Featured Post

Blood Sugar; Importance Of Glucose Meters

Blood sugar provides the body with energy that your body needs to function properly and that is the reason why blood sugar is so important for all of us. Inside of every ones blood, there are sugar levels that need to be at certain amounts each day and all day. Hypoglycemia can affect seriously your...

Read More

The Early Signs Of Pregnancy

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 14-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

Signs of pregnancy differ from women to women. Some women may experience early signs of pregnancy within days of conceiving while other might experience the signs much later. There is nothing wrong with experiencing early signs of pregnancy right away or later.

The most common early sign of pregnancy is missing the menstrual period. This is when most women go for a pregnancy test to determine whether they have conceived or not. However, many women bleed while they are pregnant and this bleeding is generally lighter and for a shorter duration than the normal periods.

Another early sign of pregnancy is the implantation bleeding. This happens when the embryo implants itself on the uterine wall after fertilization has taken place. Implantation bleeding is generally pink in color and it’s not bleeding per se. It is spotting and is accompanied by cramps.

Some women complain of frequent urination and this occurs even before they miss their periods. Ordinarily frequent urination happens because of the changes in hormone levels. Many women also check their body temperature to determine whether they are pregnant. An increase in body temperature is an early sign of pregnancy.

If you experience one or all of the sign listed above, it is time to do a pregnancy test. You can either do the test at home or visit a doctor. Even if your home pregnancy test is negative and you are still having the early signs of pregnancy, make sure you visit a gynecologist to be on the safer side.

Early Pregnancy Tests – Make certain to put An End To Speculations

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 13-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

An early pregnancy test is basically done to determine whether a woman is pregnant or not. And that can be determined in many different ways. Starting with a simple Home Testing Kit, for which a wide variety and selection of different pregnancy test kits are available in the market today. A trip to the neighborhood drug store would indeed determine that. The efficacy of a Home Testing kit is subject to certain conditions, and one has to follow the instructions in the manual very carefully for accurate results.

Pregnancy is determined by the substantial increase of the HCG or Human chorionic gonadotropin hormone in the blood and urine. Ovulation normally takes place between the 10th to the 18th day in a normal menstrual cycle of 28-32 days. If fertilization has taken place, and a woman has missed her period even after 32 days, then she should determine whether she is pregnant or not and she could resort to the fastest and easiest, simple over-the-counter Home Pregnancy Test Kits to confirm the same.

The Steps Involved In Using Home Pregnancy Kits:

o  The test can be done anytime, but the best time to do the test would be early in the morning because the first morning urine contains the highest concentration of the HCG hormone and thus Pregnancy detection is a lot more accurate.

o  Be certain to use a clean, unused, disposable plastic cup to collect the urine and then place the dipstick in the urine with the Result Windows facing away from you.

o  The result is generally determined within 2-3 minutes of having placed the dipstick in the urine.

o  The Dipstick usually contains two windows, a Circular Test Window and a Triangular Control Window.

o  For a positive result, two purple color bands (either both color bands are dark or one is dark and the other is light but it is still positive) should appear in both the windows. If it is a negative result, there will be only one purple color band in the Triangular Control Window. If it is an invalid result, there will be no purple color band in the Triangular Control Window, which could be because the test was performed incorrectly, or the Dipstick was beyond the two-year expiration date or it was contaminated.

Different Methods/Ways To Determine Pregnancy

o  After the initial determination of pregnancy with the home pregnancy kit, a visit to the Doctor is mandatory. Even if one is not able to determine Pregnancy, the Primary Care Physician or a Gynecologist can perform some simple blood and urine tests to determine the same.

o  Once the pregnancy has progressed past the first 6-8 weeks then an Ultrasound can be performed to determine the EDD, (Expected Date of Delivery) viability and growth of the fetus in the womb.

No matter what be the means or method, be it the early pregnancy test kits, or a blood/urine test, a complete and detailed check-up and regular follow-ups is necessary for delivering a healthy child. It is the wholesome responsibility of the mother to do the same, as it’s not a very simple and easy process. These tests will definitely help in quelling any fears or apprehensions one has and will eventually help in delivering a normal and healthy child.

An early pregnancy test is the only sure way to confirm the fact that you are expecting. Early pregnancy symptoms indicate towards the fact that you are on your way to become a mother. However, these symptoms are not confirmatory and you should take a pregnancy test at a lab or with a pregnancy test kit. Pregnancy Articles provides free articles on pregnancy testing, use of early pregnancy test kits and other details related to pregnancy.

Looking For Info About Colon Cancer Symptoms?

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 13-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

It isn’t necessary for a person who is suffering from colon cancer to experience the symptoms in the initial stages of the disease. Indeed, even when the colon cancer symptoms appear, they generally vary according to the size of the cancer and its location in the large intestine.

Therefore, it’d be a good idea to get the regular screenings done than to depend upon the few warning symptoms that may alert you for colon cancer. However, it is not even harmful to know these symptoms that indicate the presence of colon cancer, though at a later stage.

Constipation may be a symptom of colon cancer. The tumor in rectum or at the bottom of colon can become an obstacle for waste to get through the colon that causes constipation.

Another symptom for this cancer is thin stool. Once the stool has undergone its slushy stage, it starts to take shape. Additionally, the shape of the stool when it is excreted from the body can provide clues about its movement inside the body. For example, thin stool suggests that the waste has been squeezed on its way by some obstacle. In case of colon or colorectal cancer, this obstacle is tumor at the bottom of colon.

Further, at times even a tumor can lead to bowel obstruction. This is basically a blockage in your colon that restricts the passage of solid, liquid and sometimes even gases. This may cause severe and painful abdominal cramps especially when the flow of blood to colon is restricted.

You may also find some blood in your stool. Unexplained or effortless loss of weight might also be noticed as another symptom that suggests the presence of colon cancer. Vomiting, nausea, lethargy, bloating and gas and a feeling of fullness are a few other symptoms that can be added to the list. However, these symptoms might not necessarily indicate colon cancer and can be due to other health conditions as well.

Though you might stay alert for these colon cancer symptoms, but it is necessary to rememberthat at times these symptoms might not appear in patients at all. So, anyone over the age of 50 years is advised to get regular colonoscopy screenings done. Also, people who have a high risk for this condition might even get themselves checked in the early stages of their life.

An Overview of Home Pregnancy Tests

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 12-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

If you are wondering whether or not you might be pregnant, you may be on the verge of heading off to the drug store to make the purchase of a home pregnancy test. For a lot of women in the 21st century, the home pregnancy test has become the most important tool through which they ultimate determine whether or not they are pregnant. If you are considering the purchase and use of a home pregnancy test, there are some facts and factors that you will want to keep in mind.

The first thing that you ought to appreciate when it comes to home pregnancy tests is that there are a variety of different products on the market today. Generally speaking, these home pregnancy tests rely on the same “system” to ascertain if a woman is pregnant. However, these tests have varying ways of displaying or conveying this information to a user of the test product itself.

What home pregnancy tests technically are doing is working to detect the presence of a certain type of hormone in your system, human chorionic gondotropin or hCG for short. hCG is a hormone created by the placenta and it can be detected in the urine or blood and is present when a woman is pregnant. If this hormone is detected by a home pregnancy test, the test will indicate that a woman is pregnant.

In this day and age home pregnancy tests have become extremely accurate. In fact, the typical home pregnancy test proves to provide accurate results virtually 99% of the time. (Some tests do prove more accurate than others; however, the vast majority of home pregnancy tests are not far off this mark.)

There generally are two ways in which a home pregnancy test can be used. First, there are tests in which you dip the test stick or strip into your urine. Second, there are tests in which you urinate directly on the test stick itself.

You need to carefully read all instructions accompanying the test, Generally, a home pregnancy test takes about three minutes after it was exposed to urine until your results will be available. You really will want to “walk away” from the test stick or strip during this time period or it will seem like the longest three minutes of your life.

Home pregnancy tests have different mechanisms through which test results are provided. Some use symbols such as a + and – sign. Still other tests actually specify the words “pregnant” and “not pregnant.” Other tests utilize a color scheme.

Home pregnancy tests that are available today are relatively inexpensive. There can be some price differences but they are not normally that significant. Again, typical home pregnancy tests have about the same accuracy rate as one another.

If you get a positive result from a home pregnancy test, you will want to make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible. Your doctor will confirm your test results. At that juncture, your doctor will begin planning with your course or prenatal care and related matters. Prenatal care is a critical element to ensuring that you have a smooth pregnancy, that you remain healthy and that you give birth to a healthy baby when all is said and done.

Are Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Bleeding Linked?

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 12-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

Irritable Bowel Syndrome  is a chronic yet intermittent condition characterized by a mixture of symptoms believed to be due to a disorder of intestinal motor function. The main symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome are abdominal pain, bloating, and discomfort. However, symptoms may differ from person to person. It should be noted that irritable bowel syndrome and bleeding are not believed to be linked. A person reporting bleeding usually indicates some other problem related to the gastrointestinal tract.

The symptoms of Irritable Bowel Syndrome differ from person to person. Some people report constipation, meaning hard, difficult-to-pass, or infrequent bowel movements. They can feel cramps when attempting to have a bowel movement. Either they can’t eliminate any stool or are able to eliminate only a small amount.

Some people with Irritable Bowel Syndrome report diarrhea, which are loose, watery stools. These people frequently feel an urgent need to have a bowel movement. There are also many other people which alternate between constipation and diarrhea.

For a number of sufferers the symptoms subside for few months and then return, while others report a constant worsening of symptoms over time.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) isn’t associated with bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract. Bleeding in GI tract can occur as the result of a number of different conditions, some of which could be severe or even life threatening.

However, most common reasons of bleeding in GI tract are related to conditions that can be cured or controlled. The cause of bleeding in the GI tract may not be serious, but finding the source of bleeding is very important.

The main organs of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, rectum, and anus. Bleeding may occur from one or more of these organs.

Sometimes bleeding occurs without the person noticing it. This kind of bleeding is known as occult or hidden bleeding. Bleeding from the esophagus may occur due to inflammation (esophagitis), enlarged veins (varices), tear (Mallory-Weiss syndrome), cancer or liver disease.

Ulcers, gastritis, and cancer are a few of the main causes of bleeding from stomach. In small intestine, duodenal ulcer and cancer might lead to bleeding. In the large intestine and rectum some of the main causes of bleeding are hemorrhoids, infections, inflammation (ulcerative colitis), colorectal polyps, and colorectal cancer.

To diagnose the bleeding in the GI tract, the site of the bleeding should be located.  To do this your doctor will normally go through your complete history and perform a physical examination. Your Doctor will probably ask questions about the symptoms such as changes in bowel habits, stool color (to black or red) and consistency, and the presence of pain or tenderness.

Although it can be a little embarrassing sharing these symptoms with your doctor, attempt to be a accurate in your descriptions as possible as the symptoms may tell the doctor which area of the GI tract is affected.

The doctor must test the stool for blood before offering a diagnosis because the intake foods such as red beets can give the stool the same appearance as bleeding from the digestive tract. A blood count helps to decide if the individual is anemic and also gives an idea of the extent of the bleeding.

Continue reading to discover natural methods to relieve Irritable Bowel Syndrome symptoms and sign up for our free newsletter.

The treatment of irritable bowel syndrome and bleeding symptoms involve different methods. Ordinarily injecting chemicals directly into a bleeding site through an endoscope can control active bleeding from the upper GI tract. Heat treatment and laser therapy can also be used in some cases. Once bleeding stops, medicines are prescribed to prevent recurrence of bleeding. If you notice blood in your stools you ought to make a doctor’s appointment immediately.

Steps to Take in Early Pregnancy After Tubal Reversal – Do not Risk Your Tubes

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 11-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

The goal of having a tubal ligation reversal is usually to be given the ability to have another child. It stands to reason, then, that there will be certain protocols you should follow for a pregnancy after tubal reversal.

Once you start showing signs of being pregnant, you will want to have a pregnancy test done to check if you are. Well, that’s the first step in being sure. You can do it one of two ways but usually we all use the cheapest first that is purchasing a home pregnancy test at the store. This is a urine test. If it gives you a negative but you still show signs, wait a few days and then test again. Although home pregnancy tests are 97% accurate, they cannot tell if you are pregnant as early as a blood test.

A blood pregnancy test is usually administered by your doctor at his office or you can have it done at some clinics. This will most likely be your next step once you have a positive on your home test. The doctor will just want to verify it. Now the fun begins.

You will need to have your blood drawn twice a week to be tested for your HCG levels. HCG is the pregnancy hormone and it rises as your pregnancy continues. Once it has hit about 1500, you should’ve an ultrasound done to check for the gestational sac in the uterus. If it doesn’t show one, keep getting your HCG levels done every couple of days and try again when your HCG level hits 2500. It should be visible via ultrasound by then.

About a week after the gestational sac can be seen, the yolk sac should be visible by ultrasound as well. Yes, that’s another ultrasound. Perhaps you are wondering why all this concern, testing and ultrasounds. The point is to be sure you have the embryo implanted in your uterus.

Having the reversal surgery increases your ectopic pregnancy after tubal reversal risk by about 10%. While it does not seem like a large increase, I am sure you will agree you want to do everything you can to make sure it does not happen to you. If not caught in time, an ectopic pregnancy may mean losing a fallopian tube as the doctors take measures to safeguard your health. It’s much better to catch this possibility while it is still early enough to use something like Methotrexate to terminate the ectopic pregnancy and save your tube for future attempts at making a baby.

Hopefully you will also be submitting a Pregnancy Report to your tubal reversal doctor. This will allow him to collect vital data about his own success rates. Not only that, it allows you to maintain contact with your surgeon and let him know what is going on.

If you find that the tubal reversal doctor you are considering does not require a pregnancy report or allow you to continue to ask questions and to follow up with you after the surgery, perhaps you have been considering the wrong doctor. Take a look at Dr. Berger of Chapel Hill Tubal Reversal Center. Not only does he follow up, he even provides a message board for support and will answer your questions following your surgery as well as before. Using his pregnancy after tubal reversal protocols, you will have the best chance at safeguarding your investment and seeing that precious little face one day and celebrating with the other women at the message board. Sandra Wilson is the author of this article.

Pollen Allergy and Food Sensitivity –  The Oral Allergy Syndrome and Food Intolerance

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 11-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

Oral allergy syndrome (OAS) is a well-recognized but little known condition. It is characterized by a burning sensation or mouth pain and swelling when you eat specific foods that cross react to pollens to which you are allergic. Interestingly, the specific foods causing this reaction are well established to cross react with certain trees, grass, or weed pollens, house dust mite or latex. There are common groups of foods that cluster with certain nasal allergies. For  instance, ragweed allergy commonly causes an oral or gut reaction after consuming melons or bananas but usually not other foods. Birch tree pollen is commonly associated with reactions to numerous foods as is latex allergy. The explanation for these reactions include similarities in protein structures as well as some chemicals in the foods.

Though this reaction is well documented in the allergy literature it’s not commonly recognized or diagnosed by most doctors including some allergy professionals and many stomach professionals. Various allergy web sites include lists of the common foods associated with certain pollens, dust mite or latex. However, a comprehensive list that is easy to peruse or interpret can be difficult to find. Additionally, the names of some pollens or the common links between a group of pollens and a group of foods can be confusing.

In its classic form OAS should be easy to recognize. After eating a food associated with a pollen to which you are allergic you experience near immediate burning sensation in your mouth or throat with or without swelling. However, it’s commonly recognized that frequently in medicine, symptoms do not occur in the “classic” or averagemanner in a specific person. Worded another way doctors are taught “patients do not read the textbooks”. Therefore, you could experience variations of the reaction such as throat swelling or tightening, burning when swallowing, a lump in the throat or a sense of swallowing difficulty but not make the connection to what you ate or what’s happening to you.

You or your doctor may misinterpret your symptoms. Frequently people just assume it happened because they were having a choking spell on food that was poorly chewed, swallowed too fast, or eaten or drank while too hot or cold. Commonly, it’s assumed that an esophageal (swallowing tube) disorder, especially acid reflux with a hiatal hernia is the cause. Acid reflux can cause an esophageal constriction called a stricture or ring that can result in a food sticking sensation, but this is usually associated with heartburn symptoms or food getting stuck which then prompts an upper endoscopy or scope exam. Other times, especially if occurring in an elderly person, a neurological condition like stroke or Parkinson’s disease is blamed. Many times doctors decide that your symptoms are due to a nervous reaction or neurosis that historically was called as globus hystericus. The hystericus portion of the term is usually dropped these days to the shorter term globus or globus sensation especially since it’s not proven it’s due to a psychiatric problem. However, globus may be the diagnosis arrived at if your complaint is that you feel a lump in your throat and an

Surviving an Ectopic Pregnancy

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 10-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

You will never be able to have a baby, if you get pregnant it will kill you, thus were the words of doom uttered from my shoots straight surgeon. I looked to my left hand and pushed the button, the button to my morphine drip. The morphine that I thought could shut her up. Push the button and the horror of what my surgeon just said to me would be reduced to Never, Never land. What the hell was she thinking? What the hell was she saying? Where the hell am I?

The answers to my desperate questions came in multiple conversations with my mother, my boyfriend, my doctor. I had just lost my baby. How can you lose a baby that you never held? How can you rectify the dreams you had yesterday with the realities of now? Instead of planning for a baby shower, I would be bed ridden for weeks, and heartbroken with nightmares of a beautiful baby girl crying. To this day, I believe my baby was a girl. Although, I will never really know the truth of this little one’s sex.

About a month prior to my hand on the morphine drip, I was in love, happy and using birth control. The first sign that something was amiss was the sudden, intense pain in my stomach. Bam, it would hit me, and for about ten minutes or so, I thought I was dying. Now, keep in mind I am prone to hypochondriac symptoms, thus the remarks of impending death. However, the pain would leave, and I would go about my merry way. Then my period began, so any worries of being pregnant vanished.

However, the pain did not. It got so bad that one night I called my mother and explained to her what I was going through, she said to call 911. Therefore, like any dutiful daughter, I called. When the paramedics came, I was painless. My predicament, how to explain to these two men that I wasn’t crying wolf, that I had most certainly been in sever pain. I couldn’t explain why it was no longer ripping me apart. Forward to my ER visit, once escorted by the two doubtful paramedics, right into the arms of a very doubtful P.A. I kid you not, he said to me after I explained where the pain was, that “there is nothing there that would cause that kind of pain”. So once, I got my pat on the head, and a request for my insurance card, off I was back to my oblivion of what was actually going on in my body.

The next day I bought a home pregnancy test. I sat on my toilet and read the instructions. Peed, and waited. “Oh my God, it is pink, the line is pink”, I screamed. I was alone, and sat there, and let the news reverberate throughout my circulatory system. I was going to have a baby. I had to tell my love, tell him we were going to have a baby. I called him at work (I could not wait…not the most opportune time) but what can I say, I was a new expectant mother. He was quite surprised, because we used birth control, but said I will be home as soon as possible. Therefore, that night we sat stunned, planned, and accepted. The next day I went to Planned Parenthood (to this day, I do not know why I did this; I had medical insurance and a doctor). I took the urine test, and it came out negative. I asked the technician, was she sure that I wasn’t pregnant; she said there was no doubt I was not. O.k., forward to the next morning, my period started. Therefore, that was that. No baby.

A week later, I was at work, stopped at a convenience store, walked in and the pain hit me so hard, I crashed to the floor. The proprietor of the store rushed to me, and got me into a chair. He asked if he should call 911. I said no, that I would be o.k. I got in my truck, put her in reverse, and the pain hit again, I ran right into the yellow pole. The yellow pole that is there to prevent people from backing into the house next door. Thank goodness for that yellow pole. “That is it”, I said to myself. I went to a friend’s house, she called my OB/GYN, made an emergency appointment for me, and then I went home to suffer until the appointment. I called my boyfriend and said that I was in trouble and could he meet me at the doctor’s office.

After my doctor gave me a pregnancy test and it came out negative, she sat down to give me the “talk”. It could be a sexually transmitted disease, such as Chlamydia. I remember thinking to myself, what the hell has my boyfriend been doing, or better yet, who? I know, not nice. Not nice to come to such quick judgment of the man that I loved. However, I knew that I had just been with him. Then the strangest thing happened, and my world imploded within ten or fifteen minutes. My doctor came back with that same pregnancy test and said it was positive. She then went on to explain that I would need to get to the hospital as quickly as possible for an ultrasound. My boyfriend picked me up and took me to the waiting room at the hospital that was ripe with happy, glowing pregnant woman. We sat there. I remember feeling nothing. I suppose I was numb and scared. I did not know at that moment what was wrong with me.

Forward to me laying on the table and the ultrasound technician is rubbing the hand held device on my stomach looking for the cause of all this trouble. Next thing I know she is screaming for assistance. That is where I black out. That is when my world changed, my first real experience with severe loss. My tube has ruptured and I was being rushed to emergency surgery. I remember waking up for a moment being rushed on a stretcher with my boyfriend at my side saying that he loved me and that everything was going to be o.k.

No, everything was not o.k. I woke up to the words I mentioned at the beginning of this article. I was twenty-two years old and barren. Better yet, not barren but I would be responsible for killing myself if I got pregnant again. The story goes like this; I was pregnant with an ectopic pregnancy and had been bleeding internally for over two weeks. My surgeon said that I was lucky to be alive. That if I would not have called her that day, I would have been dead that night. See, here is the real kicker; part of me did die that night. I lost my child, and the dreams I had of her for one precious day. One day where I planned her life, her clothes, her nursery, her smile, her little digits.

Now, many years have passed since I lost my baby. I have not had any children. Perhaps out of fear that it will kill me. I have since educated myself on what a cauterized fallopian tube is, and that many women have had successful pregnancies with just one tube. However, the words still ring in my ears and in my heart. I suppose it may not make sense to most people, but I also feel as if I would be betraying my baby by moving on, and having children.

For those who have experienced a situation like mine, I am sure you know what it is like not to be able to have a funeral for your lost child. I think finding closure when it comes to an ectopic pregnancy is the most difficult pill to swallow. It’s imperative to find a way to come to grips with this type of loss. I suggest finding a way to have your idea of a funeral anyway. Thanks to my mother, we’d a small ceremony to help me with moving on. Since this, I have lost my mother as well. One thing that I find comfort in, is knowing that my baby is with her grandmother. I am not the most spiritual of women, yet I believe this with all of my heart.

7 Major Signs of Colon Cancer Demystified

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 10-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

The symptoms of colon cancer are not necessarily present in the initial stage of the problem. Most of the times they do not appear or are hard to detect until the problem reach to an advanced stage.

However, it’s always better to know about those which can be detected. Mentioned below are some known symptoms of colon cancer. In case if any of the mentioned symptoms is present for more than a week, do seek advice of your physician about the screening for colon cancer.

Change in Bowel Habits

Tumor in the bowel brings an observed change in the habits like defecating. With the growth of tumor, you could feel the need of defecating less often and the large size of tumor will lead to constipation.

The only way to know this is to get regular screening done in lieu of waiting for the symptoms to appear on the surface.

Thinned Stool

The presence of tumor causes obstruction and with the growth of obstruction there’s reduction in the space around. In case the tumor is present at the side of the colon tube passage, it may result into the narrowing of the stool.

Cramping or Bloating in the Stomach

Another symptom in the list of colon cancer symptoms is bloating or cramping in the stomach. Boating may be due to a bowel obstruction while cramping may be the result of constipation or diarrhea. In the advanced stages of colon cancer, tumor perforating i.e. poking through near the wall of the bowel, can lead to extreme abdominal cramping.

Blood in the Stool

There may be blood in the stool that’s due to the bleeding of the tumor. However, if the tumor is present in the right colon, it’s very much possible that the blood will dry up before the faeces are removed from the body. But if it’s towards the left or in the rectum, it may remain fresh and thus will appear bright red.

Inexplicable Weight Loss

If you are losing weight without making any deliberate efforts, it is really something to ponder over. Often one has weight loss since something wrong is going in the body. However, in colorectal cancer, unexplained loss in weight is one of the colon cancer symptoms and it indicates that the bowel is being blocked at some place, along the passage, by a tumor.

Exhaustion and Feelings of Fatigue

You’re having proper sleep but still feel exhausted. There may be more than one reason and work load may not be the apparent one. The first possibility is that it may be due to anemia which takes place if the red blood cells are not able to carry sufficient oxygen as much they are required to. Therefore, you could feel exhausted. But it may also be due to tumors. Tumors can also be the cause of anemia.

Feel Like to Defecate but Not

You may feel like to go for defecation but you do not. This kind of sensation in the body may take place due to a tumor growing in the end of the colon or rectum.

The best option is to have screening for colon cancer on regular basis in lieu of depending on appearance of colon cancer signs.

Home Pregnancy Tests

Posted by Blood Tests | Posted in Blood Testing, Blood Tests | Posted on 09-03-2011

Tags: ,

0

The every day common home pregnancy test works by recognizing a certain hormone that is only present in the urine of woman; this hormone is called human chorionic gonadotropin and it first appears in the human blood stream when the fertilized egg implants its self in the wall of to uterus to begin growing and development. It first appears at about a six day period since the fertilization has occurred and than rapidly increases in quantity doubling in amount in about every 2 days. The test is only able to give a good proper answer after an amount of 14 days has passed since the fertilized egg has implanted its self in the uterus; it’s also the time most likely for the first period to appear after the sexual contact has occurred. Still not all the test are accurate enough to give a proper prediction after only this short of an amount of time. Research has come up with an answer to the question when the perfect time to do the test? Would be and that is a week after your expected period before testing.

In order to sell their products as best they can, farmaceutical companies claim that the tests are accurate as soon as the day the woman misses her period. Still, studies made have shown that this is actually not so true. The fact is that humans are so different one from another that the level of hGC can vary a lot from woman to woman especially in the case where a pregnancy is suspected. A published study  made on the top 18 test at this time on the market has shown that only one of them was sensitive enough to actually give a good correct answer in all the cases. The other ones were able to do just 16 % of the actual pregnancies. The best time to do the test is as said earlier a week after the period should have came.

Scientists have still to develop a in fact accurate test in such a way that it is possible to confirm the pregnancy in a woman the first day after the period should have come. The best test was able to pick up only a very faint trace of hormones in the urine showing a very little positive chance that the woman was pregnant.

In order to use the test as correctly as it should certain things must be done. The first would be to actually check the expiring date on the test. Only after this has been confirmed to still be valid the woman may proceed to taking the test. She must also check to see if the test hasn’t gotten in any contact with moist air or any water. If this is the case or suspicion do exist using a new one is the best next thing to do. Reading the instructions is a big must if the test is to be used correctly. Will some test require the women to pee directly on the test others may be more demanding requiring only a drop of urine to be placed at a certain spot on the test.