Hydrogen breath test
Normally, very little hydrogen is detectable in breath. However, if your body doesn't digest the lactose, it will ferment in the colon, releasing hydrogen and other gases, which are absorbed by your intestines and eventually exhaled. Larger than normal amounts of exhaled hydrogen measured during a breath test indicate that you aren't fully digesting and absorbing lactose. Then your doctor measures the amount of hydrogen in your breath at regular intervals. A hydrogen breath test provides information about the digestion of certain sugars or carbohydrates, such as milk sugar (lactose) ,glucose or fruit sugar (fructose). This will help to determine if you are intolerant to certain sugars. One example is the use of this test to detect lactose intolerance, a disorder in which people have symptoms from abnormal processing of lactose, a substance in many foods including milk and ice cream. The test is also used for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth; the small intestinal bacteria metabolize the Lactulose given and produce an early rise in the breath hydrogen.
Who needs hydrogen breath test
Patients of food intolerance like lactose, fructose having symptoms of bloating, gas, abdominal cramps should undergo breath test. Suspected patients having bacterial overgrowth with diarrhea needs test to have diagnosis.
Preparation
For four (4) weeks before your test, you should not take any antibiotics.
For one (1) week before your test, do not take any laxatives or stool softeners or stool bulking agents. You should also not undergo any test that requires cleansing of the bowel, such as colonoscopy or barium enema.
The day before your test: avoid beans, pasta, fiber cereals, high fiber foods, butter, margarine, soda, cola, flavored drinks
For 12 hours before your test: don’t take anything 12 hours before test. You may continue to take your usual prescription medicines with water until 12 hours before the test
The day of your test: Do not eat or drink anything in the morning. You may take your medications with a small amount of water. Do not smoke, take tobacco, chew gum or eat candys/mints
Procedure
Before starting the test you will be asked to rinse your mouth with mouthwash. This limits the effect of bacteria in your mouth on the results. You will be asked to exhale into bag to collect breath sample. A solution of lactose, lactulose, glucose or fructose will be given to drink. Breath samples will be collected every 15 minutes in adults and 30 minutes in children. After each sample is collected, the sample will be removed from the bag with a syringe, allowing collection of another sample into the bag. The breath sample will be analyzed for hydrogen content. Your test may last for two to four hours. You may return to your usual diet and activity after the test.
Side effects
During the test, you may have your typical symptoms for which the test is being performed. Alternative test/option is culture of small intestinal contents, which is very tedious and is done only in research settings.
