linguistic:paraphrasing
Hydrogen breath test

In a hydrogen breath test, the most accurate lactose intolerance test, after an overnight fast, 25 grams of lactose (in a solution with water) are swallowed. If the lactose cannot be digested, enteric bacteria metabolize it and produce hydrogen, which, along with methane, if produced, can be detected on the patient's breath by a clinical gas chromatograph or compact solid-state detector. The test takes about 2.5 hours to complete. If the hydrogen levels in the patient's breath are high, they may have lactose intolerance. This test is not usually done on babies and very young children, because it can cause severe diarrhea.