Contents
Fecal occult blood test is a laboratory diagnostic method that allows you to detect the presence of blood in the stool, invisible to the naked eye or under a microscope. If, after a bowel movement, a person notices an admixture of a brown-red color, or, on the contrary, a too dark shade of the stool, then this is a reason to sound the alarm. Blood in the stool is the first sign of colon and rectal cancer. These symptoms can be harbingers of more than one dangerous disease. However, often the color of the feces does not visually change, so screening methods have been developed to detect pathology, for example, clinical examination.
Most of the diseases occur in a latent form and most often simply do not bother a person. But at the same time, there are already grains of blood in the feces. They can only be detected through laboratory testing. The analysis of feces for occult blood is one of the most common today. It is prescribed to the patient in order to identify hidden bleeding, which is located in the organs of the gastrointestinal tract.
Preparation for sampling material for analysis
In order for the outcome of the study to be as accurate as possible, it is necessary to follow a number of simple instructions, this will help to avoid incorrect results.
Among the most basic requirements before taking material, nutrition is in the first place.
One should be light and low-calorie for the stomach. It is necessary to exclude meat, seafood, offal, tomatoes, apples, spinach, sweet peppers from your menu 3-4 days before the procedure. In addition, you should stop taking laxatives, vitamins and iron supplements.
Approximately 10 days before the analysis, you need to stop taking medications that affect the gastrointestinal tract or can stain the feces in a different color. You should not do an x-ray a few days before the study.
On the day of the procedure, doctors advise not to brush your teeth. If the gums are damaged during brushing, then small particles of blood enter the intestines and cause distortion of the tests. Also, it will not be superfluous to prepare special containers for feces. Doctors insist that the patient collect several fragments in a container, namely 5, from all feces.
If a woman has critical days, then it would be reasonable to postpone the study until they are completely over so that menstrual blood does not enter the feces. The collected material must be transferred to the laboratory for further diagnostics of the material within 1-3 hours after defecation.
Indication for the study
The fecal occult blood test is a classic test that can diagnose cancer. Most often it is prescribed, in case of complaints of the patient on:
- abdominal pain;
- prolonged nausea, vomiting and heartburn;
- loose stools;
- sudden weight loss, etc.
If the doctor has decided to prescribe this study, then you should not back down. This analysis is absolutely harmless and does not cause any harm to the human body.
Analysis results
It is considered normal if a negative result is obtained. This suggests that there is no bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. In the case of a positive result, the analysis shows the possible presence of such problems:
- stomach ulcer and 12 duodenal ulcer;
- Crohn’s disease;
- damage to the upper intestines;
- ulcerative colitis;
- polyps of the digestive organs;
- helminths;
- hemorrhoids;
- cracks in the anus;
- intestinal tuberculosis;
- varicose veins of the esophagus, etc.
But don’t ring all the bells at once. Sometimes it happens that the result of the tests turns out to be false positive or false negative.
The first option is possible in case of injury to the mouth or tongue. For example, the patient damaged the mucous membranes with food, and thus blood particles entered the stomach. If the symptoms do not disappear, the doctor will prescribe the passage of the study again.
In the case of the second option, blood in the feces may not be a constant phenomenon, but a rare one that occurs from time to time. The reason for this may be polyps.
Conclusion
Occult blood in the stool may indicate colorectal cancer. This is a form of cancer that affects the colon and rectum. In many countries, it is in second place after breast cancer in women and lung and prostate cancer in men. There are many reasons for the appearance of malignant cells, but the most basic ones are poor ecology, malnutrition, alcohol and passive physical activity.
The statistics are not encouraging. Every second patient dies a year after he is diagnosed with dangerous diseases.
Doctors attribute this to the fact that cancer is detected quite late due to the lack of obvious symptoms. Once diagnosed, it is almost impossible to cure a malignant neoplasm. Medications will only support the body, and not treat the pathology.
To rule out this disease, it is necessary to regularly undergo an examination of the rectum and colon. If you find cancer in the intestines at an early stage, then the chance of a complete recovery will be almost 80%.
Doctors recommend getting tested at least once a year. This is especially true for people over 50 years of age. This category of the population is the first in the risk group. It is followed by people from 40 to 45 years old with a hereditary predisposition. Therefore, if you find that you have persistent bad breath, unexplained abdominal pain, prolonged diarrhea, heartburn, belching or flatulence, you should immediately contact a medical facility.