Blood tests are basic diagnostic tools that must be taken annually by a healthy female, and bi-monthly in a woman who has comorbidities. Fertile women trying to conceive should take all screening tests to ward off any risks by identifying underlying infections or silent pathologies. Thus, the following blood tests are essential for women of all ages. Consult your doctor about the medications you’re taking, most contraceptive pills should be taken two hours prior to the tests, especially for checking hormone levels. Blood tests for checking glucose imply that one must be fasting for a specific amount of time to get a correct blood test reading. Follow your physician’s instructions and be completely transparent about the use of both prescribed and recreational drugs.
1. Complete Blood Count
Most women tended to iron deficiency anaemia due to the cyclic blood loss from menstruation. Thus, every girl should have an annual blood test after puberty. Additionally, complete blood count is a baseline investigation for identifying bleeding disorders like thrombocytopenia, haemophilia, etc. Moreover, underlying infections associated with mild fever, malaise and other constitutional signs can be diagnosed with increased WBCs, C-reactive protein (CRP), and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) on a blood test report.
2. Complete Metabolic Panel
Fair, fat, fertile females are more prone to developing gallstones according to several medical researches. Thus, liver function tests for enzymes and blood tests for charting elevated levels become essential for early detection and diagnosis in this sub-group. That is why if you fall into this category, an annual complete metabolic panel is crucial.
The liver function tests include protein analysis, that is free protein, bound protein, total protein which includes the amount of albumin and globulin in each serum or plasma sample as well as finding out the albumin/globulin ratio. Additionally the amount of conjugated and unconjugated protein is analysed. And enzyme levels such as alkaline phosphatase, alanine amino-transferase and aspartate amino-transferase are accessed.
Women with diagnosed hypertension as well clinical symptoms of renal disease are tested for levels of urea, blood urea nitrogen and creatinine in the serum. Higher levels account for poor kidney function. Additionally acid and base balance by checking the amount of blood gases also gives informative insight about effective kidney and lung function since the blood must always have a fixed pH of 7.4.
Electrolytes are also important for maintaining the body’s function at a cellular level and for keeping up a balanced internal environment through appropriate charges. The electrolytes tested include sodium, calcium, potassium, and chloride. They aren’t present in very specific ranges and any variation accounts for a plethora of pathologies like cardiac arrhythmias, renal failure and anasarca.
3. Hormonal Tests
Pubertal, menopausal and conceiving women must get their complete hormonal profile. This includes the level of estradiol, progesterone, prolactin, FSH and LH. A balance of these hormones is maintained for normal function of the menstrual cycle, for implantation of the placenta during pregnancy, and several other aspects like mood regulations, milk production and cardiovascular health. After menopause, women do not produce sufficient levels of estrogen which increase the risk for several pathologies like endometrial hyperplasia. Thus, hormonal analysis becomes essential before starting hormone replacement therapy.
4. Lipid Profile
High density lipoproteins are good fats while low density lipoproteins can increase the risk for life-threatening cardiovascular events. Women with her body mass index, sedentary lifestyles and a history of heart diseases in the family are at increased risk. Thus, charting lipid profiles can prevent a huge medical bill and a lethal cardiac disease. Having a higher level of cholesterol in the blood is a major indication of imminent risk. But this can be reversed by dietary modifications and exercise. Cholesterol levels must be accessed regularly till they reach their normal range.
5. Vitamin Panel Tests
Women of child-brewing age must have their vitamin levels checked. Especially folic acid since it is used in DNA synthesis and prevents in-utero congenital detections such as spina bifida. While dietary supplements should be taken by women of all ages after a proper assessment of which vitamins are deficient and how much dosage is required to elevate the stores. Most vitamin stores have a short questionnaire that analyzes nail, hair or skin problems to cater to your specific needs by picking out the required vitamins at fixed doses.
