Parasitic infections in the body are a common occurrence in both children and adults.It is more common in children because they are less hygienic and most parasites are transmitted through the fecal-oral route.
Due to the wide variety of infestations, their symptoms can be very different, and some are completely asymptomatic.For this reason, the diagnosis of parasites in the body sometimes involves quite a large number of studies necessary to make a diagnosis.
Basics of diagnosis
To identify a parasite infection, it is most necessary to consult a doctor.Since such a lesion usually does not cause many problems for both adults and children and has non-specific symptoms, the patient often understands that it is an infestation only by finding worms in the stool.In cases of infection with extraintestinal parasites (eg, protozoa Giardia, amoebas) that are not excreted in the feces, the diagnosis is often made incidentally.
However, even if helminths are detected in the feces, the patient should consult a doctor and undergo an examination for parasites.This is done not only to accurately identify the parasites, but also to determine what species they belong to.
This is necessary to determine the most effective and least toxic drug for the rest of the body to treat the infection.Some drugs affect only a certain type of pathogen.They, unlike broad-spectrum drugs, do not have such an obvious negative effect on the human body.
For this reason, it is advisable to determine them when the causative agent of the invasion is precisely determined (for this, it is necessary to conduct tests for parasites in adults or children).Also, a specialist can draw some conclusions when talking with a patient, collecting anamnesis and determining characteristic symptoms.However, it is difficult to make an accurate diagnosis in this way (especially due to the least severity of symptoms in adults).
For this reason, doctors recommend a blood test for parasites.And sometimes the analysis of feces is enough.Your doctor will tell you where to be 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 features of taking a sample that an expert will tell you.How much an infestation test costs depends on where it is performed and the types of samples that need to be taken to make a diagnosis.
Stool analysis
When talking about what tests should be done for parasites, the first thing that comes to mind for most patients is a stool test for parasites.Such diagnostics for the presence of helminths are really prescribed by doctors first.
This is a simple study conducted in any medical institution and laboratories of the appropriate profile.Checking for parasites in this way is the easiest and non-traumatic.This is especially important when taking an example from a child.There is no need to visit the laboratory and take blood.
Patients check their stools for parasites.No special preparation is required.After a bowel movement, a small portion of stool should be immediately placed in a sterile tube and brought to the laboratory.
There is only one special condition - there should be as little time as possible between bowel movement and sample collection and delivery of the material to the laboratory.In addition, the test for this type of helminths should be done in the morning.
The method is not universal.It helps to identify helminths and parasites living only in the large intestine.It is not suitable for identifying parasites located in other organs (for example, the liver), as well as helminths that are mainly in the small intestine (pinworms), because with a specific life cycle, these types of parasites do not enter the large intestine and do not leave the body in feces.
However, many opportunistic extraintestinal invasions, for example with liver lesions, are still visible in the stool.They just exist there in smaller amounts.Based on the symptoms, the doctor will tell you which test is appropriate in a particular situation.Indeed, based on it, we can draw a conclusion about which parasites are likely to be present in the first place.
Crumb
Another way to check for parasites at home yourself.This method is suitable for determining the presence of parasite species that come to the surface through the anus to lay eggs.
The most common pinworms with this feature are found.To perform such tests, you need a scraping from the anus to check for parasites.
For this, a special test kit for enterobiosis is needed.Some patients are itching using tape, but this method is not very effective.
The basic rules for sampling are as follows:
- In the morning, it is done immediately after a person wakes up;
- You should not wash yourself before doing the research;
- It is advisable not to touch the anus before taking the sample;
- Before taking the parasite test to the laboratory, it must be refrigerated;
- Between the time of collection and the time of transfer for research should not exceed 6-8 hours.
Diagnosis of parasites in the human body using a test kit for enterobiosis is carried out as follows:
- Remove the clear polyacrylic spatula from the kit;
- Apply a little glue to the edge, which is included in the kit;
- Place the spatula several times on the skin of the anal folds;
- Place the spatula in a sterile container, which is included in the kit.
Take the container to the laboratory with a spatula.There is no difficulty in finding out where to take the test 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-based laboratory.
General blood test
Sometimes a general blood test for parasites is needed in children and adults.It can indirectly confirm the existence of an occupation.If he confirms this, then expensive and accurate blood tests for antibodies against the parasites can be ordered.UAC is cheap.
With this type of research, you need to give blood from your finger, as it is performed using a capillary sample.It is taken from the finger;babies may have alternative collection sites - auricle, heel, thigh.
You should take a fasting test.Such a study helps to determine the following:
- The 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 actively fighting something, perhaps parasites (but such indicators are also caused by viruses, infections and inflammatory processes);
- During an invasion, a reduced iron content can develop, because the parasites in the body do not allow sufficient amounts of useful substances to be absorbed into the blood, and also cause constant microbleeding because they damage the mucous membrane for nutrition.
Sometimes a blood chemistry test is also recommended.A sample is taken from the vein and helps to determine if the internal organs are functioning normally.Based on its results, it is implicitly clear which organ can be affected by the invasion, but it is very rarely determined.The doctor is engaged in decoding.
Enzyme immunoassay
ELISA blood test for parasites is the most expensive and accurate test.This is the name of the analysis that shows the presence in the body of special antibodies that the immune system begins to produce in response to invasion.
An enzyme immunoassay blood test for parasites is good because it allows you to determine the type of parasite very accurately, 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 for the presence of parasites in the body allows not only to make an accurate diagnosis, but also to prescribe a more "targeted" treatment.
This serological blood test for parasites is performed using a sample taken from a vein.You can take it in the morning, because it is important to do it on an empty stomach.To identify parasites, such an analysis is prepared from a few hours to a few days.From the laboratory, the patient receives a detailed result indicating the type of immunoglobulins (if any), as well as their amount.
Deciphering a blood test for parasites is simple.Antibodies are abundant during the development of infection.With some types of invasion, the body's immunity against it is formed;in this case, a small amount of immunoglobulins in the blood may indicate that the patient was previously infected, but was treated.The absence of antibodies indicates that the infection was absent or occurred very recently and antibodies have not yet had time to develop.
You can give blood for parasites this way yourself, but because of the significant costs, it's best to consult a doctor first.Therefore, it sometimes makes no sense to give blood to people with immunodeficiency, HIV and lupus for the presence of parasites using the ELISA method.