All Blood Tests

Pregnancy Test:

Home pregnancy tests detect a pregnancy by the presence of the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) hormone – a glycoprotein hormone that is produced by the placenta after fertilization takes place – in a woman’s urine. The hCG hormone is present in very small and sometimes undetectable amounts in the urine during the initial stages of the pregnancy, so if you are using a home pregnancy test kit to find out if you are pregnant, you should preferably carry out the test at least 8 days after conception or after you’ve missed a period. Home pregnancy tests, so long you follow their instructions exactly, can be up to 99 percent accurate.

False Positive Pregnancy Test:
Sometimes the pregnancy test may come out positive, when, in fact, you are not pregnant. This is what is known as a false positive pregnancy test. A false positive pregnancy test is not very common, and there are many reasons why it may happen.

Causes behind a False Positive Pregnancy Test:

Taking the pregnancy test at the wrong time:
As mentioned, pregnancy is detected by the presence of the Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG) hormone and this hormone is present in very low levels during the initial stages of pregnancy. So if you test too early, the test may fail to detect the hCG and give the wrong result. The hCH hormone can also sometimes be produced by tissues other than the placenta and so a woman who is not pregnant may get a positive result. It’s advisable to wait at least eight days before taking a pregnancy test and testing the first urine of the day, as this has hCG in concentrated amounts. Or you can get a test done every two days – if you are pregnant, the hCG level will show a steady increase.

Improper testing:
It is necessary to read ‘how-to’ instructions carefully when using a home pregnancy test kit and to follow them correctly. Most tests require you to read the result only within a specified time period, and it is very important that you follow this instruction, using a clock to record the time to be absolutely accurate. Not checking within the specified time or checking after the time frame has elapsed can lead to the wrong result.

Evaporation line:
When urine is tested in some home pregnancy tests and the test is positive, the urine usually changes color and a colored line shows up in the testing strip area. You should check for this line in the specified time, which may be around five minutes after testing. If you don’t check in time, the urine in the test area can dry up and give rise to an evaporation line. Evaporation lines may also arise due to a particular kind of urine composition. In any case, the evaporation line shows up as a colorless or a light grey line that can be seen very faintly or only if held up in the light to be seen, and is mistakenly taken as a positive test result. If an evaporation line shows with the test, you should retest again in a day or two days for a correct result.

Chemical Pregnancy:
Many women become pregnant and then miscarry very early on – according to research, this seems to be a common phenomenon with many first-time pregnancies. This early miscarriage is called a Chemical Pregnancy. So a woman may get a positive result from her home pregnancy test and then miscarry.

Influence of medication or health problems on the home pregnancy test:
If you are on any medication that contains the hCG hormone, it will affect your pregnancy test and give out a false positive pregnancy test result. Women who are undergoing fertility treatments should especially keep this in mind. So it’s important to talk to your doctor both before and after you do a home pregnancy test and go for a thorough check-up.

Defective pregnancy test:
Before buying a home pregnancy test kit, remember to check the expiration date on the pack. You won’t get correct test results from a pack that’s expired, which may sound obvious, but in some cases needs to be stated. There is also a chance that the test kit may be a defective one, leading again to the wrong test results.

If you think you have made a mistake in the testing, you should get another pregnancy test done after two or more days. Don’t depend wholly on the home pregnancy test kit results though, whatever the result. Visit your doctor and have a blood test for pregnancy. This is much more accurate.

The PSA test s becoming more popular with men over 40 and could save your life. Here we will look at prostrate cancer and the test and how it could help you.

What is PSA?

PSA is prostate specific antigen. PSA is a protease (protein) secreted the prostate gland. Its levels in the blood are elevated in men with both benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. PSA is now an accepted and routine screening test for prostate cancer.

The PSA Test

PSA presence in the blood is very low, so its detection requires a very sensitive type of technology.

The test uses the monoclonal antibody technique. The PSA protein exists both in the blood by itself, and joined with other substances. By itself, it is free PSA, and joined with other substances, bound PSA.

The term ‘Total PSA’ is the total both forms. The PSA test gives the result of the Total PSA

Results of the PSA Test

The highest normal level of Total PSA is 4 nanograms per milliliter, or ng/mL. Statistics show men’s prostate gland will generally increases in size and produces more PSA with increasing age.
Therefore aging has a great role in the actual results of the test. However, doctors would be concerned with anyone who had a result of over 4.5 ng/mL, and would generally do a biopsy to determine physically if cancer were present

Specific Use of the PSA Test for Cancer

Doctors are using the PSA test now in two ways. First as a screening test to determine elevated PSA levels (which might indicate cancer, but can also indicate other conditions as well), or as a monitor test for those who are known to have prostate cancer.

With the screening technique, any increased levels over 4.5 ng/mL require further investigation. As a monitoring test, high levels of PSA can indicate the growing or reducing threat of cancer.

However an abnormal result also can indicate a recurrence of prostate cancer following therapy.

For example, in men with a surgically removed prostate gland (prostatectomy), where all of the cancer was contained, a PSA test should result in 0. However, if in these men the PSA test is positive or shows increasing levels, it shows the cancer was not successfully removed and / or it has spread.

PSA Also Can Show Non-Cancerous Conditions

The PSA test result can indicate conditions other than cancer.

Often a higher PSA test result indicates benign prostatic hypertrophy, which his enlargement or hyperplasia of the prostate gland. These conditions are due to an increase aging in certain men.

Also infection of the prostate gland, known as prostatitis, will cause an abnormal elevation of PSA.

There are other conditions also which can result in higher levels of PSA that are non-cancerous.

In each case however, the doctor will first perform a biopsy to determine if cancer cells are present.
The Free PSA Test

Free PSA in the blood exists as well as bound PSA, and there is now a test for Free PSA. Studies have shown that levels of free PSA decrease in men with prostate cancer.

The Free PSA levels in men with benign conditions will not decrease. Levels of Free PSA differ from test procedure to test procedure, but in any case, it is a good indication of the presence of cancer if the levels are shown to be decreasing.

Who Should Test for PSA

Any many over 40 years old now should test for PSA. Every man over 50 must test for PSA to insure that if there is a problem, it can be treated early. Consult your physician if this article concerns you.

A wheat allergy is an immune system response to one or several of the proteins contained in wheat (albumin, globulin, gliadin and gluten) while a wheat intolerance is the failure of the body’s digestive system to properly break down the proteins in wheat. An allergy can cause sudden, life-threatening reactions, called anaphylaxis but it is much less common than an intolerance. An intolerance is believed to affect 15% of the U.S. population and in general, causes a variety of symptoms that are less severe than a true allergy. These symptoms can still undermine a person’s health and lifestyle.

Recognizing the Symptoms

The symptoms of a wheat allergy and an intolerance can easily be confused. Both can be gastrointestinal, like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, cramps, abdominal pain and constipation. Some intolerance symptoms can masquerade as histamine responses, like rashes, eczema flare-ups, headaches, and congestion. Generally, an intolerance has a wider array of possible symptoms, including fatigue/lethargy, stiff, aching joints, depression, mood swings, and a variety of other ailments. Intolerance symptoms can also occur anywhere from immediately after eating a wheat product to a few days afterward, making it even more difficult to accurately diagnose. Because it is such a common substance, someone with an intolerance adapts to wheat or may become somewhat desensitized to “not feeling well.”

Wheat intolerance symptoms are also easily confused with Celiac Disease, also known as Celiac Sprue. This is an inherited autoimmune condition in which gluten (on of the wheat proteins) causes the body’s immune system to damage the lining of the small intestines, resulting in an inability to absorb nutrients.

Is It an Allergy or an Intolerance?

“I knew I had a wheat intolerance when, after years of feeling bloated and constipated and finally being put on a laxative by my doctor to take for the rest of my life, my acupuncturist suggested that I might have a food allergy and recommended an elimination diet. I really wanted to know what was wrong with me. It was tricky at first because I had to really think about what had wheat in it (beer for example caught me off guard). However, after just three or four days of successfully avoiding wheat, I literally felt like a new woman. My tummy wasn’t bloated after every meal and overall, I just felt better.”

If you suffer from chronic symptoms like the woman described and suspect that you have a wheat allergy or intolerance, a board certified allergist can perform a blood test that can confirm or rule out an allergy. The test measures the levels of IgE protein (which triggers allergic reactions) in a blood sample when exposed to wheat proteins. If the test results are negative, the most effective way to rule out a wheat intolerance is an elimination diet under the supervision of a licensed physician. The tests for Celiac Disease are more extensive, involving a number of blood tests called the Celiac Blood Panel (CBP). They test for IgA and IgG proteins in the blood. If these are positive, a doctor will likely recommend a biopsy of the small intestine.

Living with Wheat Intolerance

Although it may seem daunting at first, avoiding wheat proteins does not sentence you to a life of deprivation. Whether you have a wheat allergy or an intolerance, the greater number of companies and organizations that are devoted to the wheat-free/gluten-free population makes gluten-free living very manageable. There are rice, corn, and bean flour-based products available at many mainstream grocers or health food stores. There are support groups, magazines, cookbooks, and recipe websites. Even restaurants are now catering to the growing wheat-sensitive population. As a wheat-intolerant friend once told me, “What I like about having an intolerance to wheat, quite honestly, is that I can’t just eat whatever I want. It keeps me on my toes! I don’t feel deprived of anything. And yet, I feel so much better.”