Stool Test Price in Pakistan: PKR 420 at Marham Lab

A stool complete examination checks a sample of your stool under a microscope, including for intestinal parasites and their eggs. MedlinePlus explains that intestinal parasites are tiny life forms that live and reproduce in your digestive system, most commonly infecting the intestines, and that infection can cause diarrhoea, gas, stomach cramps and other abdominal symptoms. At Marham Lab a stool C/E costs PKR 420, the cheapest test we offer.

One Negative Sample Does Not Rule Parasites Out

This is the most useful thing to know before booking, and it explains a common frustration.

MedlinePlus states that to get accurate results you may need to collect several stool samples over a few days, because parasites may not show up in your stool every day. Testing several samples increases the chance of finding them.

So a single negative result in someone with persistent symptoms is not a closed case. MedlinePlus is explicit that a negative result may mean you do not have parasites, or that there were simply not enough in that particular sample to show up. If your symptoms continue, take the report back to your doctor rather than concluding the problem is elsewhere.

Collecting the Sample Properly

The result depends on collection more than almost any other test we offer. MedlinePlus gives the steps.

• Label the container with your name and the collection date and time
• Collect the sample in a clean, dry container, or using special paper or plastic wrap placed over the toilet
• Make sure the stool does not mix with urine, toilet paper or water from the toilet
• Close the container tightly
• Wash your hands well with soap and water
• Return the container as instructed

For babies, MedlinePlus notes there are special instructions using plastic wrap inside a clean nappy.

Contamination with toilet water or urine is the commonest reason a sample has to be repeated. Read the instructions on your container before you start rather than afterwards.

Symptoms That Justify the Test

MedlinePlus lists the symptoms that may prompt an O&P test when they have lasted a few days:

• Diarrhoea
• Abdominal pain
• Blood or mucus in the stool
• Unusually foul smelling, greasy stools that float
• Nausea and vomiting
• Gas
• Fever
• Weight loss

MedlinePlus notes these symptoms sometimes go away without treatment, so testing is not always needed. It says a provider is more likely to order the test if you have developed serious symptoms such as dehydration or an electrolyte imbalance, if you have a weakened immune system, or if you could have been exposed to parasites.

Who Is at Greater Risk

MedlinePlus notes that healthy people often recover from intestinal parasite infections without treatment, and that when treatment is needed it usually works.

But it warns that parasites can cause severe, long lasting diarrhoea and other serious conditions in people with weakened immune systems, including people with HIV, cancer, certain genetic disorders and those taking medicines affecting immunity. Infants and older adults also have weaker immune systems.

Prolonged diarrhoea in a small child or an elderly relative is therefore a reason to see a doctor promptly rather than to wait it out.

How Infection Spreads

MedlinePlus explains that tiny amounts of contaminated stool, too small to see, smell or taste, can get into water, soil, food and drinks, and that infection follows from swallowing parasites or their eggs. It notes some types are not easily killed by chlorine in water, and that some worms such as hookworms can enter through the skin, particularly if you walk barefoot on contaminated ground.

Among the most common parasites MedlinePlus names Giardia, Cryptosporidium, and Entamoeba histolytica, which causes amoebiasis and is associated with tropical areas with poor sanitary conditions.

Preventing It

MedlinePlus lists practical steps, and notes handwashing with warm water and soap works better than hand sanitiser. It advises washing before, during and after preparing food, before and after eating, after using the bathroom, changing a nappy, handling animals, or working with soil.

On water it advises avoiding untreated water from lakes, streams and rivers, being careful not to swallow water when swimming, and where water safety is uncertain, boiling it for one to three minutes to kill parasites and letting it cool before drinking.

After a Positive Result

MedlinePlus states treatment depends on the type of parasite and your general health, and may include medicines to clear the parasites or relieve symptoms, along with plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration from diarrhoea and vomiting.

It adds one public health instruction people rarely hear: you may be told not to swim until all symptoms have been gone for at least two weeks, so you do not pass the parasites to others.

How to Prepare

MedlinePlus states no special preparations are needed. No fasting.

What Happens During the Test

You collect the stool sample at home in the container provided. In Lahore the sample can be collected from your home rather than requiring a trip to a collection point. MedlinePlus notes there is no known risk to this test.

اردو میں

اسٹول سی ای ٹیسٹ میں پاخانے کے نمونے کو خوردبین کے نیچے دیکھا جاتا ہے، جس میں آنتوں کے کیڑے اور ان کے انڈے بھی تلاش کیے جاتے ہیں۔ یہ ٹیسٹ پیٹ درد، دست، پیٹ میں گیس اور وزن کم ہونے جیسی شکایات میں کروایا جاتا ہے۔

سب سے اہم بات۔ ایک نمونے کی رپورٹ منفی آنے کا مطلب یہ نہیں کہ کیڑے نہیں ہیں۔ عالمی طبی معلومات کے مطابق کیڑے ہر روز پاخانے میں نہیں آتے، اس لیے بعض اوقات کئی دن کے نمونے دینے پڑتے ہیں۔ اگر علامات برقرار رہیں تو رپورٹ ڈاکٹر کو دکھائیں۔

دوسری اہم بات نمونہ لینے کے بارے میں ہے۔ پاخانے میں پیشاب، ٹشو پیپر یا ٹوائلٹ کا پانی شامل نہیں ہونا چاہیے، ورنہ رپورٹ درست نہیں آتی اور ٹیسٹ دوبارہ کرانا پڑتا ہے۔ ڈبے پر نام اور وقت لکھیں اور ہاتھ اچھی طرح دھوئیں۔

بچوں اور بزرگوں میں لمبے عرصے کے دست کو ہلکا نہ لیں، کیونکہ ان میں پانی کی کمی جلدی ہو جاتی ہے۔ بچاؤ کے لیے ہاتھ صابن سے دھوئیں، اور اگر پانی کی صفائی پر شک ہو تو اسے ایک سے تین منٹ ابال کر ٹھنڈا کر کے پئیں۔ مرہم لیب میں اس ٹیسٹ کی قیمت صرف چار سو بیس روپے ہے۔

Final Thoughts

At PKR 420 this is the least expensive test on our list and one of the most dependent on how well the sample is collected. Keep urine, tissue and toilet water out of it, label it properly, and know that one clear result does not settle the question if symptoms persist, because parasites are not shed every day. And treat prolonged diarrhoea in a baby, an elderly relative or anyone with a weakened immune system as a reason to see a doctor rather than to wait.