Gastrointestinal diagnostics

Food intolerances are becoming more and more common, causing symptoms such as stomach pain, flatulence, diarrhea or constipation. It is often a long and painful process before a diagnosis and appropriate treatment options are made. In order to be able to offer our patients at the MAIN MEDIC∙ALL general practice treatment options more quickly, we offer H2 breath tests to clarify gastrointestinal complaints as part of our gastrointestinal specialist consultation.

An increased H2 concentration in the breathing air can therefore provide information about:

Lactose intolerance and digestive insufficiency
Disturbances of carbohydrate absorption and degradation
Sucrose and fructose insufficiency
Testing for SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth)
Small intestinal transit time (orocecal transit time)

Preparation for the H2 breath test:

After 20 p.m. you should only drink still water. On the morning of the examination you should come on an empty stomach, ie do not smoke, drink or eat.

The breath test is only meaningful if:

no antibiotics have been administered in the last four weeks.
no colonic irrigation has been performed in the last four weeks.
no H2 blockers were taken four days previously.
no legumes were consumed two days previously.
Fasting was started at least 12 hours before the start of the test
(Please note: Chewing gum is also prohibited during this time and the test).
Nicotine was avoided 12 hours before the start of the test.
physical exertion was avoided before the test.