You can test for strongyloides with a direct smear or Baermann’s apparatus. Locating juvenile larvae, either rhabditiform or filariform, in recent stool samples will confirm the presence of this parasite. Other techniques used include direct fecal smears, culturing fecal samples on agar plates, serodiagnosis through ELISA, and duodenal fumigation. Still, diagnosis can be difficult because of the day-to-day variation in juvenile parasite load. Many people infected are asymptomatic at first.
Symptoms include dermatitis: swelling, itching, larva currens, and mild hemorrhage at the site where the skin has been penetrated. Spontaneous scratch-like lesions may be seen on the face or elsewhere. If the parasite reaches the lungs, the chest may feel as if it is burning, and wheezing and coughing may result, along with pneumonia-like symptoms (Löffler's syndrome).
