Helminth feces analysis is predominantly used to determine carriers to prevent the spread of parasite infestation among people in contact. The delivery of such an analysis is mandatory for catering workers, as well as other professions for which a sanitary book is required.
Who else can get a referral for fecal analysis?
Such a study is needed when children enter school and pre-school educational institutions, when applying for a job, undergoing treatment in a sanatorium, visiting a swimming pool, and hospitalization.
Among other things, feces analysis for helminths can be prescribed as a diagnostic measure if intestinal helminthiasis is suspected. The reliability of the research results is largely determined by the correctness of the collection of biological material. Below we will consider all the subtleties of passing such an analysis.
The purpose of the study
Formally, you cannot formally approach the delivery of feces analysis for helminth eggs. The person to whom he was prescribed should be aware that the definition of helminthic infestation is important, primarily for his own health. Parasites are seriously harmful to health, certain of their type can enter the heart, brain, liver and other organs.
If timely treatment is not carried out, then severe forms of helminthiasis can lead to death of a person. In addition, being a carrier of parasites, the patient can infect them with all members of the family, unwittingly causing health pathologies of loved ones and relatives.
Laboratory tests of feces do not always reveal the infestation of worms in an adult and a child, since a small amount of biological material handed over for examination may not contain helminth eggs. Parasites do not always lay eggs, so they are unevenly distributed in the feces.
In addition, improper collection, non-compliance with the preparation rules and storage violation may affect the results. That is why it is necessary to follow the rules of preparation, collection, storage of biomaterial with accuracy, to recognize the need for re-delivery if parasites are absent in the analysis of feces for helminths.
Symptoms when infected with worms
A symptom such as movement and itching in the anus clearly indicates the presence of worms, in particular it is felt at night and in the evenings. This characterizes enterobiosis, that is, pinworm infestation. With invasion by other types of helminths, such a characteristic and obvious clinical picture will not be, the symptoms are not too pronounced, or it is characteristic of many other diseases.
A warning
According to statistics, more than one billion people are infected with parasites. Sometimes you may not even notice that parasites have settled in the body.
It is possible to establish the presence of worms in the body with ease on one basis - bad breath. You need to ask your loved ones if there is a smell in the morning (before brushing your teeth). If yes, 99% chance of infection.
Due to infection, fatigue, neurosis, sudden mood swings occur, then more significant diseases begin.
Worms in adult men cause: stones in the bladder and kidneys, sand, cystitis, adenoma, impotence and prostatitis.
In women: inflammation and pain in the ovaries. There are fibroids, fibroids, inflammation of the kidneys, bladder and adrenal glands, fibrocystic mastopathy. In addition, there may be cancerous and cardiac pathologies.
You need to immediately reassure that there is no need to run to the pharmacy and buy expensive drugs that, according to pharmacists, will relieve parasites. A lot of drugs are generally ineffective, moreover, they can greatly harm the human body.
Suspicion of helminthiasis is possible in the presence of the following symptoms:
- intestinal disorders and flatulence;
- deterioration of appetite and even its complete absence;
- the presence of mucus and blood in the stool;
- frequent headaches and sleep disturbances;
- weight loss;
- constant feeling of loss of strength;
- weak immunity, which is expressed in susceptibility to constant colds;
- skin pallor;
- teeth grinding in a dream;
- skin problems.
If at least a few of the symptoms appear, you need to be examined, including to determine the infestation of parasites.
Where can I get stool tests?
To determine the presence of worms in the human body, tests can be taken in a private or public health clinic, or in a laboratory that offers such tests. In a private clinic, results can often be obtained much faster.
Analysis preparation
To increase the reliability of the result of the analysis of feces for helminths, you need to follow some rules before putting it in.
It makes no sense to conduct a study of feces for helminths in the following situations:
- when using antiparasitic drugs and immediately after treatment with them;
- after applying oil enemas;
- after an X-ray study using barium medications.
In all these situations, the possibility of diagnosing helminth eggs is close to zero, and as a result, the results of the analysis will no longer be indicative.
In addition, some potent drugs may decrease the effectiveness of research. If they are not necessary for life, their intake must be stopped three days before the collection of biomaterial for analysis.
When a patient undergoes a course of treatment that is forbidden to interrupt, for example, the course of antibiotic use, it is better to postpone the analysis of biomaterial for helminths until completion, since under the changing conditions in the intestines the reproduction of worms slows down and their eggs can not be found.
When the patient undergoes antibiotic therapy, the analysis of the biomaterial for the eggs of the worms must be taken no earlier than three days after the completion of the course.
The composition of the food that a person ate before collecting biological material also affects the results of feces analysis on helminth eggs. If foods are used that contribute to excessive gas formation and intestinal relaxation, food masses quickly pass through the intestinal tract, and the likelihood of parasites in the feces of the eggs is reduced. That is why a day or two before collecting biomaterial for analysis for helminths, it is advisable to exclude products from the diet that weaken the intestines.
A set of such products is individual for each person, however, they generally include:
- sauerkraut and fresh cabbage;
- plums and apricots;
- melon and watermelon;
- fresh beets;
- legumes;
- prunes
- pumpkin, zucchini, cucumbers;
- grapes;
- kefir;
- persimmon.
In addition, it is undesirable to use foods that stain feces in specific colors - for example, blueberries, beets, black currants, cherries.
Adhering to such simple recommendations, you can significantly increase the possibility of determining helminthic invasion and start treatment on time.
How to collect feces for analysis?
Recommendations for the collection of biomaterial
Subject to all the rules of preparation for the analysis of feces for the presence of the parasite eggs listed above, it is allowed to take a sample of material for research. This point usually raises a lot of questions: how much feces is needed for helminth analysis, what are the recommendations for its collection, whether it is allowed to store material and others. Answers to these questions will be considered in detail.
Feces container
The laboratory will not accept feces for analysis in matchboxes and other cardboard packaging. To collect biomaterial, you can take a small glass container with a tight lid or purchase a special plastic container for collecting feces in the pharmacy. The convenience of this container is that it has a spatula with which you can collect material, and a tight-fitting lid that prevents odor from passing through.
Glass containers need to be sterilized, but purchased at a pharmacy is not necessary. The lid and jar can simply be cleaned with baking soda and rinsed well with hot, clean water; you do not need to wash the container to collect biomaterial.
When collecting in a home container for feces, it is most convenient to do this with a disposable spoon. You can also take advantage of several matches and a cotton swab. It is impossible to use twigs and slivers brought from the street for this purpose, since they may contain worm eggs, which will distort the results of the study.
Do I need to wash myself?
When a person passes urine, he is advised to wash himself to prevent the ingress of microflora and excretions from the genitals into biological material. When collecting feces for helminth testing, it is not recommended to wash.
Some types of helminths, such as pinworms, lay eggs near the anus; in addition, parasite eggs from previous bowel movements may be in the anus.
With the passage of mass of feces, they can be in the first portion of the material, thereby increasing the possibility of determining helminthic invasion.
It should be noted that if it is necessary to pass feces to the eggs of the worms, it is recommended not to wash yourself before the collection, as mentioned above. Make it better after its completion.
How to collect feces for analysis is interesting to many, but it's easy to do.
The rules for collecting biomaterial for research
You need to defecate in a dry clean vessel or in a pot. It is not allowed to take feces from water in the toilet. In addition, you need to make sure that urine does not get on the feces, empty the bladder should be in another place.
Material should be taken from several places of feces: from the initial portion, from the middle from the end, from the depth and from the surface. Not everyone knows how much feces you need for analysis on an egg-list. The test sample should be approximately equal to a walnut.
Immediately after taking the material, the container must be tightly closed so that the stool does not dry out and does not ventilate.
Ways to call a bowel movement
Physiological processes are not always amenable to conscious control; it is not easy to force the intestines to give out intestinal products upon demand, immediately, when necessary. The easiest way is to collect feces for examining eggs of worms for those patients who are accustomed to going to the toilet after waking up in the morning, since laboratories usually take all biomaterials for analysis in the morning.
To stimulate the intestines for emptying, it is undesirable to use anal suppositories, enemas, as this reduces the likelihood of obtaining the right helminth test result, which is already not very high.
Morning bowel movements can be obtained naturally, if you follow some recommendations:
- drink after awakening cool water;
- have breakfast in 15-20 minutes;
- in the absence of a desire to go to the toilet for twenty minutes after breakfast, you need to do a light massage of the abdomen, as well as exercises that enhance intestinal motility.
Self-massage of the abdomen is done while lying on your back. It is necessary to relax the stomach, it is necessary to make strokes in a spiral near the navel, movements are directed clockwise. It is more convenient to do this if you squeeze your fingers into a fist.
After the massage, you need to do such exercises that stimulate the intestines to empty: relax and draw in the stomach, standing on all fours. Lying on your back you need to pull your knees to the chin, and then return to its original position.
If there is no effect from all the above measures, the material for analysis will have to be collected in advance.
It is important to find out in advance how to take an analysis of feces for worms.
Shelf life of collected material
A sample of material for research on helminths should be stored in a tightly closed container, in the refrigerator, packed in a plastic bag, at a temperature of six to ten degrees. With this storage, it will not dry out; if there are worm eggs, there will be no modifications, that is, they will be available for analysis. The storage period is not more than 8-12 hours.
Features of the study of feces in the laboratory
To determine the presence of worm eggs in the biomaterial, as well as their varieties, the following laboratory analysis methods are used:
- Upholding. The material with this method is mixed with water, then settles, the liquid fraction is discharged. Do this several times. Helminth enzymes and eggs have a higher specific gravity, therefore they are always in the sediment. The sediment after repeated washing of feces is visible under a microscope, parasites are clearly visible.
- Elutriation. This method is used to determine helminth particles. The sample presented for analysis is brought into a semi-liquid state, placed in a Petri dish, light particles are removed with tweezers and examined under a microscope or a magnifying glass. In this way, helminth particles can be identified and their type determined.
- Thick smear. This method is more informative, it makes it possible to analyze a large amount of feces, in contrast to other methods. A pea-sized sample is placed on glass, then pressed against a transparent polymer plate soaked in a liquid that has an antireflection effect. After an hour, the material acquires the desired degree of transparency and is analyzed under a microscope. This method is the most progressive, its reliability is approximately 85%.
- Native smear. Such a research method is done under a microscope, a drop of emulsion made by diluting stool with water is needed. Thanks to this, eggs of simple parasites and worms can be identified. But with a small amount in the biomaterial, they may simply not be in the analyzed feces, due to which a negative result will be false.
The study of feces for helminths by any of the above methods does not require much time, the result can be obtained during the day. Typically, delays are due to workloads at the labs.
The interpretation of the analysis of feces for helminth eggs is described below.
Decryption
Feces are examined only for the absence or presence of parasites that multiply in the digestive tract: flukes, tapeworms and roundworms. To determine other helminthiases, for example, echinococcosis, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is used.
If the fragments and eggs of the worms are not found in the handed over material, then in the decryption the analysis result will be negative. But he does not talk about the absence of parasite invasion.
It should be noted that even with all the recommendations, preparations for the study and collection may not appear in the analyzed fragment of the material of helminthic invasion. That is why in order to convince a negative result, you need to pass another two times an analysis of feces at intervals of two to four days.
If the decryption result is positive, the patient is prescribed treatment. In feces, simple microorganisms can also be detected, and not just helminths: cyclosporidia, dysenteric amoeba, lamblia.
So, the article examined how to pass the analysis of feces for helminths.