[21666]

Ok..sorry to sound "uninformed".. but if anyone can answer I would really appreciate it!!I went to my Internist today and he did a swab to test for blood in the stool right in the office.What exactly does that mean? Is that the same as a fecal occult test or different? What is the accuracy of the test?If anyone can answer, I would really appreciate it.. dummy here...

 

[Kathleen M.]

Yep that is the same as a fecal occult blood test (occult implies hidden, not visible).I think it is fairly accurate, but I know when they've done them on me sometimes I am taking high dose Iron supplements and those can cause a false positive because I think the test reacts with the iron in the blood.K.