What is a stool test for?

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1. What is a stool test? When to test?

Stool testing plays an important role in the early detection of digestive diseases. Stool tests are often used to test children. In the following cases, the doctor will order stool tests:
Infections caused by bacteria, viruses, or parasites that invade the digestive system. Have some trouble absorbing sugar, fat, or other nutrients. Suspected bleeding inside the gastrointestinal tract. With special cases when diarrhea, even this condition lasts more than 2 days but there is no sign of abatement, frequent bowel movements and watery stools, it is necessary to go to the doctor and have a stool test. In children, there is a phenomenon of mucus and blood in the baby's stool, the mother palpates the child's abdomen, causing the child to cry and cry. Children vomit a lot and it is difficult to feed them. If the child shows signs of dehydration such as sunken eyes, wrinkled skin and less urination, crying a lot but no tears, the mother should take the child to the doctor as soon as possible.

2. Purpose of stool test

Stool tests are performed to:
Help identify diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary tract, and pancreas. Certain enzymes (such as trypsin or elastase) can be tested in the stool to help determine pancreatic function. Helps find the cause of symptoms affecting the gastrointestinal tract, including: Persistent diarrhea, bloody diarrhea, bloating, nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, flatulence, abdominal pain, cramps, and fever . Colon cancer is detected by checking for blood in the stool. Detect parasites, such as pinworms or Giardia. Help find the cause of an infection, such as bacteria, fungi, or viruses. Check the absorption of nutrients through the digestive tract. Stool test for children will help doctors detect health problems of children:
By scanning stools, doctors will find out the pH of stool, fungi, cellulose, residues such as starch, percentage of bacteria. Intestinal bacteria, parasites can be tested in case of necessity to find worms, flukes, etc. Stool culture is for the purpose of finding pathogenic bacteria, which can be combined with antibiotic mapping and rotavirus testing. ..

3. Stool test procedure

For older children, a stool sample will need to be collected for testing. There are many ways to sample.
A plastic wrap can be defecated by placing the plastic wrap over the toilet bowl and securing it with the toilet lid. Then, take a stool sample and place it in a clean container. The test kit provides special toilet paper to help you collect the sample. After collecting the stool sample, place the stool sample in a clean container. Do not mix urine, water, or toilet paper in the stool sample. For children in diapers:
Line diapers with plastic wrap; Secure the plastic wrap to prevent urine and feces from mixing. This will help get a better stool sample.

4. Some notes before conducting stool test

Some notes when collecting stools at home for young children:
For stool samples that are soft, pasty and have extra mucous membranes or blood, do not delay, you should test your baby's stool within 30 minutes right after the mother collects the stool. for baby. In extreme cases, it is necessary to store feces in fixative solutions. Be careful not to store in too cold. Do not collect stools in diapers or stools mixed with urine and should be used to defecate in a clean potty.

You can use a stool swab and need to make sure it is clean and sterile. In the process of taking stool, should be taken at the most suspicious place (mucus, liquid stools, foam, blood), ... Mother should take 10-15g of stool, then put it in a clean jar and quickly cover it. If you need to find pinworms or worm eggs, you can use a cotton swab to pick up the baby's anus and then spread it on the glass. If the mother needs to find blood in the stool, the mother should not give the child iron, and at the same time abstain from lean meat for about 48 hours before collecting the stool. In case of a stool culture: The mother should not take antibiotics and digestive drugs for at least 2 weeks before the test and at the same time must clean the baby's anus first and use sterile equipment. At cold temperatures, feces can be stored for about 4 to 6 hours. When the staff comes to collect stool samples at home, this stool sample continues to be preserved and transferred to the laboratory for testing. It is very important to test stool when a child has signs of digestive abnormalities. You need to calmly handle it to ensure that your child has the best health. Should not choose poor quality facilities for stool testing to avoid falling into a situation of loss of money, pregnancy defects, which are very dangerous to the health of young children.
Vinmec International General Hospital is one of the hospitals that not only ensures professional quality with a team of leading medical doctors, modern equipment and technology, but also stands out for its examination and consultation services. comprehensive and professional medical consultation and treatment; civilized, polite, safe and sterile medical examination and treatment space. Customers when choosing to perform tests here can be completely assured of the accuracy of test results.
Any questions that need to be answered by a specialist doctor as well as customers wishing to be examined and treated at Vinmec International General Hospital, you can contact Vinmec Health System nationwide or register online HERE.