One of the items on the list of mandatory examinations of specialists, hardware diagnostics and laboratory tests is “analysis of feces for worm eggs and scrapings for enterobiosis”. Due to the fact that this item is usually removed from the beginning of the list, the attitude towards it of adult patients and parents of the examined children is often very mediocre. At the same time, the prevalence of parasitic diseases is extremely wide. And the consequences that they can cause are quite serious.
The prevalence of intestinal parasites
About fifty (out of 287) of various helminths are widespread in humans. Most often, roundworms and pinworms are found. Their prevalence among children can reach 60–70%. In adults, they are not found more often than every tenth patient being examined.
Such statistics are explained by the transmission of the pathogen in the form of mature (invasive) helminth eggs. At the same time, an initial analysis for enterobiosis and worm eggs reveals only about a quarter of all infections. Eggs are spread by fecal-oral, alimentary (through food and water) and contact methods.
Preventive prescription of studies
Like any other diagnostic method, the determination of helminth infection has its own indications. Analysis for enterobiosis and worm eggs is carried out during routine examinations of children who do not attend kindergartens. These studies are assigned when registering a child in kindergarten, school, before a trip to children's health camps and sanatoriums.
To detect infection, tests are prescribed for adults. Nutrition workers are also regularly reviewed. Scraping for enterobiosis and worm eggs are included in the mandatory examination plan for employees of preschool institutions. Planned hospitalization, registration of a spa card and employment in certain industries will also not do without these studies.
Suspicious "seven" and 15 reasons for alarm
An analysis for enterobiosis and worm eggs should be done if there is a combination of seven signs from the following. If fifteen points are identified, urgently and urgently should seek medical help.
21 questions with answer options “yes” or “no”:
- Is there an anal itching of a periodic or permanent nature?
- Do you have skin rashes?
- Are there other allergy symptoms (runny nose, cough, lacrimation)?
- Is nausea or vomiting periodically unrelated to nutritional errors?
- Permanent bitter taste in the mouth?
- Is there bloating, causeless stool disorder?
- Are there abdominal pains that go away on their own?
- Is periodic yellowing of the skin determined?
- Are enlarged lymph nodes detected?
- Is there a periodic, unclear increase in body temperature?
- Concerned with frequent headaches or dizziness?
- Is there a sleep disorder (superficial, insomnia, with nightmares)?
- Do you have snoring or gritting teeth in your sleep?
- Is there a loss of working capacity, general weakness and fatigue, chronic fatigue?
- Muscles or joints began to hurt for no apparent reason, which is more pronounced at rest?
- Do swelling of the legs occur?
- Has appetite decreased or increased? In this case, weight loss is observed?
- Prefer low-fat meat ("with blood"), like lard, dried fish, sushi?
- Often eat vegetables "from the garden" or unwashed fruits, greens?
- Does one of the family members work in a kindergarten, boarding school, other kindergarten, or are there preschool children in the family?
- Do you work "on the ground", are there mammals pets?
It is worth noting that this test is indicative, and its clinical significance can be justified only with the advice of a doctor and laboratory diagnostics.
Laboratory Test Reliability
Having a very extensive prevalence and high infectivity, helminthiases present a certain difficulty for laboratory diagnosis. The fact is that these diseases can be reliably detected only by detecting helminth eggs in the test material. And, despite the fact that the analysis itself for enterobiosis and worm eggs will take no more than one working day, or rather several hours, parasites are found in only a third of cases in clinically identified carriers. Therefore, to accurately deny helminthiasis, analyzes should be repeated several times with a break of two to three days.
Patient preparation and sampling
Worm eggs are found in feces. Accordingly, for this analysis, it is necessary to take several servings of fresh feces. Before defecation, it is necessary to empty the bladder so that urine does not enter the material. Stool samples are taken from various areas of feces. For convenience and simplicity of material intake, you can use a special plastic container equipped with a spoon device fixed to the inside of the lid. Any special preparation for passing this analysis is not required from the patient.
The situation is somewhat different if an analysis for enterobiosis is performed. How to pass the analysis: the preparation of the patient consists in the absence of processing (toilet) of the anal area immediately before the intake of material. Scraping is done, smear-imprint. The study is carried out in the morning, if possible - immediately after waking up. The equipment used for this analysis should be clean, dry and not in contact with the external environment.
Scraping for enterobiosis, analysis. How is the material taken?
Scraping, the principle of taking material is called conditionally. Naturally, nothing is scolded. More precisely, the material sampling is called a smear or fingerprint, depending on the equipment used.
When taking a smear, a sterile test tube (glass or plastic) with a sterile cotton swab is used, which is removed from the test tube immediately before taking the smear. It is unacceptable to touch the swab with anything other than the area of ​​the anus. After taking the material, the cotton swab is carefully placed in the test tube, and the last is hermetically closed.
The imprint is carried out according to the same rules as the smear. The difference is that instead of a cotton swab, the sticky side of the film of a special glass slide contacts the area of ​​the anus. To take the material, the strip is carefully peeled off and applied to the test site. Then also, without touching anything else, it must be glued to its original place. Slide the glass into a clean, dry container.
And in that and in another case, when taking the scraping yourself, it must be delivered to the laboratory within half an hour. It is allowed to temporarily store the taken material at a temperature of four degrees above zero on the Celsius scale for no more than eight hours. However, it should be borne in mind that the reliability of the study decreases at times every hour after taking the material.
What to do if you need it urgently?
When preparing medical documentation (medical records ), a situation may sometimes arise when the patient is required to take an analysis for enterobiosis as a fact. What to do if you urgently need to do an analysis for enterobiosis? How to take an analysis? Very simple. In the same way as in a planned manner, but with clarification of urgency (often you can take an analysis directly in the laboratory).
Analysis deadlines
The laboratory needs some time to conduct a study such as a worm egg test and an enterobiosis test. The timing of the study varies (they depend on the workload of the laboratory). But in most cases, the result is known within a few hours after the submission of the material for research. Sometimes an answer may be provided the next business day.
About how much an analysis for enterobiosis is done, you need to find out in the laboratory. In this case, you can clearly plan further actions, especially if they are related to the upcoming trip or job placement.
Shelf life of tests
Most clinical studies have a limited duration of action. This also applies to tests for helminths. You can find out how valid the test for enterobiosis is right at the time of delivery of the material to the laboratory or the doctor appointing the examination. According to accepted standards, the validity of research results is limited to ten days.
This is of great importance in the examination, not related to the diagnosis of diseases. Knowing how much the analysis for enterobiosis is valid, you can plan this study along with other tests so that they do not expire at the time of issuing medical documents, arriving at a sanatorium or planned hospitalization.
Helminthiasis, in addition to unpleasant sensations and conditions, can become the causes of quite serious diseases. The presence of roundworms, pinworms and other intestinal parasites causes persistent allergies, disrupts metabolic processes, negatively affects the intestinal microflora. Toxins secreted by adults have a negative effect on the immune system, hematopoiesis, affect the nervous system. Helminths can trigger tumor growth. When moving, they can cause mechanical damage to the walls of the intestine.
Being widespread, they pose a very serious health hazard. This is especially true for the first risk group - young children. Considering how much analysis is done for enterobiosis and worm eggs, it is possible to recommend a regular examination of babies, family members with small children, food workers, DDU employees, and pet owners. So you can significantly affect the spread of parasites.