Home Test for SIBO
Using our hydrogen-methane breath testing kits, you can test for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO). This condition is characterized by a range of gut symptoms including bloating, diarrhea, constipation, excess gas, tiredness, and nausea. If you want to learn more about the causes of SIBO as well as treatment options, you can read about it in our free-to-download eBook.
Breath tests for digestive health detect small amounts of hydrogen and methane gases in your breath. These gases are made by microorganisms living in our intestines, and the amount of hydrogen and methane they produce provides valuable insights into your gut health.
In SIBO, the extra bacteria in your small intestine are able to use the sugars that you eat before your body can absorb them. These bacteria, along with other microorganisms, convert the sugar into hydrogen. A similar condition is intestinal methanogen overgrowth (IMO), where microbes known as archaea can convert hydrogen into methane – which can then show up on the breath. Measuring the levels of these two gases together in the breath helps healthcare professionals to interpret the results of your test.
How much does the SIBO test cost?
The test kits cost £250. Results will be provided within five working days.
What’s the difference between lactulose and glucose tests?
As explained in the video below, the body reacts to each of these substrates a little differently. It is important to ingest a substrate as it will provide sugars for your gut microbes to ferment in a controlled manner, and therefore produce hydrogen and methane as byproducts. By measuring the levels of these gases in the breath in response to the substrate, we can determine how your gut microbiome responds to these sugars.
Lactulose tests: We recommend a lactulose test to check for SIBO in most people. Lactulose is a non-digestible sugar, so it passes through your whole gut without being absorbed into your body. This means it can give us information about the bacteria in your large intestine as well as your small intestine, however, some people may experience strong gut symptoms after taking lactulose.
Glucose tests: Similar to a lactulose breath test, the glucose test can also detect SIBO. This test can be used for people with altered gut anatomy – for example, people who have had weight loss surgery, as it reduces the risk of false positive results that could result from these surgeries, when using a lactulose HMBT.
If you would like advice on which to choose, it is best to consult your doctor as some people may have a strong reaction to the lactulose substrate.
How does the test work?
You will provide an initial breath sample by blowing into a test tube through a straw. This will give us your baseline reading.
Then, you will drink water containing a carbohydrate (lactulose, glucose, fructose, or lactose) which needs to be ingested rapidly, finishing the whole cup-full within a minute or two.
Breath samples then need to be taken at regular intervals over 2-4 hours (depending on which test you are doing), to monitor how your gut responds. Along with the samples, you will record any symptoms experienced using the symptom form provided, this helps your doctor to analyze your results. You can watch a video on how the results are analyzed in the lab in our behind the scenes video.
If you are unsure whether you need to use one of the glucose or lactulose-based SIBO home test kits, our FAQs page explains more. If you would like to obtain a glucose or lactulose breath test at home, head over to this page for more information, or click on the button below.
