How to Read Blood Tests Over Time

How to Do a Fecal Occult Claret Test (FOBT)

Fourth dimension to read: About 3 minutes

This information will teach you lot how to collect stool (poop) samples at home for your fecal occult blood test (FOBT).

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Virtually Your FOBT

A FOBT is a lab test used to check your stool for occult blood. Occult blood is blood that you can't encounter by looking at your stool. At that place are many reasons yous may have claret in your stool. Your healthcare provider will tell you why you lot're having the exam.

For your FOBT, you will collect samples of your stool 3 days in a row. This increases the chance of finding claret, since the bleeding may not happen every solar day. If you don't have a bowel movement on one of the 3 days, talk with your healthcare provider. They will talk with you about collecting the iii samples over a longer period of time.

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Getting Fix for Your FOBT

Ask your healthcare provider how many days before the test you should start getting ready. They may give y'all special instructions. It's important to follow their instructions and the instructions below to be sure your test results are accurate.

• Starting 3 days earlier y'all brainstorm collecting your stool samples, avert:
  • Ruby-red meat, such equally beef, lamb, or liver
  • Raw fruits and vegetables
  • Vitamin C, such as fruit juices with vitamin C and vitamin C supplements in doses higher than 250 milligrams (mg) per day
  • Antacids (medications to relieve heartburn or stomach hurting, such every bit Tums^®)
  • Medications to stop diarrhea (loose or watery bowel movements)
  • Fe supplements
  You tin get-go eating these things again after your FOBT.
• Most people will need to stop taking aspirin, other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and vitamin Due east before and during the 3-24-hour interval collection period. These medications may cause small-scale amounts of blood to appear in your stool.
  • Your healthcare provider volition give you the resources Common Medications Containing Aspirin, Other Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), or Vitamin Due east, which lists common medications that have these products in them. It likewise lists medications you can take instead.
  • If you take aspirin to forestall a center attack or stroke, don't stop taking it unless your healthcare provider tells you to.
• If you have whatever of the following during the 3 days you're planning to collect your stool samples, talk with your healthcare provider. They may tell you to wait to collect your samples.
  • Menstrual period
  • Haemorrhage hemorrhoids (swollen veins in your anus)
  • Blood in your urine (pee)

If your healthcare provider gives you special instructions, write them hither.

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Collecting the Sample

Figure 1. The Hemoccult slide

Supplies

You volition need the following supplies:

• Hemoccult^® slide
• Applicator stick
• A clean, dry container
• Trash tin

Instructions

1. Gather your supplies. Place them in the bathroom where you tin can achieve them easily.
   • Remove the Hemoccult slide from its paper envelope. Gear up the envelope aside.
   • Don't set the Hemoccult slide or applicator stick on the edge of the sink, bath tub, or toilet tank. They shouldn't get wet.
   • Always keep the Hemoccult slides at room temperature, abroad from heat and low-cal.
   • Make sure your name, appointment of nativity, and Medical Record Number (MRN) are on the card. If this information isn't on the bill of fare, write it in.
2. Open the large front flap of the Hemoccult slide. You may discover a light blue discoloration on the newspaper in the squares in a higher place boxes A and B. The discoloration won't affect the test.
3. Sit on the toilet like you usually do to have a bowel movement (poop). Utilize the make clean, dry container to grab your stool before it touches the water in the toilet.
4. Take a sample of your stool with one end of an applicator stick. Use a sparse smear of stool inside the square marked "A" on the Hemoccult slide (see Figure 1).
5. Use the stick to collect a 2d sample from a different part of your stool. Apply a thin smear of stool within the square marked "B".
6. Throw out the stick in the trash.
7. Close the cover of the Hemoccult slide and put it back into its paper envelope. Don't put it in anything waterproof, such as a plastic bag. Shop it at room temperature, away from light, children, and pets.
8. Empty the container that holds the stool into the toilet. Affluent the toilet.
9. Wash your hands. Wet your hands with warm water and then rub your hands with soap for at least twenty seconds. Rinse your hands.

Repeat these steps to collect your samples on days 2 and 3. Write the date of collection adjacent to each sample.

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After You Collect the Samples

You can store the samples on the Hemoccult slide for 5 to 7 days from the appointment of your first collection. Don't mail your stool samples. Your healthcare provider will tell you where to take your stool samples.

Your results

Your healthcare provider will call you with your results, explain what they hateful, and tell you what to practise next.

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Source: https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/patient-education/fecal-occult-blood-test

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