johnson. They manufacture special formula milks such as Pregestimil (lactose and gluten free), Nutramigen (for cow's milk allergy sufferer babies), Enfamil A.R. (a thicker formula milk anti reflux) and Enfamil O-Lac (for lactose intolerant babies). For more information on the manufacturer visit: www.enfamil.co.uk. 

Ingredients
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I list the ingredients just because it is not available on the Internet now, so if your baby has some other intolerance or allergy you can check here the ingredients of this formula milk. 
Ingredients: Glucose syrup, vegetable oils (palm olein, coconut, soya, high oleic sunflower), milk protein, calcium phosphate, sodium citrate, emulsifier (soya lecithin), potassium chloride, single cell oils (ARA from Mortierells alpine and DHA from Crypthecodinium cohnii), potassium citrate, magnesium phosphate, calcium carbonate, sodium L-ascorbate, choline chloride, inositol, ferrous sulphate, taurine, L-carnitine, zinc sulphate, antioxidant (ascorbyl palmitate), dl-alpha tocopheryl acetate, nicotinamide, calcium pantothenate, cupric sulphate, vitamin A palmitate, magnese sulphate, riboflavin, thiamine hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, potassium iodide, folic acid, vitamin K, sodium molybdate, chromic chloride, sodium selenite, biotin, vitamin D, vitamin B12. 


My opinion 
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I think Enfamil O-Lac is very good formula milk for babies like my son. He really suffered from the symptoms of lactose intolerance. We just have to give him this formula milk until he will be able to drink normal lactose free cow's milk. He is not very sensitive so I can give him sausages which contain lactose too. Actually such products contain lactose you don't even think. He can eat these without any problem as their lactose content is low. A bottle of normal formula milk contains too much lactose that quantity can cause him stomach ache and  diarrhea. So I'm glad that we can have this formula milk.

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