Patient education: Stool collection for testing (The Basics)

What is a stool test? — 

This is a lab test done on a sample of stool, or bowel movement.

In some cases, your doctor might ask you to collect a stool sample at home. You then bring it to your doctor's office or a lab for testing.

Why might I need a stool test? — 

Your doctor might want to test your stool:

●If you have diarrhea or other symptoms of an infection

●To learn more about how your body absorbs nutrients from food

●If you have symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease

●To find the cause of blood in your bowel movements

●To check, or "screen," for cancer

How do I collect a stool sample? — 

Your doctor or nurse will give you specific instructions. Read these carefully. They will also give you a kit with a container and other tools to collect the sample.

In general, these are the steps:

●Prepare your supplies when you are ready to have a bowel movement.

●Urinate before you collect the stool sample. The sample should not have any urine or water mixed with it.

●Put on clean gloves.

●If your kit came with a plastic collection "hat" or piece of paper, place this in the toilet, on top of the water. Your stool will land in the hat or on top of the paper.

●Use the spoon or spatula to move the stool into the container. You might need to collect all of it, or just a small amount.

●Follow the instructions for when and how to return the sample. You might need to bring it to the lab within a certain amount of time.

●Remove the gloves, and wash your hands.

If you need to collect a stool sample from a baby or child, their doctor will give you specific instructions.

What do my results mean? — 

Your doctor or nurse will tell you when to expect your results, and will contact you with the results. Or if you use an online "patient portal," you might get an alert there when your results are ready.

If the stool test shows any abnormal results, your doctor or nurse will talk to you about what to do next. They might need to do more tests to figure out the cause.

If you do have a health problem, your doctor will work with you to come up with a treatment plan.

More on this topic

Patient education: Fecal immunochemical test (The Basics)