Launch of a NEW Breath Test to measure intestinal Hydrogen Sulphide

Launch of a New Breath Test to Measure Intestinal Hydrogen Sulphide

Small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (or SIBO for short), as the name suggests, happens when too many bacteria grow in the small intestine where they would not normally be present. This overgrowth can overwhelm the small intestine, leading to difficult symptoms of bloating, abdominal pain, excessive gas, and altered bowel habits.

Breath tests can be used to detect SIBO, by measuring levels of hydrogen and methane which are gases produced by these bacteria. But there’s another type of gas that can also be produced by these bacteria – hydrogen sulphide.

Until recently, it’s been difficult to measure Hydrogen sulphide in breath tests as the gas itself is unstable, which makes it difficult to collect and measure in breath samples. This means that with standard hydrogen and methane breath tests (HMBTs), patients with excess Hydrogen sulphide can go undiagnosed.

In a healthy gut, this gas is present in low concentrations, but if the bacteria in your gut become unbalanced, the levels of Hydrogen sulphide can increase. High levels of Hydrogen sulphide in the gut has been linked with conditions such as ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and IBS, with higher levels associated with symptoms of diarrhoea, urgency, and abdominal pain, as well as excessive “eggy” smelling wind!

Our new breath test for Hydrogen sulphide works in a similar way to our standard HBMTs.

For the H2S breath test, you collect a series of breath samples across 3 hours after drinking a sugar substrate, which allows us to see how much gas is produced in your gut in response to the drink. You can perform this test at one of our clinics, in London, Cambridge, or Manchester. This new test will fill the gap left in the current breath testing services and can provide an extra option for patients with unexplained gut symptoms.