This may cause a short, sharp electric-shock type pain. This may be all that happens; however in some cases tingling type of pain may persist for one to four weeks, as the nerve heals. This is inconvenient and may be unpleasant but it eventually heals up. Another rare complication is for a small clot or thrombus to form in the vein at the site where the needle was inserted.
This is noticeable as a small firm lump just under the skin. The lump may or may not be tender and will go away over a couple of weeks. Finally, there is the possibility of infection developing at the site of the needle puncture. This is extremely rare and would be noticed as developing redness and pain. Most times, discolouration and tenderness around the needle puncture site are the result of bruises that are healing but if you are worried contact the person or clinic where you had the blood collection done or visit your doctor.
Finger-pricks A small number of blood tests require just a finger-prick. A very small sample of blood from your capillaries can be obtained from the fingertip or earlobe, or from the heel or big toe of a newborn baby.
Warming the skin with moist, hot compresses for about 10 minutes helps blood flow to the area. The skin is then pricked with a lancet. Because there are more nerves in the finger than in your elbow, you may find that a finger-prick is a bit more painful than venipuncture even though it can seem less intimidating.
Arterial samples In more critical situations patients admitted into hospital may require blood to be taken from arteries. This procedure, known as an arterial sample, is performed by a doctor or specially trained nurse.
A local anaesthetic may be administered and afterwards the nurse applies pressure to stop the bleeding and prevent bruising. Warning Don't risk using unapproved coronavirus test kits More Info.
Find an explanation of your pathology test Keyword:. Test name Tests All Tests and synonyms Test not listed? Health check Screening Print full article For most people, having blood taken is quick, easy and relatively painless. What happens? Will it hurt? Not flowing well? Cold hands? Blood tests can be used in a number of ways, such as helping to diagnose a condition, assessing the health of certain organs or screening for some genetic conditions.
Cholesterol is a fatty substance mostly created by the liver from the fatty foods in your diet and is vital for the normal functioning of the body.
Having a high level of cholesterol can contribute to an increased risk of serious problems such as heart attacks and strokes. Blood cholesterol levels can be measured with a simple blood test. You may be asked not to eat for 12 hours before the test which usually includes when you're asleep to ensure that all food is completely digested and won't affect the result, although this isn't always necessary.
Find out more about diagnosing high cholesterol and read about cholesterol tests on Lab Tests Online UK. This involves taking a small sample of blood from a vein in your arm and from one or more other parts of your body. The samples are combined with nutrients designed to encourage the growth of bacteria. This can help show whether any bacteria are present in your blood. A blood gases sample is taken from an artery, usually at the wrist.
It's likely to be painful and is only carried out in hospital. A blood gas test is used to check the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in your blood, and the balance of acid and alkali in your blood the pH balance. A number of tests can be used to diagnose and monitor diabetes by checking the level of sugar glucose in the blood. Blood glucose test kits may be available to use at home.
These only require a small "pin prick" of blood for testing. This is done before donating blood or having a blood transfusion , to check what your blood group is. If you were given blood that didn't match your blood group, your immune system may attack the red blood cells, which could lead to potentially life-threatening complications.
Blood typing is also used during pregnancy, as there's a small risk the unborn child may have a different blood group from their mother, which could lead to the mother's immune system attacking her baby's red blood cells. This is known as rhesus disease. Read more about diagnosing rhesus disease. If testing reveals there is a risk of rhesus disease, an injection of a medicine that stops the mother's immune system attacking her baby's blood cells can be given.
Read more about preventing rhesus disease. A number of blood tests can be carried out to help diagnose certain cancers or check if you're at an increased risk of developing a particular type of cancer. By counting the chromosomes each cell should have 23 pairs and checking their shape, it may be possible to detect genetic abnormalities. If it takes a long time for your blood to clot, it may be a sign of a bleeding disorder such as haemophilia or von Willebrand disease.
A type of coagulation test called the international normalised ratio INR is used to monitor the dose of anticoagulants, such as warfarin , and check that your dose is correct. CRP is produced by the liver and if there is a higher concentration of CRP than usual, it's a sign of inflammation in your body.
Electrolytes are minerals found in the body, including sodium, potassium and chloride, that perform jobs such as maintaining a healthy water balance in your body. Changes in the level of electrolytes can have various possible causes, including dehydration , diabetes or certain medications.
This test works by measuring how long it takes for red blood cells to fall to the bottom of a test tube. The quicker they fall, the more likely it is there are high levels of inflammation. This is a test to check the types and numbers of cells in your blood, including red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. This can help give an indication of your general health, as well as provide important clues about certain health problems you may have.
This involves extracting a sample of DNA from your blood, then searching the sample for a specific genetic change mutation. Genetic screening can also be used to check if someone carries a particular gene that increases their risk of developing a genetic condition. For example, if your brother or sister developed a genetic condition in later life, such as Huntington's disease , you may want to find out whether there is a risk that you could also develop the condition.
When the liver is damaged, it releases substances called enzymes into the blood and levels of proteins produced by the liver begin to drop.
By measuring the levels of these enzymes and proteins, it's possible to build up a picture of how well the liver is functioning. This can help to diagnose certain liver conditions, including hepatitis, cirrhosis liver scarring , and alcohol-related liver disease.
A small dressing will be placed on the spot where the needle has been to keep it clean and prevent infection. Labelling Labelling the tube with your name, a personal ID number and the date and time of collection is of the utmost importance. This is to confirm that you are the right person.
They may ask you to repeat it after the sample has been taken. For more on this go to Why identification is important. After the sample has been collected and labelled, it is transported to the laboratory. Once the specimen arrives in the laboratory it is booked into the laboratory's computer system. The tube label contains all the information necessary to ensure that the sample is analysed for all the tests requested by your doctor and that the results are matched to your name.
In many blood tests, an automated instrument analyses the sample.
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