Stool-Hanging Drop

Your doctor may order the test if you show the following signs and symptoms associated with diarrhoea:

• Loose and watery stools
• Fever
• Urgent need to have a bowel movement
• Nausea
• Abdominal cramps
• Abdominal pain
• Mucus in stool
• Blood in stool
• Bloating

This test may also be ordered if you have some of the following common symptoms of enterocolitis:

• Swelling near the stomach
• Diarrhoea
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Tiredness
• A general feeling of being unwell

You may additionally have other symptoms such as rectal bleeding.

Consumption of certain medicines such as tetracyclines, anti-protozoal drugs, sulphonamides, laxatives, antacids, magnesium hydroxide, castor oil and barium sulphate, may affect the results of a stool test. These should be avoided for one to two weeks before the test. Do not stop taking any medicine unless your doctor suggests so.

A stool sample for this test should be collected during the acute stage of diarrhoea. A lab technician will give you a clean and disinfectant-free container or plastic cup with a tight-fitted lid to collect the sample. About five to six tablespoons of watery stools or 20-40 g of well-formed stools should be sufficient for the test. Multiple stool samples are required before the presence of an infection can be ruled out. Store the sample in a cool place and make sure that it doesn’t dry before you submit it to the lab. Label the sample properly with your name, age and gender and the date on which the sample was collected. Try to avoid contamination of the sample with urine and dirt particles. The samples should reach the laboratory for testing in half an hour of passing the stool as motile organisms are heat sensitive and may not be recognised after that time.