What should you know about a stool test and colonoscopy?

A home stool test uses a small sample placed in a kit and returned according to its instructions. Depending on the test, the laboratory may look for hidden blood or other signs associated with bowel changes. It does not view the bowel lining and cannot remove a polyp.

Colonoscopy uses a flexible camera to inspect the rectum and colon. If the clinician sees a polyp or another abnormal area, they may take a sample or remove a polyp for laboratory examination. A result that needs follow-up does not by itself diagnose bowel cancer, and a clear result should still be interpreted alongside symptoms and personal risk.

Follow the stool kit instructions closely, including how to collect, label, store, and return the sample. Tell the service about visible blood, recent bowel procedures, medicines, and symptoms so the result is interpreted properly. If the test is positive or cannot be analysed, the clinician may recommend colonoscopy to examine the bowel directly.

For colonoscopy, ask about bowel preparation, medicines, sedation, transport home, and when you can return to normal activities. If a polyp is found, ask whether it was removed or sampled and how the laboratory result will affect follow-up.

Seek urgent help for heavy rectal bleeding, black stools with dizziness, fainting, severe abdominal pain, repeated vomiting, or a swollen abdomen with inability to pass stool or gas. Contact your clinician promptly for persistent blood in the stool, a sustained change in bowel habit, unexplained weight loss, or increasing tiredness. These symptoms need assessment even if a home stool test is negative.

Ask what your stool test detects, how to collect it correctly, what a positive or unclear result means, and whether your symptoms call for colonoscopy. If colonoscopy is planned, ask about preparation, sedation, polyp removal, tissue results, and the follow-up plan. Ask which warning symptoms should prompt urgent care.