Para Saan Din Ang Fecal Test Ng Iyong Alaga?

2024 May -akda: Daisy Haig | [email protected]. Huling binago: 2023-12-17 03:14

Kaya't ano ang nakakahiyang pagsubok na caca na iyon, gayon pa man?

Ito ay sapat na nakaka-stress upang ang likuran ng iyong alaga ay nilabag ng isang plastik na pamalo, tama? Kaya't ano ang punto?

Sasabihin mo: Kung ang layunin ay gawing mas malusog at walang parasite ang aking alaga kung gayon ay magtiwala ako sa iyong paghuhusga, ngunit sasabihin ko, ang mga tseke ng dumi ng tao ay isang uri ng malupit at hindi pangkaraniwang uri ng parusa. Hindi ako nakakakuha ng ganoong klaseng kahihiyan hanggang sa ako ay lalaki at apatnapung, di ba? At ang mga fecal ay hindi naman nakakatulong, tama?

Sinasabi ko: Para sa mga nagsisimula, hindi mo kailangang mapailalim ang iyong alaga sa baluktot na tungkod. Ang isang sariwang sample ay karaniwang madaling makuha sa umaga (o hapon) bago ang iyong taunang pagbisita o anumang oras na ang iyong alaga ay nagdurusa ng mga sintomas ng gastrointestinal. Hindi ito gaanong matigas, talaga. At kung ang tamang tiyempo ay hindi wasto (ang dumi ng tao ay dapat na hindi mas matanda kaysa sa isang oras para sa pinakamahusay na mga resulta), ang iyong ospital ng gamutin ang hayop ay tiyak na hindi ka tatanggihan ng karapatang magdala ng isang napakasariwang sample na nais mo. Pangako

At oo, ang mga pagsusuri sa fecal, kahit na mura at nakagawian, ay kailangang-kailangan. Ngunit sa pagpapakita ng post na ito, totoo rin na hindi lahat ng mga pagsubok sa fecal ay kukuha ng impeksyon sa parasito sa iyong mga alaga. Iyon ang dahilan kung bakit maaaring kailanganin ang taunang at / o serial fecal na pagsusuri.

Ngayon para sa pangunahing layunin ng pagsubok:

Ang mga beterinaryo ay palaging nagbabantay para sa mga parasito na maaaring makarating sa kanilang mga alagang hayop sa gastrointestinal tract. Oo naman, tayong mga tao ay makakakuha rin ng mga parasito, ngunit ang ating mga modernong pamumuhay ay may posibilidad na maging mas kaaya-aya sa impeksyon sa parasito. (Kailan ka huling nagpunta sa pag-snuffling sa bakuran, mga labi sa lupa, upang malanghap mo ang isang pusa o dalawa na pusa?)

Oo, ang mga alagang hayop ay nakakakuha ng maraming mga parasito. Narito ang isang sampol ng pinakakaraniwang gastrointestinal parasites na nakikita ko dito [sa langit na parasito na semi-tropical South Florida]:

Roundworms sa mga aso at pusa.

Mga hookworm sa mga alagang hayop

Whipworms sa mga alagang hayop

Giardia sa mga alagang hayop

Ang mga flukes sa atay sa mga alagang hayop

Ang mga flukes sa atay sa mga alagang hayop

coccidia in pets

i’ll not go into the gory details on each but you can click on the links and check out the info for a better understanding of how these parasites can potentially affect your pets and even your human family.

sure, pet-popular parasites don’t often infect humans in the so-called, “developed” nations all of you reading this likely live in, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. roundworms and hookworms are still a factor in humans in the us, as is giardia, which will give you the nastiest case of diarrhea you can imagine short of amoebic dysentery.

since veterinarians are also on the front lines when it comes to public health, consider that fecal exams are not just necessary for healthy pets, they’re essential for healthy humans, too, more so if your family members are very young children, very old adults or otherwise immunocompromised (transplant patients, hiv-positive humans, chemo recipients, etc.).

how do we identify these critters in the fecal exam?

the short answer: with a microscope.

the long answer: we take a tiny sample of your pet’s stool (very fresh is always best). a few grams is enough (think an eighth of a teaspoon if that’s easier). then we put it through one of three processes.

1. the smear: we take about a half gram of stool and smear it onto a microscope slide to search for parasites (and bacteria) directly. many times we’ll see them swimming about. finding evidence of parasites in a simple smear is often indicative of severe infection.

2. the float: this method relies on mixing the stool with a special solution. it filters out the big pieces of stool in a tube or other cylindrical vessel and allows the eggs and other small critters to float up to the top, buoyed by the solution’s specific gravity. a microscope slide’s cover slip is typically used to recover the floaters. some parasites, however, aren’t amenable to flotation. eggs seem to do best through this method.

3. centrifugation: spinning the heck out of stool in a centrifuge when it’s mixed in a sugar solution picks up about 50% more parasite eggs and oocysts than through flotation. therefore, i like this method best for worm eggs, giardia, and coccidia––though i’d never go without a smear. problem is, most hospitals don’t yet use this method. it’s more expensive than others and research demonstrating it’s much greater efficacy is fairly recent.

so now you know the truth: not all fecal exams are created equal. not only does this test rely on careful selection of materials and methods, it also requires a trained eye. in our practice, for example, one of our techs detects parasites about 50% more often than the veterinarians and other techs/assistants. (that’s why we also do floats so that she can check them all at her convenience when she comes back from her day off.)

it’s also true that even a parasite-infected animal will often not come up positive on a fecal test. human error and equipment choice are factors, but so is the parasite itself. sometimes they do not make themselves known in the stool. worms sometimes aren’t shedding their eggs and subclinical (low-grade or smoldering) infections may not reveal much, either.

again, that’s why it’s important to perform this test as often as is reasonable. for all dogs and cats at least three times during the first few months of life. i want to see at least two negative tests in a row, a month apart, before i’ll feel comfortable that my patient is parasite-free.

for adults, once a year is great––that is, unless they show gastrointestinal illnesses. in this case, serial fecal tests make sense––or at least one every time the symptoms recur until a definitive diagnosis is made (whether it’s parasites or something else).

ultimately, fecal tests are a critical component of our veterinary hat of tricks. doing without may seem like the economically wisest thing in the absence of gastrointestinal symptoms, but consider: parasites can wear pets down in ways you might not expect. and it’s never wrong to be too safe in the presence of diseases that may also affect your family. ‘nuff said.