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.

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.

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.

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.

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.