Would my gastroenterologist be able to see intestinal worms during a colonoscopy

Question

Recently, I started thinking that maybe I have tapeworms or some other kind of worms. I had a colonoscopy a few months ago. If I did have worms, would my doctor have been able to see them during a colonoscopy, or does the colonoscopy not go far enough into the intestines to be able to see any worms?

Answer 1

Yes they woudl for some types of worms, others would require other tests to actually "see". In fact, one of my colleagues, who is a gastroenterologist, tells me of a video all new trainess were showed at his training institution. It showed the viewing scope travelling down to the sphincter of Oddi, where the bile duct enters the small bowel. As the camera gets ready to enter the bile duct, a worm pokes out from the duct into the bowel, looks away initially (I guess looks is the irght word here!) then turns toward the scope for a cameo appearance on camera. Kinda wierd...

Answer 2

Tape Worms would come out in the bowel movements that would be extracted during a colonoscopy.  So yes they would see.  Why do you think you have worms?  They would (just like dogs) come out of your rectal area once they have gone through their cycle.  You would see them yourself.