The blood composition of a healthy person is relatively constant. A blood test is aimed at identifying deviations of the blood composition from certain norms. A general blood test allows you to identify inflammation, allergic reactions and the actual disease of the blood itself. It can be reduced when only leukocyte, hemoglobin, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) parameters are examined, and expanded when it is evaluated for all elements that make up the blood.

Complete blood count

The procedure for performing a general blood test is quite simple - the patient is pierced with soft tissue of the nail phalanx of the finger. From which hand to take blood - in this case it does not matter, and an attentive nurse will always offer to choose a finger for a puncture. Then the resulting blood is squeezed into a test tube. Before taking a general blood test, the patient does not need any special preparation. However, in order for laboratory results to be reliable, some limitations must be adhered to.

Analysis preparation

Analysis should be taken in the morning on an empty stomach. In case of urgent need (or for emergency reasons), this rule can be neglected, but in order to maximize the reliability of the analysis, you should try to conduct it no earlier than 2–4 hours after eating. It is also desirable that the meal is not plentiful.

Such limitations are due to the fact that fats entering the bloodstream after eating in large quantities can technically impede the study. In addition, after eating in the blood, the number of leukocytes increases, which can lead to an incorrect interpretation of the results. Drinking half an hour before analysis will help to contribute to the reliability of the study, since this procedure prevents its thickening.

Immediately before a general blood test (at least 30-60 minutes), you need to try to relax, both physically and emotionally. Stressful situations can cause the mobilization of the body’s protective resources, in particular, an increase in the number of white blood cells in the blood, which can also lead to ambiguous indicators. For the same reasons, at least one hour before analysis give up smoking.

Rates can distort indicators physiotherapy or radiography. After completing such procedures, you must wait at least a day.

If you regularly take medications, the composition of your blood can be very different from typical. About this fact it is necessary to notify the doctor immediately before the blood test. Having assessed the degree of influence of a particular drug on the body, the doctor will be able to determine by what scheme studies should be carried out. You may need to suspend medication for a short time.

If you regularly have a general blood test done over time, it is recommended that you conduct studies in the same laboratory, as different medical institutions use different analyzers and test systems, and your indicators can be interpreted ambiguously.

If your child is prescribed a blood test, it can be very difficult to avoid a stressful situation. Before passing the analysis, maximum efforts must be made for the moral preparation of the child, since otherwise the results obtained may turn out to be very unexpected. Fortunately, at present, almost all clinics are equipped with tools that make the puncture almost imperceptible.

Here are the main types of deviations in the results of a blood test and an explanation of their possible causes:

• Low hemoglobin  may be symptoms of anemia and cancer, and may also indicate bleeding.
• Similar diseases can be diagnosed by a decrease in red blood cells, in addition, such indicators can be signs of chronic inflammatory processes.
• Elevated red blood cell count  indicative of dehydration, since in this case the volume of liquid blood is reduced. It can also detect congenital disorders in the structure of hemoglobin. Another reason for erythrocytosis can be diseases of the hematopoietic system.
• Platelet deficiency  indicates bleeding disorders characteristic of hemophilia. Deficiency of these cells can also be observed with viral and bacterial infectious diseases, anemia, cancer, as well as with antibiotics, antihistamines and painkillers.
• An increase in platelet count indicates chronic inflammatory processes, as well as the likelihood of malignant tumors.
• White blood cell count  also indicative of inflammatory processes, bacterial infections, liver diseases, poisoning, allergic reactions and leukemia. In addition, prolonged medication can lead to an increase in the number of white blood cells. This parameter is quite sensitive to changes in external conditions: the number of leukocytes may increase after eating and physical activity, as well as in the presence of pain.
• Leukocyte count reduction  may indicate the active phase of viral infectious diseases, and may also be a manifestation of radiation sickness.
• Increased Eosinophil Levels  is a sign of allergic reactions, characteristic of the acute phase of scarlet fever and is accompanied by the use of antibiotics or sulfonamides.
• The increase in the number of basophils  may be due to allergic manifestations, chronic inflammatory processes or blood diseases.
• Basophil reduction  indicative of the acute phases of infectious diseases, and may also indicate past stress and hormone treatment.
• Increased lymphocytes  may be associated with viral diseases and pain medication.
• Low lymphocyte count  may be an indicator of the development of cancer, indicates the effects of radiation exposure or the use of hormonal drugs.
• Monocyte increase  may occur in the recovery phase after acute infections, but also significant in blood diseases and tuberculosis.
• Monocyte reduction  can identify viral diseases and hormonal treatment.
• Increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate  can be caused by inflammation, infectious diseases, poisoning, anemia and allergic reactions.
• Reduction of erythrocyte sedimentation rate  typical for dehydration and viral hepatitis.

When preparing to take a general blood test and thinking about how to do it better, do not forget that competent preparation when passing any analysis helps to obtain accurate results. Laboratory studies provide the doctor with up to 70% of objective information for diagnosis. Therefore, it is so important to follow all the recommendations of doctors. Take care of yourself!

Human blood test - An indispensable way to diagnose a violation of the body’s health It can indicate malfunctions or chronic diseases, serve as a way to control the healing process and preventive measures. An operative, but at the same time quite informative blood test is a general analysis and is carried out to determine the level of hemoglobin, leukocytes, platelets, monocytes, erythrocytes, makes it possible to obtain data on the forms of leukocytes, ESR, reticulocytes, etc. Such a study is prescribed for expert screening examinations, to evaluate ongoing therapy, differential diagnosis of blood, the detection of infectious and inflammatory diseases.

How to prepare for such tests?

For many people, it remains unclear how to donate blood, is it even possible to have coffee in the morning, without which the day doesn’t start, what you can’t eat on the eve and in general, why donate from a vein, if possible with a finger.
  We bring to your attention a short list of rules and recommendations that must be followed in order to quickly obtain reliable and accurate information about your health status.

The main factors that affect the state of the blood.

Having received a referral from a doctor for blood donation, it would not hurt you to pay attention to taking medications or medications that can distort objective blood status data. The doctor should also clarify the dates of the last meal, notify about the transferred emotional and physical stress, smoking, taking alcohol, undergoing physiotherapy, medical examinations (for example, X-ray or). As for the fair sex, for them an important factor is the day of the menstrual cycle or gestational age, reproductive age and the onset of menopause - all this can significantly affect the state of hemoglobin, for example. The form must indicate the daily time when the blood was taken.

Blood donation rules for general analysis.

Blood for analysis Of course, you need to take in the morning from 7 to 11 hours, on an empty stomach. You can drink, but only water. Tea, coffee and sweet compote are not allowed. The day before going to the laboratory, exclude fatty, spicy and smoked dishes, alcohol and do not allow yourself food overload. Sports, intense exercise and medical procedures are also undesirable. If you are taking any medications - it is better to consult with your doctor whether it is worth taking a break in their intake or possibly delaying the upcoming diagnosis.

Dietary conditions shortly before coming to the laboratory.

Whatever they say general blood analysis   urges you to do it in the morning and strictly on an empty stomach. That is, not earlier than 7-8 hours from the last meal. To detect lipids (cholesterol, triglycerides, etc.) and for a glucose tolerance test, blood should be donated after 13-16 hours of fasting.

Blood sampling: from a vein or from a finger?

To the question: donate blood from a vein or from a finger, we answer: of course, it is recommended to use a blood sampling from a vein for a better and more comprehensive diagnosis. It is possible to make the most accurate conclusions about the patient’s state of health and recognize the disease in a timely manner.   blood test from a vein , not from a finger.
  Many clinics use modern vacuum systems for blood sampling. To avoid mistakes, as well as for the safety of the patient himself, the procedure for taking blood is done exclusively by highly qualified specialists - medical workers who have extensive experience even with complex veins. The process of taking biomaterial from a vein, which takes a few seconds, is today quite safe and almost painless for the patient. By the way, you can consult in advance, ask questions of interest to you about the procedure for taking material, about the timing of obtaining results and the features of their interpretation.

In what other cases is it worth taking a complete blood count?

If you need to confirm or deny the presence of an infection in the body (bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi). In making such a diagnosis, the blood properties recorded in the test results can say a lot. In this case, such a procedure can turn out to be a very informative and reliable method, while remaining the safest, most affordable and most efficient.

Hello. Each of us in life has repeatedly faced with such a procedure as passing tests. Most of us do not really like these procedures, but they are simply necessary!

When evaluating research results, the doctor always encounters a number of factors. He must take into account the patient's age, gender, physiological condition.

However, there are factors that depend entirely on the patient and these factors can influence the results of the tests. Therefore, it is very important to approach the delivery of tests with responsibility and do it correctly.

In today's article, we will look at how to correctly pass a general blood test, but the same rules will be relevant for other blood tests: for sugar, cholesterol, hormones, HIV, etc.

Your subsequent treatment will depend on what test results you will have, so it is highly desirable for everyone to know the rules described below!

Rules for taking a blood test

Eating before donating blood for testing

The main thing you should remember is that blood should always be taken on an empty stomach for any analysis. That is, the last meal you should have somewhere 10 to 12 hours before blood donation. It is this time that our body requires for digestion, absorption and further assimilation of food by cells.

To make it easier, I will say this - we had dinner on the evening before going to the clinic and do not take anything else into our mouths.

This is one of the most important conditions for evaluating metabolic processes. If a person gives blood immediately after eating, it will contain a very large amount of fat, which means that the study will be either impossible, or the results will be greatly distorted and inaccurate.

The fact is that if you are on a diet, then your body does not use glucose, which comes with food, as energy, but fatty acids in adipose tissue.

This increases the breakdown of proteins, which inevitably leads to wrinkles and a decrease in skin elasticity. Nails and hair become brittle, dull, a person looks much older than his age.

All this affects the metabolic rate. For example, when fasting for more than 2 days in the blood, the level of bilirubin may increase. When fasting for more than 3 days, there is a sharp decrease in glucose concentration, as well as an increase in the content of free fatty acids and urea.

Eating fatty foods inevitably leads to an increase in blood levels of potassium.

Excessive protein load on the body (the so-called meat diet) increases the content of urea and ammonia in the blood, which increases the load on such important organs as the liver and kidneys.

Drinking coffee, strong tea, and caffeine-containing drinks before taking tests causes:

• increase in blood and urine levels of catecholamines, glucose, free fatty acids, cortisol, the number of leukocytes and red blood cells
• decreased glucose tolerance
• increases the secretion of gastric juice, pepsin, hydrochloric acid
• leads to a decrease in the relative density of urine

Drinking alcohol can increase the concentration of uric acid and lower blood glucose levels.

In the test results, the level of c - reactive protein will be increased, which may indicate the presence of chronic inflammation in the bronchi or lungs.

Exercise on the eve of a general blood test

On the eve of a laboratory test, try to moderate physical activity. Even after a one-hour intensive charge, the activity of some enzymes is able to remain increased throughout the day.

Prolonged exercise leads to an increase in blood levels of sex hormones, including testosterone and androstenedione. This greatly increases the amount of luteinizing hormone in the blood.

Taking medicines on the eve of the test

It is advisable to abstain from the use of drugs before blood donation. Some drugs can have a direct effect on blood test results.

Oral contraceptives, diuretics also falsely overestimate the level of calcium in the blood. Ascorbic acid, paracetamol, furosemide can change the level of glucose.

The vaccine against, vitamin A, oral contraceptives, can increase the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR).

Antibacterial drugs, aspirin, indomethacin reduce the level of hemoglobin in the blood.

Therefore, if there is such an opportunity, then taking medications before taking the tests is better to cancel. If this is not possible, then you just need to tell the doctor about the drugs that you are forced to take.

Blood sampling rules

When taking blood from a vein, you can’t work with your hand, that is, squeeze and unclench your fist. Also, do not use a tourniquet for more than 2 minutes. Such actions lead to a false overestimation of the concentration of bilirubin, coagulation factors, hormones, cholesterol and calcium.

Summing up all the above, we can formulate the following rules for blood sampling to obtain reliable research results:

1. Before the study, you must refrain from strong physical exertion, taking any alcohol, stress, try not to smoke for at least an hour before taking the blood
2. There is nothing after dinner, and directly to make dinner itself as easy as possible. You can generally drink only water. But juices, tea or coffee - you can’t drink! Sugar also needs to be completely eliminated.
3. 2 to 3 days before the study, you need to slightly review your diet. Limit your intake of whole fried, spicy and oily
4. On the eve of the tests you need to go to bed at your usual time and wake up no later than an hour before taking the blood

If you follow these simple rules, then the results of a general blood test will be as reliable as possible.

Remember, for the correct assessment and comparison of the obtained test results, it is recommended to do them in the same laboratory and at the same time.

If you can not refuse to take any tablets on the eve of the test, then you need to inform your doctor about this.

In principle, this is all I wanted to say about how to properly take a general blood test. If you have any questions, I will be happy to answer them in the comments.

One of us, one way or another, has to take tests. Moreover, this often applies not only to sick but also to healthy people. It is unlikely that there will be at least one person who has never undergone a medical examination (for a military registration and enlistment office, obtaining a certificate in the pool or insurance, before traveling abroad, when applying for a job) or medical examination.

Ideally, each of us should have a personal doctor who will tell you what and how to do when passing tests. However, the reality is that most often we communicate with a therapist from a district clinic who does not explain anything. Meanwhile, handing the direction even to a banal general analysis of blood and urine, the patient should be told about the preparation for the study. But they don’t tell ... However, it is not only the lack of professionalism of the doctors or their unwillingness to work, but the conditions for the functioning of the native health system that are to blame. The time spent on receiving a patient, according to the standards, should be seven minutes for the patient and about five if the person came for a certificate or for a physical examination. In such conditions, it would be time to write out all directions, where it is already to be clarified, why this is necessary and how to take tests.

When receiving a referral for analysis, think about what you will do if the result is:

a) positive

b) negative

If the answers match, the analysis is no longer needed.

Murphy Rule No. 195. Aphorism of Cochrane.

A clear illustration of the “analytical” illiteracy is the results of a small survey conducted unofficially by employees of one of the laboratories. According to its results, it turned out, for example, that most of the queue with jars is not aware that the causal place had to be washed before collecting urine. No less indicative are patients in whom x-rays and injections were taken immediately before blood donation. To the question “well, how so?” The answer is almost always the same - “but no one told us ...”

Of course, in order to talk about the details of preparing for the collection of all existing analyzes, you will have to write a thick-fat reference book. Therefore, we restrict ourselves to the most important ones, which we rent almost annually and without fail. Likbez on the "banal" analysis does not hurt anyone.

Blood analysis

The requirements for a general blood test apply to all tests, except for very specific ones - for the latter, additional restrictions are simply added.

General rules for blood donation

• strictly on an empty stomach (not earlier than 12 hours after the last meal): the evening before dinner should be light and early, and the whole previous day (ideally even 2-3) should refrain from fatty foods;
• 24 hours excludes any alcohol, thermal procedures (bath and sauna) and physical activity (gym and chopping wood in the country is better to transfer);
• analyzes are given before the procedures (x-rays, injections, massages, etc.) and medication;
• if necessary, repeated studies, it is advisable to make a fence at the same time of day;
• in front of the door of the laboratory you need to rest 5-10 minUT (that's the justification for the queues).

When donating blood for glucose in addition to this, you can not brush your teeth and chew gum, and morning tea / coffee (even unsweetened) is completely contraindicated.

Even if you cannot live without a morning cup of coffee, bear it. It will radically change glucose readings. They will also be affected by contraceptives, twenty drops of cognac in evening tea, diuretics and other medicines.

Blood chemistry

For the reliability of biochemistry, it is advisable to refuse dinner. When prescribing this analysis, the doctor, even under torture, needs to fetch information on which way to adjust the diet and how to take the medicine a day before donating blood.

For example, in the study of bile pigments, the picture is distorted by products that cause the coloring of blood serum - pumpkin, beets, carrots, citrus fruits. Pork chop the day before will increase the level of potassium and uric acid in the blood. And this is one hundredth of what can affect biochemistry.

Blood donation for hormones

Unless the doctor advises otherwise, a month before the study they refuse all hormonal preparations. When donating blood to determine the level of sex hormones, you will also have to at least 24 hours refrain from sex (in any form) and sexual arousal. Otherwise, in the best case, it will be necessary to retake an expensive analysis, and in the worst - to receive inadequate therapy.

Determining the level of thyroid hormones requires the exclusion of drugs with iodine and the rejection of iodized salt.

The hormonal background is unstable and depends on many factors, therefore, if the result of the analysis for hormones suspiciously rolls over, it is better to repeat the study several times in different laboratories. Pleasure, of course, is not cheap, but, given the effect of hormone therapy on the body, it is not worth neglecting re-examination.

Analysis of urine

General urine analysis the most common in medical practice, along with a general blood test. But, despite this, most patients are not aware that before writing in a jar, you need to wash the external genitalia (always towards the anus, and not away from it) and wipe it dry with a clean linen cloth.

Neglect of hygiene along with the use of dirty dishes or dishes made of unstable plastic is the reason for the most common errors in the analysis results.

As with a blood test, diet and medications can correct the test result not for the better. After some drugs or products (for example, beets, vitamins), the color of the urine changes (who will tell the laboratory assistant about this?), And alcohol 24 hours before the analysis is categorically contraindicated. There is a known case when a patient who forgot to report an alcoholic libation was sought to be hospitalized with suspected liver disease. The uncle who was sunbathing at this time in Sochi was very nervous before the situation cleared up.

For general analysis use the first morning portion of urine (previous urination should be no later than 4-6 hours). Even if you forget to pee for the twentieth time in a jar of sleep, you cannot fill it in the evening, otherwise the results will surprise not only you, but also the doctors.

The first few milliliters merge past the container, the rest into clean dishes, but not into a pot or vessel, which cannot be guaranteed sterility. At the same time, you do not need to bring a liter jar to the laboratory for a general analysis - laboratory assistants do not indulge in urine therapy, and 50-100 ml of urine are enough for analysis.

Daily analysis collection

All urine, except morning water, goes into a dark glass container, if there is none, then you need to store the material for analysis only in a dark, cool place. Again, only 50-100 ml of liquid is sent to the laboratory, however, it is important to record its total amount.

By the way, incidents often happen with daily urine. So in one laboratory, pregnant women with urine came to check sugar more than once for the usual analysis, which stood for a day. The girls were sacredly convinced that this was daily urine.

Research on Nechiporenko

For analysis is the middle portion of morning urine in the amount of 25-50 ml, the first and last are poured into another container. This study requires particularly careful hygiene - prescribe it if you suspect kidney disease and any "extraneous" impurities can be misinterpreted. Mucus with leukocytes from the genitals will fall into the jar, and the patient will be treated, for example, for pyelonephritis.

Fecal analysis

Here you can briefly dwell on what it is not recommended to do before collecting material:

• you can not send feces for research after enemas and x-ray examination of the stomach;
• three days before the analysis, the doctor should cancel medications that affect secretion, increase intestinal motility and change the color of feces (laxatives, enzyme preparations, barium, bismuth, iron, kaolin, activated charcoal and other sorbents, rectal suppositories);
• if the diet is not specified separately, then you do not need to follow it, however, holidays with feasts are not welcome

All these recommendations are only suitable for routine examinations. If the situation is urgent (for example, the patient was taken to an ambulance to the hospital), then if possible, you just need to tell the doctor what can affect the reliability of the tests.

If the patient, for his part, has done everything that depended on him, then it’s up to the laboratory. And one cannot help but add a warning that snapped: analysis result - there is no diagnosis, only the attending physician can install it. He knows better how and how to treat the patient. In addition, people who can make mistakes also work in laboratories. If the eye of a specialist, a clear discrepancy is most likely to notice, then when trying to self-medicate, such an error can be expensive.

Olesya Sosnitskaya, Leonid Shchebotansky

They remain one of the most effective methods for determining pathological processes in the body and prescribing appropriate treatment. Each patient who went to the clinic had to take tests at least once, but many patients did not follow the doctors' recommendations for preparing for laboratory tests. This distorts the overall picture and does not allow to obtain accurate results, which further complicates the diagnosis.

One of the most common types of research is general. It allows you to count the number of blood cells of all types, as well as determine their parameters. In addition, it allows you to calculate the amount of hemoglobin in the blood, determine, and check whether the ratio of plasma to blood cells is normal. According to these indicators, we can conclude that there are a number of pathological processes in the body and take appropriate measures.

A general blood test is performed in the morning. For him, capillary blood is taken from the ring finger, this procedure is familiar to everyone since childhood. The droplets that come out are collected and pipetted into a test tube, from where the blood will then be taken for examination. In some cases, for a general analysis, blood is taken from a vein, in which case it is also checked for sedimentation rate.

Rules for passing a general blood test

It is important to know how to take it correctly so that the result does not turn out to be blurry and gives the doctor the most useful information.

All patients should follow a few basic guidelines:

1. Blood is taken only on an empty stomach: the last meal should be no later than 8-12 hours before the study. Before analysis, you can drink only water, coffee, tea, juices and other drinks are not allowed.
2. In order to prevent distortion of the picture, 1-2 days before analysis it is undesirable to take spicy and fatty foods, and even more so alcoholic beverages. At this time, it is better to give up smoking, as this bad habit affects the content of hemoglobin in the blood.
3. Before taking tests, strong physical exertion is extremely undesirable, which is why it is most often performed in the morning.
4. The day before, physiotherapeutic procedures, bath visits and other influences that have a strong effect on the body are not recommended. If you are taking any medications, you must definitely tell the doctor who will use the data obtained at the time of delivery.
5. It is undesirable to combine a general blood test with other types of examination. This is especially true of x-ray studies.

Useful information about a general blood test.

These recommendations are always followed: any violation can lead to an increase in the number of certain blood cells in the blood, and this can show the wrong picture. Based on the data obtained, the doctor prescribes treatment, and if the patient reacts to taking the tests irresponsibly, in the end he can seriously harm himself.

• Disease Prevention Some laboratory ones are included in mandatory annual professional examinations, as they make it possible to detect diseases in the early stages. These include anemia, bleeding disorders, leukemia, and more. According to a general analysis, the doctor will be able to judge the state of the body as a whole, and if there are suspicions of a pathology, he will refer the patient for further examination.
• Pregnancy. The purpose of the study is similar: during pregnancy, it is especially important to detect the presence of infections and other pathologies in the early stages, in order to adjust the treatment plan and prevent harm to the child. When registering a pregnant woman, a medical bypass is to be performed, which will reduce the risks of improper development.
• A blood test will be prescribed for tuberculosis, syphilis and other terrible infections that can hide for a long time. When the patient is still referred to the doctor, it is important to assess his condition as objectively as possible in order to prescribe the right treatment.

The analysis can be taken both in state and private clinics, in many cases it is free. Its cost, even in private institutions, is low, since it is one of the most common. You can get the results the very next day after the study.

The general is most often supplemented by the general, according to which the doctor will also be able to judge the presence of inflammation in the body. In addition, it can be assigned, allowing you to see the full picture of all the processes taking place in the body. Preparation for biochemical analysis will be more thorough, since any deviation from the diet and the normal regime of the day can affect key indicators.

Depending on the symptoms, a blood test is also prescribed for, a smear from the mucous membrane and other laboratory tests. The state of the digestive system will be able to tell in detail.

Laboratory studies have greatly simplified and accelerated the diagnosis: they allowed to obtain objective information reflecting the state of the body.

Proper preparation of the patient and a responsible attitude to his health allows you to get the most reliable picture and make an accurate diagnosis.