Medical experts often order blood tests for various purposes. From monitoring blood levels to evaluation for disease diagnosis, blood test results can be an important component of treatment. Specifically, blood tests are performed to evaluate the function of certain organs such as the liver or kidneys, diagnose diseases, determine risk factors, check medications you are taking, and check for blood clots. Blood tests can be done in the doctor's office or in certain laboratories according to the type of test requested. Here are some things you can do to prepare yourself, physically and mentally, for a blood test.
Step
Method 1 of 4: Preparing Physically for a Blood Test
Step 1. Consult a doctor
You should know what type of blood test your doctor has ordered. Some blood tests will require special preparation to get accurate results. Some examples of blood tests that require special preparation are:
- A glucose tolerance test that requires you to fast before coming to the lab. You will also have to be in the lab for five hours, and your blood will be drawn once every thirty to sixty minutes.
- Fasting glucose test, done after you haven't eaten or drank anything other than water for eight to twelve hours. The test is often done in the morning so you don't have to fast all day.
- A serum lipid test, also known as a cholesterol test, which sometimes requires you to fast for nine to twelve hours before the test.
- For a cortisol blood test, you should avoid strenuous activity the day before, lie down for thirty minutes beforehand, and eat or drink for an hour before the test.
Step 2. Discuss treatment
There are some substances that can interfere with the course of the test so you will have to stop taking them before the blood test. Prescription drugs, recreational drugs, alcohol, vitamins, blood thinners, or generics can often change the results of certain blood tests.
Your doctor will determine whether you should wait 24 to 48 hours to get the correct blood test results or whether the substances you are taking will significantly affect the blood test results
Step 3. Avoid certain activities
The course of certain types of blood tests can be affected by your activities such as vigorous exercise, dehydration, smoking, drinking herbal teas, or having sex.
You may be asked to avoid some of these activities before having a blood test
Step 4. Ask your doctor for instructions
Most tests do not require any special preparation before the blood draw. However, if you are in doubt, ask. If your doctor doesn't give you specific instructions, you should keep asking questions to reduce the risk of suboptimal test results.
Step 5. Drink enough water
Adequate hydration of the body will facilitate the drawing of blood. Your veins will be bigger, easier to find, and the blood won't be so thick that it will flow easily. If it turns out that you are required to fast water as well, make sure you are very hydrated from the day before.
This may make you have to wake up at night to go to the restroom. However, a well-hydrated body will make it easier to draw blood
Step 6. Warm your hands
Before you get ready for the blood test, first warm the hand where the blood will be drawn. Use a warm compress on your hand for ten to fifteen minutes to increase blood flow to the area.
Wear thicker clothing when you go to the blood draw. This action is intended to increase skin temperature, increase blood flow, and make it easier for the phlebotomist (the person in charge of taking your blood) to find your veins
Step 7. Consult a phlebotomist
If you do something that is not in accordance with the blood collection preparation instructions that have been instructed, you must notify the phlebotomist. If the procedure is deemed significant enough to affect the test results, you may have to have your blood drawn another day.
Inform if you have a latex allergy or are sensitive to latex. Latex is the material found in most gloves and wound dressings used in the blood collection process. Allergies or high sensitivity to latex suffered by a few people can be life-threatening. If you know that you have any of these allergies or sensitivities, you should tell your doctor and phlebotomist so they can use a latex-free kit
Method 2 of 4: Mentally Preparing for a Blood Test
Step 1. Stabilize stress levels
If you feel anxious about a blood test, your stress or anxiety level may increase. Increased stress will raise blood pressure, constrict vessels, and make blood more difficult to draw.
- Knowing how to reduce stress can help you prepare and allow a phlebotomist to find your veins quickly.
- You can try taking deep breaths or repeating calming words such as “This test will only take a moment. Many people have been through it. Does not matter." Read the “Stress Reducing Techniques” section of this article for more tips.
Step 2. Recognize your fear
Before you go to the doctor for a blood draw, you should be able to realize if you feel anxiety from the procedure. You may also have a fear of needles. Three to ten percent of the human population has a fear of needles (Belonephobia) or injections (Trypanophobia).
Interestingly, eighty percent of people with a needle phobia reported that they also had a single-mother's family member who was also afraid of needles. Therefore, it is possible that this one phobia is genetically inherited
Step 3. Ask about EMLA
If you have had a blood drawn before and find the process quite painful for you, ask your doctor for EMLA (Eutectic Mixture of Local Anesthetics). EMLA is a local anesthetic that is applied at the point of blood collection, 45 minutes to two hours before the collection, to numb the area.
- If you know that you are sensitive to the pain, ask if EMLA can be given to you or not.
- Usually, EMLA is used for children and rarely for adults because of the length of time it takes to work.
- You can also ask about "Numby Stuff," a local anesthetic that uses a combination of lidocaine, epinephrine, and low-voltage electric current to numb a point on the body. This process takes ten minutes to work.
Step 4. Understand how a blood test is started
To prepare yourself mentally, you must understand the test procedure. The phlebotomist will wear gloves to prevent himself from getting exposed to your blood. An elastic band will usually be placed on the arm, above the elbow, and you will be asked to make a fist. In a typical blood test, blood will be drawn from a vein in the arm or at the tip of a finger.
The elastic band will increase the amount of blood in the arm in that area. Blood will be able to flow into the arm through the arteries-which are located deeper in the arm-but the amount of blood that can be pumped out of the blood will not be as much. The elastic band will increase the size of the vessel, making it easier for the phlebotomist to find it and inject a needle to draw blood
Step 5. Know how to draw blood
Blood will be drawn in more or less the same way, regardless of where it was drawn. A needle connected to a small tube will be injected into the vein. Once the tube is filled with a sufficient amount of blood, it will be removed and sealed automatically.
- If more than one tube is required, the needle will remain in the vessel and an additional tube will be inserted. When all the tubes for your blood test are filled, the phlebotomist will remove the needle and place gauze at the injection site. Then, you will be asked to press down on the gauze while the tubes that have been used are prepared to be taken to the laboratory.
- You may be given a dressing to place over the gauze to stop blood flow at the injection site.
- The entire process of drawing blood usually takes only three minutes or less.
Method 3 of 4: Using Stress Reducing Techniques
Step 1. Take a deep breath
If you feel depressed at the thought of having your blood drawn, you should try to calm yourself down. Take a deep breath, focusing all your attention on the rise and fall of your breathing. Deep breathing activates the body's relaxation response. Inhale slowly, count one to four, then exhale slowly to another count of one to four.
Step 2. Accept the fact that you are anxious
Anxiety or anxiety is just one of many feelings. A feeling can only control you if you give it control. When you accept the fact that you are feeling anxious, you will be able to control those feelings. If you try to get rid of it, you will only feel pressured by it.
Step 3. Realize that your thoughts can be deceiving
Anxiety is a trick of the mind and can have physical repercussions. Anxiety that is too high can produce panic attacks that resemble a heart attack. If you can understand your anxiety, no matter how great it is, you'll realize that anxiety is just one of the tricks your mind creates to reduce the stress and responsibility of taking care of yourself.
Step 4. Ask yourself questions
If you're feeling anxious, ask yourself a few questions to determine exactly how bad the situation really is. Anxiety can increase the number of negative ideas in your mind. On the other hand, asking yourself a series of specific questions will require you to be able to think of realistic and self-aware answers. Here are examples of questions you can ask yourself:
- What's the worst thing that could happen to have my blood drawn?
- Are the things I worry about realistic? Can these things really happen to me?
- What is the probability that something very bad will happen to me?
Step 5. Try talking to yourself in a positive way
As unlikely as it may sound, you will always listen to what you have to say to yourself. Speak out loud over and over again, saying that you are strong, can handle the situation, and that nothing bad will happen. This can help reduce your feelings of anxiety.
Method 4 of 4: Knowing Activities After Blood Test
Step 1. Eat a snack
If you were asked to fast before the blood test, bring a snack to eat after the test. Also bring a bottle of water and snacks that don't require special storage. This will help reduce the pressure you are feeling.
- Cookies or sandwiches with peanut butter, almond or walnuts, or cheese are examples of snacks that are easy to carry around and contain enough protein and calories to allow you to have another heavy meal.
- If you forget to bring a snack, ask the staff at the place where your blood was drawn. Most likely, the staff there already provided biscuits or cakes for this purpose.
Step 2. Ask how long it will take to get results
Some tests can be completed within 24 hours, others take a week or more if your blood has to be taken to a specialized laboratory. Ask your doctor about the process used to convey blood test results. In some cases, the hospital or doctor will not deliver the results to you directly if all test results are within normal limits. If your blood is being sent somewhere else, also ask how long it will take before your doctor gets the results from the lab.
- Ask to be notified even if all your results are normal. This will ensure that your results don't disappear and you will also know that your condition is normal.
- Call your doctor's office, three to four days after the date you were given the test results, if you were not notified.
- Ask if your doctor's office has an online notification system. You may be given a link to a specific site to register so that the test results can be sent to you digitally.
Step 3. Observe the presence or absence of bruising
A common side effect of drawing blood is the presence of a bruise, or hematoma, at the injection point. These bruises can appear immediately or within 24 hours after the blood draw. Some of the factors that can contribute to a hematoma is the leakage of blood from the point of entry of the syringe into the vessel into the surrounding tissue. This condition can also be caused by blood disorders or anticoagulant drugs that increase the risk of bruising or hematomas.
- Applying pressure to the point where the blood was drawn for five minutes-longer than it takes to stop the outflow of blood-will often help reduce the risk of a hematoma or blood pooling outside the vessel.
- Hemophilia is a well-known bleeding disorder, although it is rare. This condition occurs in two forms: A and B.
- Von Willebrand disease (Von Willebrand disease, VWD) is the most common bleeding disorder and affects the blood clotting process.
- Before taking blood, you should tell your doctor and phlebotomist if you have any blood disorders.
Step 4. Inquire about possible outcome complications
There are certain situations where your blood test results may be inaccurate. Administration of a tourniquet for too long can result in pooling of blood in the arm or the area where the blood was drawn. This will increase blood concentration and increase the risk of inaccurate results from blood tests.
- A tourniquet should be placed for no more than one minute to prevent blood collection, also known as hemoconcentration.
- If the phlebotomist takes more than one minute to locate the correct vessel, the tourniquet should be removed and reinserted after two minutes or before the needle is injected.
Step 5. Discuss hemolysis with a phlebotomist
Hemolysis is a problem with the blood sample and not a complication that you will experience right away. Hemolysis occurs when red blood cells undergo breakdown so that other components enter the blood serum. Hemolyzed blood cannot be used for testing and another blood sample will have to be taken. Hemolysis often occurs when:
- The blood sample tube is shaken vigorously after it is removed from the needle.
- Blood is drawn from a vessel near the site of the hematoma.
- The blood test is done using a small needle that destroys cells in the process of drawing blood into the tube.
- Excessive clenching of the hands when drawing blood.
- Leave the tourniquet on for more than a minute.
