Monitoring your health can be a time-consuming and sometimes confusing process. You try your best to eat right and get plenty of exercise. You work on lowering stress levels and finding balance in your life. All of your efforts probably have you looking and feeling pretty good. However, do you really know what’s going on inside your body?
Proper labwork is essential for checking common health markers that can give you a good picture of your overall wellness. That is why your doctor likely orders bloodwork on occasion. A blood sample can be used to check things such as blood sugar, cholesterol, thyroid, and other hormones so you know if you need to consider medications or adjust your lifestyle.
While this testing is highly useful to help track and improve your health, getting bloodwork done can be a challenge if you are short on time. That is why the popularity of an at-home blood test option is steadily rising. You no longer need to schedule an appointment and spend hours waiting in line to get your blood sample collected. Now you have the ability to order a collection kit and do the test at home to get the same accuracy with a host of compelling benefits.
Safety
At-home testing kits are safe and effective. The contents of the kit are sterile and sealed. Make sure you follow directions to keep your sample from being contaminated. By doing your own testing at home, you eliminate the need to go to a doctor’s office or lab where you may be exposed to someone with an illness, therefore keeping yourself healthier.
Accuracy
As long as you follow the instructions precisely, your test results are accurate and reliable. You will mail your collected sample to a reputable lab where it will be processed by a trained lab technician. The results that they find are then interpreted by a doctor so you get easy-to-understand information. Some test kits will even include a phone consultation with a physician to discuss your results at length and offer any further advice on your next steps.
Convenience
Making an appointment with your doctor, rearranging your schedule, and traveling to and from the doctor’s office takes a lot of time and can seriously disrupt your day. Instead, go for the convenient choice and order a blood test kit to do at home.
You can take the sample at a time that works for you, as long as you follow any guidelines that recommend fasting or other preparation. When you’re done, all you have to do is drop your test in the mail and you will have your results in just a few days.
Comfort
Do you get anxious when you go to the doctor? Many people experience a rise in blood pressure, heart rate, and just an overall jittery feeling in a medical setting. It’s common to worry and get a little stressed over a visit to your physician, but it does take a toll on your mental health and comfort level.
When you opt for an at-home blood test, you can eliminate this discomfort altogether. You won’t need to fight your way through traffic or accept the headache you get from the fluorescent lighting. Simply take your own sample without the dread that accompanies an impending appointment.
These testing kits are great for your comfort in another way as well. The small amount of blood that is needed for the sample means that you shouldn’t experience any side effects from the collection. A small pinch from the finger prick is all that it takes.
Privacy
Sometimes you want to take a test privately, without answering any questions or involving anyone else. If you value your privacy, then a blood test at home is a fantastic option. Some tests allow you to register your sample and retrieve your results with a pin number, so you can remain completely anonymous if you choose.
Variety
There is a huge variety of tests available for nearly any need. You can purchase a blood test for common markers that your doctor may want to monitor regularly, such as blood counts and vitamin levels. Other tests can give you information on everything from stress to genetic markers.
The ease, convenience, and affordability of these tests also make them a wonderful option to explore aspects of your health that you never had the resources to do before. You can take a test for food sensitivities to discover if your diet is the source of your discomfort, or even just choose a few for general wellness.
When taking an at-home test, always read the instructions completely before you begin. An accurate result depends on you doing the test as directed. Once you get your results, you can make an appointment with your physician to discuss them and any further treatment that is recommended.
Blood testing kits are such a useful tool to monitor your health. With the availability of so many different tests, you may discover some insights into how to improve your wellness that will put you on the fast track to being in fabulous health.