Parasitic infestations in the body are a common phenomenon that occurs in both children and adults.It occurs more often in children, because they adhere less to hygiene rules, and most parasites are transmitted through the fecal-oral route.
Due to the fact that infestations are very diverse, their symptoms can be very different, and some are completely asymptomatic.For this reason, diagnosing parasites in the body sometimes involves quite a large number of studies that are necessary to make a diagnosis.
Basics of diagnostics
A consultation with a doctor is usually required to identify a parasitic infection.Since such a lesion usually does not cause many problems for both adults and children, and has non-specific symptoms, the patient often realizes that he has an infestation only when he finds worms in the stool.In cases where there is an infection with extraintestinal parasites (e.g. protozoa Giardia, amoeba) that are not excreted in the stool, the diagnosis is usually made by chance.
But even if helminths are detected in the stool, the patient must consult a doctor and be tested for parasites.This is done in order not only to accurately identify the parasites, but also to determine which species they belong to.
This is necessary in order to prescribe the most effective and least toxic medicine for the rest of the body to treat the infection.Some drugs work only on a certain type of pathogen.Unlike broad-spectrum drugs, they do not have such a pronounced negative effect on the human body.
For this reason, it is advisable to prescribe them when the causative agent of the invasion is accurately identified (for which it is necessary to make tests for parasites in an adult or a child).Also, the specialist can make some conclusions when collecting the anamnesis and determining the characteristic symptoms during the conversation with the patient.However, it is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis this way (especially in adults due to the least pronounced symptoms).
For this reason, doctors recommend taking blood for parasites.And sometimes stool analysis is enough.Your doctor will tell you where to get tested for this indicator.This can be done in a municipal or commercial clinic, as well as directly in the laboratory.
There are also some peculiarities in the method of taking the sample, which the specialist will inform you about.And how much an infestation inspection costs depends on the location where it is performed and the types of samples that need to be taken to make a diagnosis.
Stool analysis
When talking about which parasite tests to do, the first thing that comes to mind for most patients is a stool test for parasites.Such diagnostics for the presence of helminths are indeed prescribed by doctors.
This is a simple study that is performed in all medical institutions and laboratories of a relevant profile.Testing for parasites in this way is the easiest and most non-traumatic.This is especially important when taking a sample from a child.There is no need to visit the laboratory and draw blood.
Patients test their own stool for parasites.No special preparation is required.After having a bowel movement, you must immediately put a small part of the stool in a sterile test tube and bring it to the laboratory.
There is only one special condition - there should be as little time as possible between emptying the bowels and taking the sample and delivering the material to the laboratory.In addition, testing for helminths of this type should be done in the morning.
The method is not universal.It helps to identify only those helminths and parasites that live in the large intestine.It is not suitable for identifying parasites that are in other organs (for example, in the liver), as well as for those helminths that are present mainly in the small intestine (pinworms), because these types of parasites with a specific life cycle do not enter the large intestine and do not leave the body in the stool.
However, many types of opportunistic extraintestinal invasions, for example, with liver lesions, still appear in the stool.They are simply present there in smaller quantities.The doctor will tell you which test is appropriate in a particular case, based on the symptoms.Indeed, based on this, we can draw a conclusion about the likelihood of the presence of which parasites should be considered first.
Scraping
Another way to check yourself for parasites at home.This method is suitable for determining the presence of those types of parasites that come to the surface through the anus to lay eggs.
The most common pinworms with this trait have been found.To perform such tests, a scraping from the anus is required to test for parasites.
This requires a special enterobiasis test kit.Some patients scrape with tape, but this method is not very effective.
The basic rules for sampling are as follows:
- It is done in the morning, right after the person wakes up;
- You should not wash before performing the study;
- It is recommended not to touch the anus before taking the sample;
- Before taking the parasite test to the laboratory, you must store it in the refrigerator;
- From the moment of collection to the moment of transfer for research, no more than 6-8 hours should pass.
The diagnosis of parasites in the human body using the enterobiasis test kit is carried out as follows:
- Remove the clear polyacrylic spatula from the set;
- Apply some glue to its edge, which is also included in the kit;
- Place the spatula on the skin of the anal folds several times;
- Place the spatula in the sterile container, which is also included in the kit.
Take the bowl with the spatula to the lab.There is no difficulty in finding where to get tested for parasites in Moscow.You can visit the laboratory.
In small towns, a referral from a parasitologist or infectious disease specialist is often required to submit material to a clinic laboratory.
General blood test
Sometimes a general blood analysis for parasites is necessary in children and adults.It can indirectly confirm the presence of an invasion.If it confirms this, then expensive and precise blood tests for antibodies to the parasites can be prescribed.UAC is cheap.
With this type of study, it is necessary to donate blood from a finger, because it is performed using a capillary sample.It is taken from the finger;infants may have alternative collection sites - earlobe, heel, thigh.
You have to do the fasting test.Such a study helps to determine the following:
- Increased content of eosinophils, eosinophilia, indicates the presence of an allergic reaction to parasites in the human body;
- An increased level of white blood cells indicates that the immune system is intensively fighting against something, perhaps against parasites (however, such indicators are also caused by viruses, infections and inflammatory processes);
- There may be a decrease in iron content during the invasion because the parasites in the body do not allow useful substances to be absorbed into the blood in sufficient quantities, and they also cause constant microbleeding, because they damage the mucous membrane for nutrition.
Sometimes a biochemical blood test is also recommended.A sample is taken from a vein and helps determine whether the internal organs are functioning normally.Based on its results, it becomes indirectly clear which organ may be affected by the invasion, but it is prescribed quite rarely.The doctor is doing the decoding.
Enzyme immunoassay
ELISA blood test for parasites is the most expensive and most accurate test.This is the name of the analysis, which shows the presence in the body of specific antibodies that the immune system begins to produce in response to the invasion.
The enzyme immunological blood test for parasites is good because it allows you to determine very precisely the type of parasite, right down to the strain.Antibodies are specific immunoglobulins that differ not only for different pathogens, but also for different strains.As a result, such a study on the presence of parasites in the body allows not only to make an accurate diagnosis, but also to prescribe "targeted" treatment.
This serological blood test for parasites is performed using a vein sample.You can take it in the morning, because it is important to do it on an empty stomach.Such an analysis for the identification of parasites is prepared from a few hours to a day.From the laboratory, the patient receives a detailed result, which indicates the type of immunoglobulins (if any), as well as their quantity.
Deciphering a blood test for parasites is simple.Antibodies are present in large quantities when an infection develops.In some types of invasions, the body's immunity to it is formed;in this case, a small amount of immunoglobulin in the blood may indicate that the patient was previously infected but was cured.The absence of antibodies indicates the absence of infection or that it occurred very recently and antibodies have not yet developed.
In this way, you can donate blood for parasites yourself, but due to the significant cost, it is better to consult a doctor first.Therefore, it is sometimes pointless to donate blood for the presence of parasites by the ELISA method to people with immunodeficiency conditions, HIV and lupus.