In the case of suspicion of the patient having infestation with pinworms causing enterobiasis, the attending physician, in addition to analyzing the feces, recommends carrying out such a study as scraping for egg worm. Most often it is prescribed in cases where there are clear signs of the presence in the human intestine of this species of helminths. For the most part, they suffer from children who are not accustomed to observe personal hygiene or attending children's institutions, in which cases of epidemic pinworms are not uncommon. But in adults, infection with these parasites is not excluded, especially in the case of direct contact with a person infected with them. The presence of pinworms can be determined by the appearance of the following symptoms:
- The person is concerned about the itching in the perianal area. It intensifies in the evenings and disturbs normal sleep, since the activity of these worms occurs precisely at night, when they crawl to reproduce in the anus and lay eggs there;
- The neurologic symptoms also have a pronounced manifestation in enterobiosis. Children become capricious and sluggish, and in adults, disability decreases;
- Patients with a pinworm infestation are disturbed and an overweight stool. Fecal masses during this disease are formed, but the urge to defecate can occur up to 4-5 times a day. In addition, there is morning intestinal discomfort, as well as pain in the abdomen.
The period from infection with pinworms to the appearance of the first signs of enterobiasis during this invasion is approximately 2 weeks, the time for which worms reach sexual maturity and begin to multiply intensively. If there is a symptom that indicates the infection with these parasitic worms, you should consult a specialist and undergo a scraping study on the eggs of the worm, the most effective analysis in this case. This will allow to begin timely treatment and in a short time to completely rid the patient of unpleasant symptoms of parasites. A specific type of diagnosis is used, such as scraping, and as a barrier method. The results are usually required in the following cases:
- The child enters the preschool or educational institution, and returns there after a long break;
- For inquiries about the possibility to visit the pool;
- When booking a trip to a rest camp or sanatorium;
- During the scheduled physical examination;
- Before hospital treatment;
- When the sanitary book is issued by employees of children's or medical institutions and the food industry.
Rules for scraping eggs Worm and enterobiasis
The method of taking a material for a study is called scraping conventionally. When it is taken, nothing is scraped, so it's easier to call it a print or a stroke. Specific rules for preparing for this analysis are not required. The only thing that experts recommend is not to wash the area of the anus before scraping and refrain from acts of defecation before it is carried out. This will make it possible to obtain more reliable results of the smear test.
A smear for detecting in the folds of the patient's anal opening of the eggs of the worm usually passes in the laboratory, in the morning hours. The effectiveness of the analysis will increase if a smear is performed before the rectum is cleared. In the event that you can not visit the medical facility to take scraping to the worms, this procedure can be done at home. You can take the material yourself in one of the following ways:
- In the morning, before the act of defecation and hygiene procedures, moistened with water or saline solution, the ear wax scraped from the anus folds. The obtained biomaterial for revealing eggs of worms is placed in a pre-prepared container and delivered to the laboratory within 2 hours;
- A piece of scotch is applied to the perianal area, after which it must be glued to a degreased clean glass, put in a bag and also quickly delivered to a specialist.
For the results of scraping on the eggs the worm was most accurate, the smear taken for a short time is placed in the refrigerator, and then brought to the laboratory. If you fail to do this within 2 hours, the expiration date will expire and you will need to conduct a repeat procedure. For more accurate diagnosis of scab infestation scrapings on worms must be performed 3 times with an interval of several days, as to detect in the smear results eggs of helminths are possible only at the time of their reproduction, and this occurs no more than once a week. The shelf-life of this analysis also worries many. Doctors are allowed to validate it for up to 10 days. The identification of helminth eggs in the scrapings clearly indicates that the person is infected with pinworms.
The timing of getting the results of a smear on eggs of worms is of interest to many young parents who arrange a baby in a pre-school establishment. They can be received on the day of delivery, as the time of its execution is 1 working day. Normally, the result should be negative. This indicates that the pinworm is not found in it. But the study should be repeated, as it is often possible to identify the worms only after several regular tests, conducted with an interval of 2-3 days.
Smear on worms
When besides enterobiosis there is suspicion of the presence of other helminthic invasions in the patient, the analysis performed with the help of scraping is unsuccessful, since no parasitic worms, except for pinworms, lay eggs in the folds of the anus. In this case, the patient is recommended to hand over feces for the presence of worms. The most informative way of his research on human invasion by parasites is the method of a native smear.
To carry out the smear for worms, a droplet of water or 50% glycerin is applied to skimmed glass, then a small amount of feces is taken from the various parts of the biomaterial taken from the patient and is introduced into the prepared liquid. After thorough mixing until uniform, it is covered with a cover slip and examined under a microscope. To obtain a more accurate result and to determine the type of worms that affected the patient, at least 10 smears from each sample should be studied.