Have you ever visited a doctor and discussed your reasons for the visit, then he or she examined you and ordered lab tests to help him or her diagnose and treat you? Have you wondered about the meaning of the lab tests? These tests are one of the main keys to your doctor’s diagnosis and treatment. X-rays, CT, and other diagnostic tools are very important also. But it is the lab tests that reveal the condition of your blood. I am a retired Medical Technologist and I can help you understand your lab tests. I am not a doctor and I cannot and will not diagnose or treat you. I will, however, help you understand your lab tests.
A Medical Technologist is a professional who performs your laboratory tests in a clinical laboratory setting such as a hospital or private lab. Medical Technology education includes a Bachelor of Science Degree in Medical Technology (or another science field) plus a 12 month long intense education in a Medical Technology program. The program covers areas such as microbiology, clinical chemistry, hematology, serology, molecular biology, urinalysis, and parasitology. It incorporates both hands on and classroom education. Following this education, there are national and state licensure examinations. However, if you were to ask non-medical people and even the majority of medical personnel (nurses and doctors included), most do not know what a Medical Technologist does. They call us “lab technicians”, and most simply call me a nurse. Nursing education and job function is totally different from Medical Technology education and job performance. Nurses study how to care for patients. Medical Technologists are scientists who perform the testing on patients’ blood and body fluids. If I am in a situation in which someone gets acutely ill, I will call for a nurse or doctor!
Homeostasis is the central unifying concept of physiology and is defined as a “self-regulating process by which an organism can maintain internal stability while adjusting to changing external conditions.” Homeostasis enables the organism (human being in our case) to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The health and vitality of the organism can be said to be the end result of homeostatic regulation. I am grateful for my education and experience in the clinical laboratory as a Medical Technologist. It has given me a thorough understanding of how blood determines the homeostasis of our bodies, and it has helped me make good decisions about my own health.
At this point I have to mention a non-medical technique that is being sold by naturopaths and other non-medical people. It is called “Live Blood Analysis”. They take a drop of your blood and place it on a slide. Of course, the blood immediately starts to clot on the slide. They may tell you that you have “rouleaux”, or a “stacked coin appearance” of your blood cells. This does not occur in your blood vessels unless you have a specific disease, and that is rare. It occurs on the slide as the blood begins to clot. I have also seen it on dried blood smears, but it is considered an artifact (does not occur in your blood, just in the test tube or on the slide). They may tell you that you have bacteria or parasites in your blood. That is hogwash also. They are mis-identifying platelets as bacteria or parasites. If you truly had bacteria in your blood, you would be too sick to be getting a so-called live blood analysis. You would be hospitalized. Likewise with parasites. They also claim they can tell if you are vitamin deficient. In a laboratory, blood smears are made as a thin smear, dried, and stained. We can see the size and shape of the red blood cells under oil-immersion microscopy. We can tell a lot about a red blood cell’s size and shape. But without staining, and without at least 1000x magnification (which is the 100x lens times the 10x eyepiece magnification), it is impossible to determine the size and shape of red blood cells. Their magnification is not nearly that level. Please do not let them convince you that the “live blood analysis” is a medical diagnostic tool! It is quackery.
That being said, some of us are limited by disease and other conditions over which we have no control. Living in the body God gave us is not always easy. I have exercised regularly and eaten healthy meals and taken supplements for most of my life. However, with age comes the typical limitation of matter and its consequential aches and pains. My personal weaknesses are my joints and spine. Still, I am dealing with the aches and pains of age by doing the things I have always done, though not with the same intensity as in the past, and by keeping a healthy weight. I find myself using some anti-inflammatories a little more than I should, but then again, it is a balance between living life and being in pain.
Speaking of weight, that is a struggle many people have difficulty with. It is essential to maintain a healthy weight, especially as you age. Many problems come from the extra pounds – joints and cardiovascular problems particularly.
If you would like a free consultation – no strings attached, no sales pitch – please contact me on the contact form, or send an email to me at June@healthyblood.net. I will respond as quickly as possible.