Human parasite and stool sample?

Question:

My dr. wants a stool sample to be sure I don't have a stomach parasite (massive stomach problems). What would eggs look like? I may be paranoid, but I think I saw them. Does anyone have experience or know what they would look like?

Answers:
There are two parasites which commonly affect the stomach, but neither can be diagnosed with a stool test. One is helicobacter infection, a very common infection in Asia which causes a condition like peptic ulcer disease. Helicobacter is diagnosed by breath tests or by blood tests. The other is a rarer parasite (but common in Japan) which lives in the stomach lining and requires endoscopy (putting a tube into the stomach) in order to diagnose.

If by "stomach" you mean belly problems in general, then stool tests for ova and parasites can be helpful. You can't see the eggs- they are all microscopic. You might see worms, but if so, it is only likely that you will see three of the many kinds: 1. pinworms, tiny threadlike worms ar the anus, which only cause anal itching, and are ignorable, as they do not cause serious disease; 2. trichuris, which is about 1 cm, often slightly pink and passed in numbers in the stool; 3. ascaris, about the size of an earthworm, and also passed in the stool sometimes.

That leaves about 50 other intestinal parasites that can only be diagnosed by microcopic examination of your stool. These are diseases where you never "see" any worms. Often other blood tests are needed for diagnosis of intestinal parasites (like amoebiasis). If you do a stool test, get two, or better, three separate collections. Catch them on different days using a device to catch the poop. DON'T scoop the poop from the toilet- catch it fresh since contact with water will make some ova degrade. Make sure you use a preservative kit, usually two kinds of preservative for each sample you get.

Other Answers:
I watched a show on the discovery channel about human parasites. Like roundworms and pinworms and tapeworms and things that are really gross. They said that since most parasites need their host to live most won't kill you and don't show many symptoms. They also said that about 1 in 5 people have a parasite and never know until something happens.

Stomach doesn't have any parasite. Parasites are in the intestines. You may have diarrhoea, malabsorption, abdominal pain, itching, blood eosinophilia for this (you didn't mention). You certainly should go for stool examination. It needs specialist microbiologist's opinion to confirm. You cann't diagnose it yourself. All the parasitic diseases are curable at its early stage. You should check your hygiene, family members' hygiene and water supply in your house. Any food (not properly cooked) or water outside home can give rise to parasitic infection.
Source(s):
For eggs: http://www.dpd.cdc.gov/dpdx/HTML/Para_Health.htm

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Human parasite and stool sample?

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