How to Identify Intestinal Parasites

Intestinal parasites live inside us, feeding themselves on our nutrients and food supply, leaving our bodies at risk. Intestinal parasites can destroy our tissues and cells and produce toxic waste within our body, making one extremely ill.

Intestinal parasites have become an epidemic in some underdeveloped countries, and in the United States alone, it is said that roughly 50 percent of the population is living with parasites within them.

Infection can occur nearly everywhere. It is not necessarily due to an unsanitary condition. One can become infected with parasites from a mere insect bite.

Some parasites may cause noticeable symptoms, such as diarrhea, while other parasites cause no symptoms at all. Parasite infections can go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, as some parasites are able to move through the blood to any organ, causing problems that are not often recognized as parasite related.

Knowing how to identify intestinal parasites will help you aid your wellness.

Things You'll Need

• A microscope
• Veterinary-grade sodium nitrate solution (or saturated sugar water)
• Fecal sample
• Slide
• Cover slip

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Instructions

• 1

  Most parasites cannot be identified with the human eye. However, pinworms are visible to the human eye. Pinworms come out of the anus at night to lay eggs. Using a flashlight one can view the area, to see whether pinworms are present.

  Using tape is also an option. Taking a piece of tape, touch it to your anus several times and examine the tape for the pinworms.

• 2

  To diagnose infection with a microscope, dissolve a small amount of a fecal sample in a veterinary-grade sodium-nitrate solution. Use approximately a thimble full of the solution and a very small piece of the stool sample, no more than the size of a fingernail.

  After the contaminants in the feces have risen, forming a film atop the liquid, use a cover slip to grab a sample of the film, and place the clean cover slide over the sample side.

  Using both, 10x and 100x magnification settings, search the slide.

• 3

  Identifying the symptoms of parasites will aid in recognizing infestation of parasites in the body.

  Parasite symptoms include gas, bloating, cramps, diarrhea or constipation. You might experience persistent skin problems, extreme nervousness, fatigue, or anemia.

• 4

  Should you have symptoms of human parasites, schedule a visit with your physician.

  If parasites are suspected, your physician will order a stool analysis. The stool analysis is used to detect parasites.

  A string test is occasionally used to detect parasites. Swallowing a string, the doctor will then pull it back up. The string is then tested with the samples of your stomach content.