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A swab from the pharynx for flora is a cytological study that allows you to identify viruses, fungi and bacteria that are in the pharynx. In this case, both pathogenic microorganisms and habitual inhabitants of the mucous membranes, which do not pose a threat to health, can be detected.
The results of the study are issued to the patient in a few hours, less often – days after taking a smear and examining it in the laboratory. A swab from the throat allows you to identify violations of the internal organs and systems, to determine the effectiveness of the therapy used. Bacterioscopy helps the doctor to make the correct diagnosis and prescribe the appropriate course of treatment.
What does a swab from the pharynx show on the flora
The nose, throat and ears have a constant and abundant microflora, which is home to a fairly large number of diverse microorganisms.
If their number is balanced and does not deviate from the norm, then they do not harm human health. An imbalance of microorganisms can provoke infectious and inflammatory processes. In this case, the doctor prescribes a study of the biomaterial from the throat.
Microbiological analysis has many advantages, the main of which are the speed of obtaining the result and the speed of the manipulation. The smear allows you to detect fungus, bacteria, viruses and protozoa.
Bacterioscopy can reveal an increased growth in the number of pathogens. With the help of analysis, the laboratory assistant determines the number of microorganisms, evaluates their parameters, shape, location.
The information obtained allows you to determine the state of internal organs, identify inflammation and pathological changes that occur in a latent form without symptoms. In addition to examining the sample under a microscope, the biomaterial can be sent for bacterial culture for microflora, thanks to which it is possible to learn about the type and genus of fungi and bacteria.
The analysis carried out in the laboratory allows you to determine the causative agent of the infection and its sensitivity to drugs, in particular to antibiotics. The duration of the study for the determination of microbes and other microorganisms ranges from 7 to 13 days.
Varieties of smears on flora
A smear for flora from the vagina is taken from three main areas – the mucous membrane of the vagina, the cervix and the urinary canal. The gynecologist sends the woman for analysis:
- with pain in the lower abdomen;
- cystitis;
- burning or itching of the genitals;
- thrush;
- long-term use of drugs (antibiotics, hormones).
The study is conducted for those women who plan to conceive a child.
To conduct bacterioscopy on the flora in men, you will need a secret of the prostate gland, scraping from the urethra and sperm. The urologist performs this manipulation during a routine examination. Indications for the procedure include discharge from the urinary canal, suspected infertility, pain when emptying the bladder.
An analysis of the flora from the ear is prescribed for any type of inflammation of the middle ear, outflow of pus from the ear, pain, partial hearing loss. The study will show what caused the disease and what drugs are most effective in dealing with this disease. The doctor makes a biomaterial sampling from the mucous membrane of the outer part of the ear.
Indications for taking a throat swab for flora
A smear may be prescribed to a patient during a preventive examination, for example, for school, institute or work. Other indications for the procedure include:
- angina;
- staphylococcus;
- suspected whooping cough or meningococcal infection;
- mononucleosis;
- laryngitis;
- abscesses localized near the tonsils;
- frontitis;
- sinusitis
The study can be prescribed to women who are carrying a child to identify hidden infections and changes in the body of the expectant mother. Diseases can complicate the course of pregnancy, become a threat to the life of the fetus.
A swab from the pharynx on the flora can be prescribed before surgery.
The analysis is necessary for people who come into contact with people with contagious infectious and viral diseases for timely detection, treatment and prevention of further spread of the disease.
It is advisable to undergo a study to determine the pathogen that provoked the development of the disease of the upper respiratory tract.
Features of preparation for analysis
To obtain reliable smear results on the flora from the pharynx, the following rules should be followed:
- Before manipulation, stop rinsing the mouth with rinses and other solutions.
- 3 days before the study, do not use ointments and sprays for the oral cavity, which include antimicrobial components and antibiotics.
- To take a smear, you should come on an empty stomach: you can not eat or drink water 6-8 hours before the procedure. No need to brush your teeth with toothpaste on the day of the test.
Refusal of solutions for rinsing the mouth and medicinal sprays for the pharynx is necessary due to the fact that most of the microorganisms will be washed with them, therefore the result of the smear will be false.
Food and drink can wash away some of the germs or viruses that are on the mucosa. The procedure for preparing for the smear test takes no more than 3 days.
Carrying out the manipulation
The patient enters the office and sits on the couch. The doctor asks the patient to throw his head back on a special headrest and open his mouth wide.
The specialist presses the patient’s tongue with a wooden or metal oblong spatula, then takes a stick with a cotton tip and takes the biomaterial from the mucous membrane of the pharynx. During the manipulation, a person does not feel pain or severe discomfort, only a gag reflex may occur due to the touch of the wand on the back of the throat.
The doctor puts the resulting sample in a special container or test tube. Under laboratory conditions, the material taken will be exposed to different environments in order to determine the presence of microbes, fungi and bacteria.
Depending on the reaction to a certain environment and the behavior of microorganisms during exposure to drugs and antibiotics, the laboratory assistant issues the appropriate result of the study.
Getting analysis results
For a correct interpretation of the results, you need to know for what purpose the doctor prescribed it. The paper with the final answer indicates the name of those microorganisms that were found in quantities exceeding the norm. In the list or table in Latin, the name of pathogens is written, in the corresponding columns the obtained value is recorded in special measuring units.
In the human body, in a small amount, candida, green and epidermal streptococcus, pneumococcus, Neisseria are normally present. The causative agents of diphtheria and whooping cough, hemolytic streptococcus (group A), candina albicans and other microorganisms should not be detected.
The specialist who prescribed a swab from the pharynx for the flora, himself deciphers the results obtained, on their basis he makes a diagnosis and prescribes complex therapy.
Bacterioscopy is a simple, painless, affordable and fast research method that provides reliable information about pathogens. Throat diseases should be treated with those drugs to which the identified pathogen is most sensitive.