Conducting a blood test is a vital part of your health plan and your doctor can tell about the present condition. It works in the form of a crystal ball , but what you might do in the hours before could leave a negative effect on the blood test results. According to the National Institutes of Health, private blood tests can help doctors to detect certain diseases, check the function of your organs and show how well the treatments are working.
Blood tests can help doctors to:
- Assess how well the organs are working
- Diagnose conditions and diseases such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS, coronary heart disease, anemia(uh-NEE-me-eh) and cancer
- Know if you have any risk factors related to heart disease
- Check if the medicines you take are working
- Evaluate how well the blood is clotting
Blood tests are quite common and have lesser risks involved. There are certain things you may do before the test that can affect the result. Let us consider a few things you should no or avoid in order to get the most accurate blood test results.
Accurate Blood Test Results: Fast
Your doctor will suggest you to do fasting before a blood test so that you can attain the most accurate results. Certain nutrients and ingredients present in the food and different beverages you drink get absorbed in the bloodstream. This might be the reason for some factors that are measured by a few tests. Fasting can help to improve the accuracy of those tests.
Some blood tests for which you need to fast include:
- Cholesterol test (total, HDL, LDL)
- Blood glucose test
- Triglyceride level test
Fasting ensures the blood test results won’t be affected by the foods you eat during the hours before your blood gets drawn. The results might be affected since the food cannot be absorbed completely by the body. You must give at least 8 to 12 hours to digest properly.
Water will not have any effect on the test results
Some tests require you do not eat anything at all but for most cases, you can at least drink water. Your blood nearly has 50 percent water and the water you drink hydrates the veins. It plumps them up by making it easy for the technician to search for them, thus making them a smoother blood draw. Besides, it will help to keep the blood pressure from dropping further. You need to speak with the doctor and know what you can drink before performing the test.
Avoid doing exercises for getting the accurate blood test results
This is the only time when your doctor might tell you not to do exercise because a workout can actually leave negative impact on the test results. Your blood must be drawn when you take rest in order to get the most accurate results.
A workout done before a fasting blood test might change the results of glucose and cholesterol tests. There are certain cases of cholesterol testing when if you perform exercise before getting your blood drawn, the LDL cholesterol levels might increase. This is the bad cholesterol that you obviously want to maintain low.
Though exercise can help to improve blood panel, strenuous physical exercise before drawing blood might impact the results negatively. So, you should delay the workouts for the time being till you are done.
Drinking alcohol might affect the blood test results
You should not drink alcohol the night before performing your blood test. If you need to fast at least 12 hours before the test, then it will probably get metabolized till you keep it to one or two drunks, at the most. However, if it is somewhat specific to liver enzymes, they might need to be change. It is a good decision on your part to consult with the doctor and attain your desired results.
Blood test results and medications
The major rule of blood test results and medications is to speak with the doctor about what medications you take before drawing the blood. You should also inform it to the person who is drawing blood so that they can make a note of it too. Make sure you do not stop taking a prescription till your doctor tells about it.
Some medications might have an impact on the blood test results, but this does not mean that you should stop taking the medicine. For example, steroids can increase the levels of cholesterol, but your doctor might consider this when assessing the results. Herbal remedies, vitamins, and supplements might affect the results and so, you should inform the doctor when taking any of them.
Smoking can affect your blood test results
It is advised not to smoke before your blood test to get the most accurate result. According to clinical studies, e-cigarettes can have an impact on the blood sugar level for people who are having diabetes. As per the research, higher levels of nicotine are related to slightly increased levels of HbA1c in people who do not have diabetes. So, if you need to do fasting before the blood test, make sure you do not smoke too.
Even though you remain strong and healthy, it is a good decision to perform a regular blood test. Your blood test result can tell a lot about your present health condition. It will change you to different problems or adapt to healthy lifestyle changes. The numbers you might get from a blood test result are extremely important and hence, it is crucial that you prepare your body to conduct the test for getting the most accurate results. It will also save you from the trouble of getting re-tested in case the results seem to be inconsistent.
One of the important things your blood test might tell is about your blood-sugar level. Diabetes is certainly a major health issue and you may learn about how to prevent or reverse its effects by consulting with your doctor during the next blood test in London.
