Lactose  Intolerance Testing

Lactose intolerance occurs when your body can’t digest the sugar (lactose) in milk and many other dairy products. Your small intestine secretes an enzyme called lactase that helps digest lactose. If you don’t produce enough lactase, your body can’t digest lactose when you consume dairy. Rather than being absorbed into your bloodstream, the lactose passes into your colon instead. This causes indigestion and other lactose intolerance symptoms, such as:

• Diarrhea
• Nausea
• Bloating
• Gas
• Vomiting
• Stomach pains

Symptom severity varies between patients, depending on the level of intolerance. If you visit Newtown Gastroenterology with these symptoms, your provider will likely ask you to undergo lactose intolerance testing.

Lactose intolerance testing involves a simple hydrogen breath test. You fast overnight before the test, then breathe into a bag. Next, you drink a precise amount of milk sugar syrup equivalent to the lactose quantity in a quart of milk.

Afterward, you provide further breath samples for up to three hours. Testing the breath you exhale determines its hydrogen content. If you’re lactose intolerant, the hydrogen levels will increase. The Newtown Gastroenterology team can confirm your lactose intolerance diagnosis if hydrogen rises above a specific value. Lactose intolerance testing is painless and straightforward. However, it might trigger your symptoms.

If you can’t undergo hydrogen breath testing, you could remove lactose from your diet for two weeks to see if your symptoms improve. Your provider might suggest taking a lactase supplement as well. After two weeks, you reintroduce lactose and see if your symptoms return.

If your lactose intolerance test is negative, the Newtown Gastroenterology team recommends further tests or procedures to determine what’s causing your symptoms. If the test confirms you’re lactose intolerant, the team offers advice and treatment to reduce your symptoms. Lactose intolerance is incurable, but you can control your condition by making dietary changes. You should avoid consuming dairy products, including foods that use dairy-based ingredients.

Look for lactose-free products instead or switch to alternative food sources. Lactase supplements can help you digest any lactose you do consume. If you have severe lactose intolerance symptoms like nausea and diarrhea, medications can help to relieve your discomfort. Call Newtown Gastroenterology for expert advice on lactose intolerance testing or request a test today by completing the online booking form.