Blood Check
A blood test is a series of examinations using blood samples taken from blood vessels in certain parts of the body or by pricking a finger with a special tool.
Typically, the veins on the inner elbow are the most frequently chosen site for blood sampling.
Blood tests may include hemoglobin, platelets, red blood cells, white blood cells, and other blood tests as needed.
Benefits of Blood Test
There are many benefits of doing a blood test, including:
- Find out your risk status for certain diseases and conditions.
- Checking the success of treatment.
- Diagnose some conditions early before symptoms or complications develop.
- Identifying side effects of treatment.
- Monitor the status and progression of chronic diseases.
By regularly doing blood tests, you can be proactive about health problems and care more about your body’s health.
You can also use blood tests to understand the changes that occur in your blood over time.
Purpose of Blood Test
This examination is usually recommended by doctors for the following purposes:
- Assess a person’s general health condition
- Check if you have an infection.
- Seeing how well certain organs, such as the liver and kidneys, are working.
- Checking for certain genetic conditions.
- Helps diagnose diseases such as cancer, diabetes, coronary heart disease, and HIV/AIDS.
- Finding out whether the medication you are taking is effective in making your condition better.
- Diagnosing bleeding or clotting disorders.
- Find out if your immune system is having trouble fighting infections.
- Diagnosing anemia, such as iron deficiency anemia, pernicious anemia, aplastic anemia, or hemolytic anemia.
- Finding hemoglobin variations such as hemoglobin S, C, or E, which are common in people of African, Mediterranean, or Southeast Asian backgrounds.
- Monitor health conditions and chronic diseases.
- Find health problems at an early stage.
When Should You Do a Blood Test?
You don’t have to wait until your body is infected with a disease, having a blood test must be based on self-awareness of your body’s health condition.
Blood tests can be done routinely, at least once every one or two months, but some people do it once a year.
To be clearer, you can read How Often Is It Good to Have a Blood Test?
However, the doctor must immediately perform a blood test and continue to monitor regularly if the patient has a history of diabetes mellitus, heart disease, hypertension, cancer, or other blood-related diseases.
In addition, you should also immediately have a blood test if you experience a high fever that does not subside for three consecutive days, diarrhea and vomiting, dementia for the elderly, and a headache that does not subside.
Pregnant women must also have regular blood tests to check the health of the mother and fetus in the womb, and to detect any diseases that could impact the mother’s pregnancy.
This also applies to couples who are getting married or having a pre-marital check-up.
Types of Blood Tests
There are several types of blood tests that are commonly performed:
1. Complete blood count
To check the levels of 10 different components of each of the main cells in the blood, namely white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.
Important components measured through this test include red blood cell count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit.
2. Basic metabolic panel (BMP)
This type of blood test usually checks the levels of eight compounds in the blood.
Among them, calcium, glucose, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, chloride, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine.
3. Comprehensive metabolic panel
This examination includes all BMP measurements, as well as proteins and additional substances related to liver function, such as:
- Albumin.
- Total protein.
- Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), an enzyme found abundantly in bones and the liver that is involved in several body processes.
- Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), an enzyme found in the liver.
- Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), an enzyme found in the liver and other tissues in the body.
- Bilirubin is waste resulting from the breakdown of red blood cells that the liver filters.
4. Lipid panel
This type of blood test checks the levels of two types of cholesterol. These include high-density lipoprotein (HDL) or “good” cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) or “bad” cholesterol.
5. Thyroid panel
This test is to find out how well the thyroid produces and reacts to certain hormones, such as:
- Triiodothyronine (T3), which regulates heart rate and body temperature along with T4.
- Thyroxine (T4), together with T3 regulates metabolism and growth.
- Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), helps regulate the levels of hormones that the thyroid gland secretes.
6. Cardiac biomarkers
This procedure is to check enzyme levels. Abnormal enzyme levels can indicate many conditions.
Because enzymes are proteins that help the body complete certain chemical processes, such as breaking down food and clotting blood.
They are also used throughout the body for many vital functions.
7. Test for sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
Blood tests can detect and diagnose many types of STIs, including chlamydia, gonorrhea, herpes, human immunodeficiency virus , and syphilis.
8. Coagulation panel
This test measures how well your blood clots and how long it takes for your blood to clot.
Examples include the prothrombin time (PT) test and the fibrinogen activity test.
9. DHEA-sulfate serum test
The hormone dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) comes from the adrenal glands. This test is to measure whether the hormone is too high or low.
10. C-reactive protein (CRP) test
This test measures the body’s CRP levels. C-reactive protein is made by the liver when tissues in the body become inflamed.
High CRP levels indicate inflammation from various causes, one of which is a bacterial or viral infection.
Blood Check Procedure
Here are things that will happen before, during, and after the blood test procedure:
1. Before the procedure
For most types of blood tests, there is no special preparation you need.
However, for some tests, patients need to fast for approximately 12 hours before the scheduled blood test.
2. During the procedure
During the examination, medical personnel will take blood using venipuncture techniques or through the veins using a small injection needle.
Health workers use a tourniquet or arm strap to bind the upper arm.
The goal is to block blood flow in this area and make the veins stand out, making it easier to take blood samples.
Once the vein is identified, the technician cleans the area with alcohol and takes a blood sample with a needle.
3. After the procedure
Afterward, the medical staff will cover the area where the blood was taken with gauze and plaster.
This blood test procedure usually only takes 5-10 minutes and can be shorter if the veins are easy for the doctor to find.
Typically, the results of this examination will be completed within seven days.