Modern medicine makes extensive use of various methods of researching the body in order to make a diagnosis on time and determine treatment tactics. With the development of medical care itself, these methods are becoming more complicated, but in most cases it usually starts with a simple blood test.
A blood test and a transcript in children is the main source of information about the baby’s health status. Even if the child does not have any pronounced manifestations of any disease, doctors recommend a procedure such as a general blood test for prophylactic purposes at least once every six months. There are several good reasons for this. A recent survey conducted by the Institute of Pediatrics revealed that 80% of the child population suffers from latent anemia. This is especially true of ecologically unfavorable regions of the country. Outwardly, such a condition may not manifest itself with any painful symptoms, but in such children there is a significant lag in physical development and a decrease in immunity, expressed in frequent colds.
A blood sample is usually taken from the distal middle finger of the middle finger with a sterile disposable scarifier, so there is no need to fear transmission of any infection. A few drops of fresh blood are applied to a sterile glass slide and fixed. A blood test and a transcript in children is carried out only by a specialist with a higher education. That is, the laboratory gives out only numbers, and only a doctor can interpret them in terms of diagnosing a child’s disease. In large medical centers - this may be a hematologist, but in the vast majority of cases the process is performed by a local pediatrician.
What can a blood test and transcript in children show and what does the doctor look at first?
The number of red blood cells (red blood cells) in the sample and the level of hemoglobin. Normal values ​​are at least 4.0 per / l of red blood cells and at least 120 g / l of hemoglobin. Lower numbers already indicate the presence of anemia.
Of the cellular composition of the blood, the content of white blood cells (white blood cells) is also important. They should be at least 9 -9.5 per / liter. In addition to their total number, their composition is also important, since among them there is a division into basophils, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes and monocytes. Together they make up the so-called “leukocyte formula,” which the blood test and interpretation in children display from left to right. Specialists often use the term “shift of the leukocyte formula to the left,” which means an increase in the number of white blood cells in the left side of the formula, that is, neutrophils and eosinophils. This usually indicates an acute inflammatory process (including infection) in a child. But the “shift of the leukocyte formula to the right” (lymphocytes and monocytes) indicates a tendency to allergic reactions. In some cases, with the usual formula of “white” blood, there is an increase in the number of eosinophils only, this can tell an experienced doctor about the presence of parasitic invasion in the body (ascariasis, giardiasis, etc.)
An important indicator that reflects a blood test and decoding in children is ESR or erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Normally, the figure should not exceed 10-15 mm per hour. An increase in this indicator is a sure sign of the presence of a pathological focus of inflammation in the body.
Platelets (cells responsible for blood coagulation) should be at least 2-3 per / liter of blood. A decrease in their number or a violation of the form may indicate a hereditary disease (thrombocytopenia), which should be treated as soon as possible.
Blood tests in children, as in adults, are not limited to general analysis. In some cases, especially with various forms of jaundice, a biochemical blood test is required, which is already taken from a vein and also on an empty stomach. Here direct and indirect bilirubin, AST, ALT enzymes are looked at to evaluate liver function and other figures that are understandable only to specialists.
In general, blood is considered as one of the body tissues (along with muscles, bones) only in liquid form. In each person , blood cells are relatively rapidly updated (on average once every 3-4 years). There is even a method that allows you to determine the gender of the child by updating the blood. Its essence is briefly as follows: in women, starting from the age of 15 (we do not take into account younger ones), the blood undergoes renewal every 3 years. And for men, starting from 16 years old, every 4 years. It is believed that whose blood is younger, this sex will be a child. The method is quite controversial, like all non-medical methods of “programming” the sex of the unborn child, but nevertheless, it is no worse and no better than others.