Stool Samples
Yesterday I was letting Baby E run around while I got a clean diaper for her. I noticed her grunting and put out my hand to move the open onesie tail aside.
When I got a handful of aromatic brown goo, my first thought was, "Oh good! Finally an uncontaminated stool!"
Then I looked at my watch and realized the lab was closed. We couldn't get it there within an hour of collection, as required.
#########
"That's okay," I thought. "We can use this for the frozen one." I popped it into the container, sealed it, put it into the plastic bag, and deposited the whole thing in the freezer.
I thought with relief that now we had only one sample left to collect. Since she usually goes when she gets up in the morning or after breakfast, I thought that if I worked hard at it I should be able to get it today.
This morning I watched Baby E intently, checking her diaper constantly, changing it immediately when it was wet, sitting her on the potty frequently and letting her go for long periods of time with no diaper. I was determined to get that last sample so we could go back to life as normal. We've been working on this for over two weeks now, and it's getting frustrating.
No BM when she woke up, none after breakfast, none after lunch.
I had to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer this afternoon. During those few minutes when my attention was distracted, she pooped in her diaper. As quickly as I could, I put her on the changing table and opened it up. Too late. It was wet also. Another stool contaminated and unusable.
Hopefully, I called the lab to ask if it mattered for this particular test (the parasite study) if the stool had touched urine. It did matter, of course. It had to be uncontaminated.
But there was something odd. The lab tech couldn't find the orders for the stool tests in the computer.
Finally she told me that they had been able to complete all the tests from the stool samples we had brought in last Friday.
All this time we've been stressing about getting an uncontaminated stool for nothing. We've been restricting Baby E's diet unnecessarily (no red meat, nothing red, no ibuprofen, etc.).
It would have been nice if someone had told us earlier that we didn't actually have to fill up all the different containers they gave us with detailed instructions that were different for each one (freeze this one, bring this one in within an hour of collection, smear these three on these six little windows in this card on three different days, put a pea-sized pellet in this vial and a walnut-sized pellet in this vial and the rest in this grey container and then fill out this survey and bring it in within an hour of collection, etc.).
They don't even need the one I have in my freezer.
Ah, well, I'm glad that's done.
When I got a handful of aromatic brown goo, my first thought was, "Oh good! Finally an uncontaminated stool!"
Then I looked at my watch and realized the lab was closed. We couldn't get it there within an hour of collection, as required.
#########
"That's okay," I thought. "We can use this for the frozen one." I popped it into the container, sealed it, put it into the plastic bag, and deposited the whole thing in the freezer.
I thought with relief that now we had only one sample left to collect. Since she usually goes when she gets up in the morning or after breakfast, I thought that if I worked hard at it I should be able to get it today.
This morning I watched Baby E intently, checking her diaper constantly, changing it immediately when it was wet, sitting her on the potty frequently and letting her go for long periods of time with no diaper. I was determined to get that last sample so we could go back to life as normal. We've been working on this for over two weeks now, and it's getting frustrating.
No BM when she woke up, none after breakfast, none after lunch.
I had to move the laundry from the washer to the dryer this afternoon. During those few minutes when my attention was distracted, she pooped in her diaper. As quickly as I could, I put her on the changing table and opened it up. Too late. It was wet also. Another stool contaminated and unusable.
Hopefully, I called the lab to ask if it mattered for this particular test (the parasite study) if the stool had touched urine. It did matter, of course. It had to be uncontaminated.
But there was something odd. The lab tech couldn't find the orders for the stool tests in the computer.
Finally she told me that they had been able to complete all the tests from the stool samples we had brought in last Friday.
All this time we've been stressing about getting an uncontaminated stool for nothing. We've been restricting Baby E's diet unnecessarily (no red meat, nothing red, no ibuprofen, etc.).
It would have been nice if someone had told us earlier that we didn't actually have to fill up all the different containers they gave us with detailed instructions that were different for each one (freeze this one, bring this one in within an hour of collection, smear these three on these six little windows in this card on three different days, put a pea-sized pellet in this vial and a walnut-sized pellet in this vial and the rest in this grey container and then fill out this survey and bring it in within an hour of collection, etc.).
They don't even need the one I have in my freezer.
Ah, well, I'm glad that's done.
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Posted by purple_kangaroo at 2:15 PM[Permanent link]
5 Comments:
Never, ever say you don't go above and beyond the call of duty (er...doody).
"Handful of aromatic brown goo"
I nearly choked.
Liz, it did catch me by surprise. I washed my hands many times and still didn't really feel they were clean. Still, it was easier than cleaning the carpet would have been. :)
First I have to say "doody head" to the lab staff for putting you through unnecessary effort and inconvenience.
Then I have to say, you know you are the parent of a child with a medical issue when your first thought about having a handful of poop is "Oh, good!"
I've been through stool collection a couple of times, and it is No Fun. My biggest challenge was getting a large enough sample from a 6 month old with diarrhea.
I'm with liz.
Aromatic brown goo!
Oh, PK, even in hard times, you make me laugh. But I'm sorry for the inconvenience.
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