Gut health · Singapore
Bloating, reflux, pain or a change in bowel habit can have many causes. Our doctors map your symptoms and risk first, then choose only the tests that can change your care.
Start with the symptom pattern, then choose the test that can change care.
Gut health screening is a doctor-led review of your digestive health. It separates routine screening, such as a stool test for colorectal cancer when you have no symptoms, from the assessment of bloating, pain, reflux, a change in bowel habit, bleeding or weight loss. Your history and risk then decide which stool, blood or other tests are worth doing.
The digestive tract runs from the mouth to the anus and includes the stomach and the small and large intestines. The microorganisms living in the intestines, known as the gut microbiome, help break food down into nutrients. A gut microbiome test can describe these bacteria, but it does not replace validated screening or the assessment of persistent symptoms.
Possible tests
Reflux, bloating, diarrhoea, constipation and pain are patterns rather than diagnoses, and diet, infection, medicines, irritable bowel syndrome, inflammation and structural disease can overlap. Your doctor selects stool, blood or other tests for a clinical reason, and reserves imaging or endoscopy for the question it can answer.
Stool tests
Stool tests can look for selected infections, inflammation or digestion markers, chosen by your symptoms, exposures and how long they have lasted. A FIT, which looks for small amounts of blood, is used for colorectal cancer screening in people without symptoms; a positive result needs a colonoscopy.
Blood and breath tests
Blood and breath tests, both offered at the clinic, can look for anaemia, inflammation, coeliac disease, liver or other organ markers, or selected infections. Preparation and interpretation vary by test, so follow the instructions you are given.
A closer look
When symptoms, risk or earlier results justify it, your doctor may suggest imaging, such as an abdominal ultrasound, or refer you for a gastroscopy or colonoscopy to examine the digestive tract directly.
A gut microbiome test
A gut microbiome test analyses the bacteria in a stool sample that you collect at home with a kit and drop off at the clinic. The report, ready in around 3 weeks, compares your gut bacteria with an Asian population database and includes diet, lifestyle and probiotic suggestions. It gives descriptive information and does not replace validated screening or the assessment of persistent symptoms.
What the review covers
The same symptom can come from different parts of the digestive tract. Preventive FIT screening is for eligible people without symptoms; visible blood or other warning signs need a diagnostic review instead.
Black or bloody stools, severe pain or fainting? Seek medical care promptly.
Reflux, nausea, early fullness, difficulty swallowing or upper abdominal pain.
Persistent diarrhoea, constipation, urgency, bloating or a change in stool form.
Age-based colorectal screening, or a family history of colorectal cancer or polyps.
Bleeding, anaemia or unexplained weight loss need a prompt review, not screening.
Ask what a microbiome test can and cannot tell you before you take one.
Your gut health review
Your doctor maps your symptoms, diet, bowel pattern, medicines and family risk.
Vital signs and a focused examination of your abdomen and general health.
Stool, blood, breath, imaging or endoscopic tests, chosen only when they are useful.
Your doctor explains the findings and plans treatment, monitoring or referral.
Safety & expectations
Normal tests do not mean persistent symptoms should be ignored.
Results are read with your symptom pattern and examination. Seek prompt review for black or bloody stools, persistent vomiting, severe pain, fainting, difficulty swallowing that is getting worse, or unexplained weight loss.
Fusion Medical offers doctor-led gut health screening at Wheelock Place, 501 Orchard Road. Our doctors review your symptoms, bowel pattern, medicines and family history, examine you and suggest targeted tests, such as stool, blood or breath tests or an abdominal ultrasound. If you need a gastroscopy or colonoscopy, your doctor refers you and goes through the results with you.
No. Colorectal cancer screening checks people without symptoms, usually with a stool test (FIT) from age 50. A gut health review looks at symptoms such as bloating, pain, reflux or a change in bowel habit, and uses the tests that fit them. Persistent symptoms or visible blood need a diagnostic assessment rather than screening.
It depends on your symptoms and risk. Testing may include a FIT, other stool tests, blood or breath tests, imaging such as an abdominal ultrasound, or a gastroscopy or colonoscopy. Your doctor explains why each test is suggested and what its result could change, so you avoid tests that will not help.
Not routinely. A gut microbiome test describes the bacteria in a stool sample and gives general diet and lifestyle suggestions, but it does not replace validated screening or the investigation of persistent symptoms. We offer the test; if you are interested, your doctor can first explain what it can and cannot tell you.
Avoid major elimination diets before your assessment unless your doctor advises one. Cutting out foods can change your symptoms and make testing harder to interpret. Keep eating as usual, note which foods seem to affect you, and do not stop prescribed medicines.
Black or bloody stools, severe pain, persistent vomiting, fainting, difficulty swallowing that is getting worse, anaemia or unexplained weight loss need timely medical care. Do not wait for a screening appointment if you have any of these.
Normal results are reassuring, but they do not mean persistent symptoms should be ignored. Some digestive conditions, such as irritable bowel syndrome, have normal routine tests but still benefit from structured treatment. Your doctor reads your results with your symptom pattern and plans treatment, monitoring or referral.
Our doctors
Appointments
Book a consultation at Wheelock Place. Bring a short record of your symptoms and bowel pattern, and our doctors will suggest only the tests that can help.
