When I Would Use Each of Our Tests
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I know it’s hard to decide which of our 8 different tests you should take. So I’m going to explain how I would personally use each one of them, and hopefully that helps!
Please email me at support@parasites.org or call/text (303) 699-9474 if you have any questions.
48 Gut Invaders Home Test Kit
My favorite test, and the test I’ve taken the most, is the 48 Gut Invaders. This test looks for nearly all gut parasites, candida and fungal overgrowth, and it also looks for many overgrown gut bacteria, or pathogenic bacteria.
There can be massive symptom overlap between parasites, yeast/fungi and bacterial issues in the gut. Because of that, I think it makes sense to test for all 3 at the same time.
This would be my go-to test if I didn’t know what I was looking for…AND if I thought my symptoms could be related to my gut health, or some sort of gut issue…like a parasite infection, or a bacteria or yeast/fungi infection.
This test is responsible for me getting my health back after a trip to Mexico where I came back home with explosive diarrhea. I was sure I had a parasite…but I turned out to be negative for parasites.
I did test positive for candida overgrowth, which wasn’t good. But it seems that the klebsiella that came up in the bacteria culture part of the test was main culprit for my diarrhea, brain fog, minor rashes and a few other negative health symptoms. Click here to read more about my journey with that test here.
This test is a combination of 2 of our other tests:
48 Gut Invaders Test = Precise Parasite Test + Bad Gut Bacteria Test
PLUS
EQUALS
But the 48 Gut Invaders test costs $54 less than doing both of those test separately.
There are 2 gut issues that this test doesn’t cover:
1. The pinworm parasite only lays eggs in the stool about 5% of the time, so they are much better detected with the pinworm paddle test. I will explain when I’d use that test below.
2. This test does not find the bacteria H pylori.
To sum up how I use the 48 Gut Invaders test: If I’m having gut health issues, or if I think I’m having symptoms caused by my gut health, this test is my first stop. It will find nearly every gut parasite, 5 fungi/yeast and a dozen gut bacteria which may cause issues.
Click here to learn more about the 48 Gut Invaders Home Test Kit
Precise Parasite Home Test Kit
This test is great if you are sure that your issues are related to intestinal parasites, yeast or fungi.
As I stated above, I think this test is best paired with a bacterial analysis (like the 48 Gut Invaders test). There is too much symptom overlap between parasites + yeast/fungi and bacteria infections to reliably know which symptom is which.
Click here to learn more about the Precise Parasite Home Test Kit
Bad Gut Bacteria Home Test Kit
The bacteria culture test uses a proven approach to finding problematic gut bacteria. If you’re only interested in testing for bad gut bacteria and aren’t concerned with parasites or fungi, then taking this test alone makes sense. This test also makes sense I wanted to check if my bacteria treatment worked.
I think this test is best paired with a parasite/fungi analysis (like the 48 Gut Invaders test). There is too much symptom overlap between parasites + yeast/fungi and bacteria infections to reliably know which is which.
Click here to learn more about the Bad Gut Bacteria Home Test Kit
Pinworm Test Home Test Kit
The most distinctive pinworm symptom is nighttime itching around the perianal area. If that is happening to you, then the pinworm test probably makes sense. Visual observation of small worms about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch long in the perianal area could be another potential sign.
Pinworm infections are especially common with children in daycare settings, or among younger children. But, I’m pretty sure I caught a pinworm infection when I was about 23 years old…though I didn’t know much about parasites then, I just took a pill, and I was done with it.
Click here to learn more about the Pinworm Home Test Kit
H Pylori Test Home Test Kit
When I came up positive for H Pylori, the most distinctive symptom I had was upper abdominal bloating (up towards the solar plexus). (I also had lower abdominal bloating as well)
Once I started a treatment protocol, that high bloating decreased. And when I ate something that I shouldn’t have, the upper abdominal bloating would increase again. That being said, everyone is a bit different, and symptoms may manifest differently. A list of the most common H pylori symptoms are on this page.
Click here to learn more about the H Pylori Home Test Kit
Blood Parasite Home Test Kit
This is a great test if you’ve been spending time outside the united states, and there is evidence that you could have a blood parasite. But I have heard of an American testing positive for having blood parasites… despite never having travelled outside the USA, but I think that is a rare case.
There aren’t many American blood parasites outside of babesia being a potential coinfection with Lyme disease…even then I think it’s more on the rare side that you can contract babesia.
In addition to the blood parasite analysis, the parasitologists will look for misshapen blood cells which could indicate certain issues. That analysis can then be taken to your doctor to see if those match any health issues you have, or other if they warrant further investigation.
Unless the above situations describe you, I don’t encourage people to take this test.
Click here to learn more about the Blood Parasite Home Test Kit
Urine Parasite Home Test Kit
Probably the most interesting aspect of this test is that it can find the Schistosoma parasite. I haven’t personally taken this parasite test as it can be a bit narrow on what it can find, and I haven’t even been to a place where I can contract Schistosoma.
But if you’re having urinary tract issues, or suspect the Schistosoma parasite, then it can make sense to take this test.
Click here to learn more about the Urine Home Test Kit
Water Contamination Home Test Kit
The water contamination test is ideal for checking well water, water after it’s filtered or potentially contaminated tap water for parasites, some bacteria and algae. The most common finding for this test is a larval nematode. If I had someone sick in my household, or children, or elderly folks in my home, then I would consider a larval nematode a potential source of threat to their health.
Currently I don’t worry about a larval nematode in my water, since I avoid drinking our tap water in Denver. We have some left over lead piping, arsenic and other fun contaminants that I want to avoid. I drink and cook with distilled water that I re-mineralize.
Click here to learn more about the Water Contamination Home Test Kit
Conclusion
Each test has it’s own place. But for most people, most of the time, the 48 Gut Invaders Home Test Kit makes the most sense.
Please email me at support@parasites.org or call/text (303) 699-9474 if you have any questions.
When recieving the results of a test are there good and bad parameters to let us know if we are good or bad?
Are there parameters (good to bad) when receiving the test results?
Hi Matt,
Thank you very much for your thoughtful question!
The way the testing works is there is a normal value for each thing we measure, which is typically 0*** If your samples score a 1 2 3 or 4, for that finding your sample would be considered “outside the normal range”.
Now what action you take on these findings will depend greatly on your unique health situation.
If I scored non-zero on a parasite, I would personally always take some sort of action [diet change, supporting my immune system, and/or a treatment (natural or prescription)]. But your doctor may disagree, and he or she has more health context and may know why you it may not be appropriate to take action right now.
But, for example, if you have just a 1 on a candida, you may decide that action is not necessary since you recently took antibiotics and binged on a lot of sugary foods, which may both encourage the growth of candida… you may just return to your normal low-sugar diet and see if that is enough to work down the symptoms.
Or you may have just moved out of a moldy home and your symptoms have been getting better, and you’re not concerned about the small amount of candida at this point as you were just concerned about parasites.
Or you could have a higher priority health condition like a heart condition, so you may work to resolve that issue before you move onto the candida issue.
So it really, really depends. And if anyone tells you “Just do X + Y + Z every time a health certain condition comes up”, they are likely oversimplifying things. Or, they may be emphasizing a good starting point. In an ideal world we will consider the full context of our health and take the appropriate action.
As part of the test results process, I will share my thoughts on actions I might try in a similar situation. But as you can probably tell, I will always encourage you to double check any ideas we discuss with your doctor, because I might not know your entire health context, and what I might do could make things worse for you despite my best intentions!
***One exception to the “1 2 3 or 4” being outside the normal range is that bacteria (normal bacilli) [a measure of probiotic bacteria] would ideally be a 3 by our standard. We consider 4 overgrown, and 1 or 2 insufficient.