Comprehensive Parasite Stool Test

This test is most worth considering when infection is a realistic possibility. That might be because symptoms started after travel, after possible food or water exposure, or because diarrhoea is ongoing and you want to rule out an infectious cause. It can also be useful if a doctor has suggested checking for gut infection.

Not always. If bloating is your main symptom and there is no clear travel or exposure history, infection may not be the most likely explanation. In that situation, another test may be a better first step, depending on whether your symptoms seem more linked to gluten, inflammation, upper digestive symptoms or another cause.

You'd probably find it helpful to compare our gut tests.

No. This test is designed to look for infectious causes of gut symptoms, including certain bacteria, parasites and worms. Many gut symptoms are caused by other things, such as coeliac disease, bowel inflammation, food-related triggers or functional gut disorders, so this test does not explain every possible cause.

A negative result can still be useful, because it makes an infectious cause less likely. However, it does not completely rule out all gut infections and it does not rule out non-infectious causes of symptoms. If your results are negative and symptoms continue, another test or medical review may still be appropriate.

This is not the best first test for threadworms. If you have typical threadworm symptoms or can clearly see thread-like worms then pharmacy treatment is often the more practical first step. Stool testing is generally less useful for suspected threadworms than for other parasites and gut infections.

Not necessarily. Things seen in stool are not always worms — undigested food, plant fibres or mucus can sometimes look similar and are commonly confused for worms.

Even if a worm infection is present, the sample tested may not confirm it if no worms are present in the sample. If you think you may have threadworms, pharmacy treatment is often the more practical first step rather than testing.

This test is designed to look for infectious causes of gut symptoms, such as certain bacteria, parasites and worms. Other gut tests answer different questions. For example, coeliac tests are used to check for coeliac disease, calprotectin is used to check for bowel inflammation, qFIT checks for hidden blood in the stool and H. pylori testing is more relevant for upper digestive symptoms such as indigestion or reflux.

Your gut microbiome is the entire collection of bacteria and viruses (amongst others) living in your gut. Our Gut Bacteria, Worm and Parasite Test is not a microbiome test. It is designed as a bacteria, worm and parasite test for people who are concerned they have a gut infection.

In contrast, a microbiome test cannot tell you if you have a gut infection needing treatment and is actually only used for research purposes.

Once you order, we send your test kit with instructions for collecting your sample at home. You return the sample using the kit provided, and your results are then processed by the lab. When your report is ready, you’ll receive clear results and guidance on what to do next.

You don't need to make any special preparation for the Gut Bacteria, Worm and Parasite Test. Specifically, you do not need to change your diet or stop any medication, supplement or probiotic.

Yes, this test can be used in children if sample collection and all testing procedures are undertaken by a responsible adult.

However, it's worth noting that threadworm infections are by far the commonest worm infection in children and it is not necessary to test for this. In fact, this test will often not pick up threadworm infection because the worms live in the anus rather than higher up the bowel.