Question to the expert: Do I need to donate blood for analysis?
Text: Kristina Ivanova
RESPONSES TO THE MAJORITY OF US QUESTIONS we used to search online. In this series of materials we ask precisely such questions - burning, unexpected or widespread - to professionals in various fields.
When information on any diseases and conditions is available on the Internet, many drugs are sold without a prescription, and paid tests can be done at least every day, in taking care of health it is easy to overreact. Does it make sense from time to time to donate blood for analysis by yourself? What and when to check in order not to miss something serious? Does any deviation from the norm on the printout of the results that you are sick? We asked these questions to the expert.
Galina Palkova
dermatocosmetologist, endocrinologist of "Clinic of Yulia Shcherbatova"
For many, this will be a surprise, but in the absence of specific complaints and hereditary predispositions, there is no need to do tests at all. A standard set of “recommended annual analyzes” does not exist; There is no need to donate blood in case of a common cold or before routine vaccination. And it’s generally pointless to assign yourself any research at your own discretion: to take care of your health there is more than enough annual conversation with a competent doctor who has been leading you for a long time.
It is important to understand that the absence of complaints is a loose concept. Frequent headaches, bruises under the eyes, fatigue, depression, weight gain, a sudden love of sweets, irritability, problems with hair or skin - this is what you need to go to the doctor. It’s dangerous to explain such symptoms for a long time because you just didn’t get enough sleep. True, trying to find the cause yourself, checking the suspected diagnoses from the Internet with test results from the laboratory near the house, is even more dangerous.
In what cases are the tests still needed? In the life of most people there are three stages in which it is recommended to undergo a comprehensive screening. The first is eighteen to twenty years old when it is important to make sure that the body has entered the reproductive period and is working correctly. At this stage, hereditary problems and early stages of disorders can be identified, which can develop into serious chronic diseases if they are not dealt with.
The second important stage is the moment of the beginning of a decrease in the level of sex hormones (35-40 years old). Menopause or andropause at this time is not yet coming, but hormone levels begin to decline markedly, and global changes occur in the body: the skin condition worsens, the lack of oxygen in the tissues increases, and weight gain can begin as the sex hormone production decreases. Careful attention to yourself at this point may in future facilitate entry into menopause.
The third stage is not tied to a specific age - it is preparation for pregnancy and pregnancy itself or planning conception, if you are a man. Quitting smoking and drinking alcohol at this moment are important measures, but not enough. To ensure good health for yourself and your child, it is important to undergo a detailed examination and, if necessary, correction.
At all these stages, it is necessary to do general clinical and biochemical blood tests, blood tests for hormones and essential trace elements (vitamin D and B12, copper, zinc, magnesium, folic acid), oxidative stress parameters (hemoglobin and iron), and also ultrasound of small organs. pelvis, thyroid and mammary glands. General clinical analysis shows the number and ratio between blood cells - red blood cells, leukocytes, platelets, and biochemical determines the concentration of different molecules, such as glucose or cholesterol. It is important to understand that it is impossible to go with this list to the nearest laboratory and calm down if the results were within the normal range, just as you do not panic when they fall out at normal intervals. Analyzes should be prescribed and, most importantly, only the doctor should interpret their results.
In addition, blood and urine tests are by no means basic diagnostic methods. It is possible to make a diagnosis only by results of a blood test in the rarest of cases.
There are several reasons for this. For example, reference values are not absolute: in fact, the rate for a particular patient can vary greatly depending on your gender, age, height, weight, the presence of certain diseases, a list of what you used to have, and even ethnic characteristics. In addition, the normal range may vary slightly between different laboratories: in a printout of results from one, your hemoglobin level will be marked with an asterisk as too low, and in the other it will be normal, although close to the lower limit of normal. Such differences may be associated, for example, with the equipment used. Decide whether the result is normal after all, only a doctor can.
In addition, blood and urine tests are auxiliary, but by no means the main diagnostic methods. It is possible to make a diagnosis only by results of a blood test in the rarest of cases - with rare infections and a couple of endocrine diseases. In other cases, it is important to look at the relationship between different parameters with each other, their combination with symptoms, anamnesis and features of a particular patient. In short, it is again only a good doctor can.
Like any other high-tech industry, laboratory diagnostics is constantly evolving, and methods are becoming more complex and more accurate. If a general clinical blood test or thyroid hormone test can be performed anywhere, then more complex things — a blood test for homocysteine, vitamin D, most trace elements, oxidative stress indicators — are best done in laboratories with mass spectrometry equipment, one of the most advanced methods. On the other hand, donating blood for the simplest tests in a steep and expensive laboratory is often a waste of money, so it’s best to listen to the advice of a doctor who will explain which parameters are best for analyzing in the laboratory.
Much depends on the state in which you are at the time of donating blood - and which can greatly affect the result. For example, on the eve of taking a blood sample for analysis of prolactin you can not have sex, you can not eat sweets, fatty or smoke before others. Absolutely in all cases it is better not to drink alcohol. Results may depend on the phase of the menstrual cycle, taken vitamins and a huge number of factors. It happens the other way around: many of the usual limitations are outdated from the point of view of modern medicine and a competent doctor will recommend, for example, donate blood not on an empty stomach, but after dinner.
In general, not all states are immediately reflected in the results of analyzes directly. Some hormonal disorders often first manifest themselves as a deficiency or an excess of vitamins or trace elements, with the use of which these hormones are synthesized. Or the simplest example: with hypothyroidism - a reduced function of the thyroid gland - the level of its hormones can be normal, and not lowered, therefore their number will not tell anything about the analysis. At the same time, the pituitary hormone, which stimulates the thyroid (thyroid stimulating hormone), will be produced in large quantities in order to boost its function. All these intricacies without a higher medical education can hardly be sorted out, but it is easy to miss the onset of the disease by self-prescribing tests.
A lot has been said lately about genetic analyzes - but they cost a lot of money, and not everyone is benefited. For example, with some already identified tumors, an analysis of genetic mutations is necessary — with the same breast cancer, it helps to select an effective treatment and better understand the prognosis. But for the prevention of genetic tests do not need all; even if such a test is needed, then we are talking about profiles of specific genes, rather than full decoding. It turns out that only a professional can assign and interpret test results. And the patient's task is to find an attentive doctor who can be trusted.
Photo: Africa Studio - stock.adobe.com, Todor Rusinov - stock.adobe.com