What tests should be done on parasites - types and their decoding

29 January 2021

Parasitic infections are called helminthiasis. It is an insidious and common disease that you may not know about for years. Parasites enter human intestines with dirty hands, food, and water and begin to multiply actively.

They take in nutrients, disrupt the absorption of water and vitamins in the intestines, and cause diarrhea and other internal organs. Therefore, it is very important to know what tests need to be done on parasites in order to identify it in time and start the right treatment.

Types and Diagnosis of Parasites

Various worms can live in human intestines: round, flat, ribbon. All parasites are dangerous to the body as they release toxic substances that affect the internal organs.

The consequences of helminthiasis can be very different, including death.

Everyone needs to know what tests need to be done for parasites. The test is performed for prevention and in the presence of characteristic symptoms. Do not delay the doctor's visit.

The danger of this condition is that the symptoms do not always occur. For a long time, a person may be unaware of the presence of helminths, however, slow and irreversible destructive processes occur in the organs. The routes of infection are very different: contact with an infected person or animal through dirty hands, soil, food, water.

Title	Infection Paths	Symptoms	Analyze
Pinworms	Dirt with dirty hands	Rectal itching, diarrhea, weight loss	Anal tampon
Ascaris	Consume unwashed vegetables and fruits	Weakness, itching in the rectum, faecal stools	Antibody Blood Test (ELISA)
Cat Fluke	Consumption of contaminated fish	Pain on the right side, allergic reactions, signs of liver damage	ELISA blood test
Trichinella	Consumption of contaminated meat and lard	Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, allergic skin reactions, weakness	Antibody Blood Test
Intestinal pimples	Any contact with contaminated soil	Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain	Worm egg droppings, ELISA analysis

The treatment of helminthiasis is selected individually. Before prescribing any medication, your doctor will advise you to perform tests and determine the exact type of parasite. Each helminth has a different effect on the body and leads to different complications. Theoretically, they can affect any organ, but are more often localized in the intestines. The risk group includes young children and people working with the soil.

Main and dangerous signs of parasitic infection

It can be tricky to detect an infection. Symptoms are affected not only by the type of helminths, but also by the age of the infected person, the state of the immune system, and other characteristics of the body. Due to the reduced immunity of children and the elderly, the clinical picture is sharper.

There are chronic helminthiasis that have no obvious signs or acute manifestations. They last for years and go unnoticed because the symptoms are blurred and easily confused with other chronic diseases.

See a doctor immediately and check for parasites if you see any of the following signs:

Signs	Clinical presentation
Increased body temperature	This symptom does not always occur, but in the case of severe damage to the internal organs, the temperature can be high, even to a fever.
Stool disorders	In helminthiasis, both constipation and diarrhea can be observed. Various intestinal disorders may alternate, intensify, or disappear over time. Mucus and blood contaminants are often found in the stool.
Nausea and vomiting	Symptoms of poisoning occur in the acute form of the disease. These symptoms can occur with any parasitic infection.
Cough	In the protracted course of the disease, helminths affect the bronchi and lungs. The patient develops a dry cough and eventually becomes wet.
Allergy	The immune system begins to react to the parasites, so allergic reactions occur, usually skin reactions: itching, redness, hives.
Chronic Fatigue	Helminthiasis causes weakness and fatigue and drowsiness due to body poisoning.
Weight Loss	Due to the disorder of absorption in the intestine, a person loses weight even with the same diet.

Regardless of whether the helminths are established in the intestines, treatment should be started as early as possible. Parasites cause intestinal inflammation, penetrating the lungs, gallbladder, and even the heart. Preventive testing helps to avoid serious consequences and complications.

Preparing for blood and stool tests

The reliability of the result depends not only on the laboratory and equipment, but also on compliance with the preparation rules. Violation of these rules will lead to an erroneous result. The person may miss the disease.

First of all, it is worth noting that in order to assess the condition, you need to choose proven clinics, reliable laboratories where certified professionals work. If the test is performed by a doctor, you will be warned to prepare.

Preparing for a stool analysis includes the following points:

A few days before passing stool, you should follow a gentle diet, do not eat spicy, fried, fast food and bloated foods. It is recommended to eat cereals, soups and low-fat dairy products.
If you cannot go to the bathroom, do not give an enema or laxative.
It is not recommended to eat stool coloring foods: prunes, tomatoes, beets, herbs.
Before performing the test, you must purchase a sterile dish with a special spatula. It is printed on the day of the test. Matchboxes should not be used for material collection.
The minimum amount of stool required for analysis is 15 g. If the amount is less, the analysis should be repeated.
Carefully collect material to prevent urine or menstruation from entering feces.
If the analysis showed the presence of helminth samples, the analysis should be repeated after the end of the treatment, following the above rules.

Preparing for a donation is usually standard. You should visit the laboratory on an empty stomach, you should not eat fatty or spicy food the day before. Any medication you take should be discussed with your doctor as this may affect the result of the parasite test. It is recommended to stop drinking one week before donating blood. On the day of blood collection and the day before, you may not undergo physiotherapy procedures or undergo an ultrasound examination. Smoking can also affect the result. It is recommended that you do not smoke for at least one hour before the test.

Blood test for parasites

Blood testing for parasites is one of the most informative methods for diagnosing helminthiasis. There are several types of blood tests. Your doctor will prescribe one or more, depending on your clinical picture and medical history.

The advantage of a blood test over the analysis of the feces of intestinal worms is that the eggs are not always found in the feces, they must enter a certain period of helminth reproduction. Blood can be given at any time during infection. Almost all laboratory analyzes are performed with special equipment and are independent of the human factor. The ELISA makes it possible to determine not only the worms but also the extent of the infection.

The physician should be responsible for decoding the result. The 3 most common blood tests to detect worms in the body are:

The

Method	Analytics Services
ELISA	ELISA is the most informative and reliable in determining the parasitic infection. The assay is based on the antigen-antibody relationship. The result indicates the presence or absence of a certain antibody in the blood, indicating an acute or chronic stage of the disease. Thus, with parasitic lesions, IgG antibodies appear in the blood. The result is pretty clear, positive or negative. However, it should be recalled that these antibodies appear in both chronic infections and the recovery period.
PCR	The polymerase chain reaction also allows reliable determination of the presence of parasites in the body. However, not all types of helminths are defined in this way, but only protozoa. Neither the severity of the disease nor the number of helminth samples can be determined in this way.
UAC	This is a simple and quick diagnosis that gives you an idea of how the whole body is working. The presence of parasites may be suspected by eosinophil levels, which increase. In helminthic invasions, eosinophil levels exceed 20% of the remaining leukocytes. In this case, further testing and determination of the type of parasite is required.

Stool parasite test

Coprogram is a laboratory test for stool. It is prescribed if helminthiasis is suspected: faecal disturbances, sudden weight loss, weakness, nausea, etc. You can create a copy program in any laboratory: private or municipal.

The following metrics are considered during decoding:

Metric	Decoding
Composition and odor	Normal consistency is viscous without undigested pieces.
Color	Normally, the color is yellow or brown. Or too dark, it indicates the presence of hidden blood. Light colored stools indicate liver damage.
Weight	The presence of blood or mucus in the stool is taken into account.
Leukocytes	Leukocytes are usually present in the feces, but in minimal amounts. If there are many of them, an inflammatory process has started in the intestines.
Acidity	The pH of a stool in a healthy person is 4, 8-5, 8. If the acidity rises, the absorption of fatty acids in the gut is impaired.
Bilirubin	There is no bilirubin in the stool of a healthy person. Its presence indicates the presence of dysbiosis, increased peristalsis, rapid defecation.
Stercobilin	This enzyme may be present in the faeces up to a maximum of 350 mg / day. An increase indicates anemia, a decrease indicates changes in the gallbladder.

Based on this result, only a doctor can make a diagnosis. Further testing may be required. The material must be properly collected and stored to ensure reliable results. It is advisable to transport it to the laboratory as soon as possible.

Scraping Enterobiasis

Scraping enterobiasis is also an informative diagnosis. They are transmitted on the basis of signals or for prevention. This is a painless procedure. Use a small spatula or cotton swab to remove some material from the anus. It is enough to steal the stick several times to get the material.

Scraping is fairly straightforward - worm eggs are missing or present. The disease is treatable, but if the result is positive, the patient is isolated to prevent further transmission of the infection.