By mayo clinic staff.
Stool sample test positive.
This test is also called a stool guaiac or hemoccult test.
And if the result from one of these stool tests is positive abnormal you will still need a colonoscopy to see if you have cancer.
Stool test is usually performed to detect the presence of any type of bacteria or parasites that are present in the intestine and infecting the gut.
If your stool tests positive for parasites or their eggs.
As a result a positive chemical fecal occult blood test can be caused by bleeding anywhere in the stomach or intestines but a positive immunologic fecal occult blood test only occurs when there is bleeding into the colon.
A fecal occult blood test is considered positive if blood is detected in your stool samples.
It is a simple chemical test of a stool sample that involves about five minutes of preparation time.
Because the fecal occult blood test can detect bleeding from almost anywhere along the length of the digestive tract several conditions can cause the result to be positive.
A test is considered positive if abnormal dna changes common to colon cancer or precancerous polyps or signs of blood are found in the stool sample.
What does a positive fecal occult blood test mean.
Fecal immunochemical test fit one way to test for colorectal cancer is to look for occult hidden blood in the stool.
Then the sample will be delivered to a laboratory for testing.
Your doctor may recommend additional testing typically a colonoscopy to examine the inside of the colon to determine if cancer or polyps are present.
When the doctor does a rectal exam and smears a stool sample on a card to test for blood in the stool or gives you a paper to drop into the toilet to look for a color change this is known as testing for occult gastrointestinal bleeding.
A positive test result means that your poop was infected with a germ virus or other type of bacteria.
The lab will tell your doctor which type it is and which medicines will fight against it.
Your doctor will likely ask you to collect a sample of your stool at home.
