“I have been having these weird things in my stool for a long time now”, writes this reader about the ovate, red objects pictured below. “They look like red sesame seeds but they are not something I ate. Do you know what they are or where I can send this picture for assistance? I have had several stool tests but no results!” To begin with, we have to say immediately that we will not be able to tell our reader what they are, and the reason for this is because of her medical concerns. In any situation where a reader has a medical concern, or believes that an organism is in any way affecting their health, we cannot involve ourselves so far as identifying the relevant organism. Since we are not medical professionals, we are neither qualified or legally able to do so, as identifying such organisms is tantamount to providing a diagnosis, which only a medical professional can do.

For that reason, we recommend that our reader seek the consultation of a medical professional. Of course, it seems like our reader has already done this, or at least done stool tests, which she reports have come out negative. But we are more inclined to suggest consulting a medical parasitologist. Not only do stool tests not cover a lot of possible ailments, but primary care doctors are typically not trained to deal with concerns about parasites. On the other hand, medical parasitologists specialize in this very area, and will be able to help our reader with her case. So to answer our reader’s second question, we can definitely give her some advice as to where she can send these pictures, or to whom she can show them.

When it comes to finding a medical parasitologist, we have a few recommendations. Our reader can do one or more of the following:

– Visit our parasite care resources page here: https://www.allaboutworms.com/get-medical-attention-and-tests-for-parasites

– Search for a medical parasitologist in her area using this directory of medical parasitology consultants: https://www.astmh.org/for-astmh-members/clinical-consultants-directory.

– Search for a local parasitologist by doing a Google search for “medical parasitologist (name of the closest big city)” or “tropical medicine specialist (name of the closest big city)”.

Regardless of which option she goes for, we do suggest that she show the photos she sent us. Just like we always find photos super helpful when it comes to identifying organisms, so do medical parasitologists when it comes to identifying potential parasites. She might even want to bring them to her physician, especially if they are not showing up in stool tests.

In conclusion, we are not qualified to identify the objects our reader found in her stool, but we hope that she is able to consult a medical professional soon enough to get the help she seeks. We wish her the very best!

Summary

Article Name

Red Sesame Seed-like Objects Found in Stool Cause Concern

Description

"I have been having these weird things in my stool for a long time now", writes this reader about the ovate, red objects pictured below. "They look like red sesame seeds but they are not something I ate. Do you know what they are or where I can send this picture for assistance? I have had several stool tests but no results!" To begin with, we have to say immediately that we will not be able to tell our reader what they are, and the reason for this is because of her medical concerns. In any situation where a reader has a medical concern, or believes that an organism is in any way affecting their health, we cannot involve ourselves so far as identifying the relevant organism. Since we are not medical professionals, we are neither qualified or legally able to do so, as identifying such organisms is tantamount to providing a diagnosis, which only a medical professional can do.

Author

Worm Researcher Anton