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What
is a Lactose Breath Test?
The Lactose
Malabsorption Breath Test is used to help diagnose conditions in which the
patient is unable to digest the sugar that is in milk. People who have lost the ability to digest milk sugar (lactose) have a
condition called lactose malabsorption. The sugar molecule remains in the intestine and is carried to the colon
(large intestine). Bacteria there
digest the lactose and release hydrogen (H2) and methane (CH2). Some of the hydrogen and methane is reabsorbed into the blood stream,
carried to the lungs, and exhaled. Hydrogen
and methane are normally not produced in the body except by bacterial action
on intestinal contents.
Sample of air
from the lungs are analyzed at specific times after ingesting a standard dose
of lactose. If the hydrogen and
methane gases are found to increase significantly, this information is used,
along with symptoms and other information obtained by the physician during the
examination, to confirm or reject a diagnosis of lactose malabsorption.
What
is a Fructose Breath Test?
Fructose
intolerance is the inability to digest fructose, a sugar found in food. It
causes cramping, bloating, gas or diarrhea any time dairy products are
consumed. Fructose intolerance occurs due to the body’s lack of fructase, an
enzyme normally produced by the small intestine. The fructose intolerance
breath test is a quick way to discover if a patient has fructose intolerance.
Studies indicate that as many as 70% of patients that have fructose
intolerance do not relate their symptoms to fructose ingestion. They may even
mislead their physicians by denying a connection of their symptoms to their
diet.
Our
fructose intolerance breath test is the most efficient way of detecting
fructose intolerance. The fructose intolerance breath test is done in the
office and only requires five minutes of the patient’s time. This fructose
intolerance breath test is easy to use, non invasive and gives the physician
immediate results of the fructose intolerance breath test. Fructose
intolerance is often recognized for the first time in older patients. They may
have endured gas and other symptoms for years without connecting the symptoms
to their diet.
How
do I prepare for the test?
Patients
should avoid slow digesting foods like beans, bran or other high fiber cereals
the day before the test is performed. You
will only need to fast for 12 hours before your test.
Three
hours before your test, you will need to drink 6-8 ounces of milk for the
Lactose test or 6-8 ounces of coca-cola for the Fructose test. You will be given complete instructions before your test. The breath sample is collected and analyzed three hours after the
ingestion of the liquid.
Baseline
testing may be done without fasting at the physician’s discretion.
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