Your doctor may order the stool test to evaluate digestive functions, the amount of fat in your stool, or parasitic eggs, which is helpful in knowing how the person is doing. It may be recommended that two or three samples be taken on different days, each sample should be stored in a specific container and stored in the refrigerator.
It is important that the person receives advice from the doctor about the sample, whether it should be one or more samples and if, after the sample, it should be taken immediately to the laboratory for analysis or left in the refrigerator for delivery the next day. For the parasitological test and the occult blood test, the stool can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours.
There are several types of stool tests your doctor may prescribe for the purpose of the test:
The minimum amount of stool depends on the laboratory’s recommendation and the test to be performed. Normally, large amounts of stool are not needed, only an amount that can be collected using the cube that is provided with the stool container.
In the laboratory, microscopic and macroscopic aspects, such as the texture and color of stool, are evaluated, as the color of the stool can be indicative of health conditions and can lead to microscopic evaluation. Here’s how to understand the color of your stool.
Fecal matter collection should be done carefully so that there is no contamination with urine or toilet water. For collection, it is necessary to:
The procedure is simple and should be the same for adults, infants and children. Since when the patient wears diapers, collection should be done immediately after evacuation.
Another way to collect stool more easily is to buy a kind of sterile plastic bag that covers the toilet and evacuates using the toilet normally. This bag does not allow water contamination in the pot and facilitates the collection of faeces, being especially useful for people with reduced mobility and who cannot bend over to move on a jar or sheet of newspaper paper, for example. The bag is called ColOff and can be purchased in pharmacies and online at an approximate price of 5 reais.
See these tips in the following video on how to collect stool for the exam: