Blood washes all organs and systems; therefore, it primarily reflects the abnormalities that occur in the body. A general blood test consists in counting the number of certain cells (red blood cells, white blood cells, reticulocytes, platelets), an increase or decrease in the number of which indicates certain pathologies.
I would like to know about what ESR in a blood test is to many people who go to the doctor about various diseases. ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) directly depends on the composition of protein molecules in plasma.
How is the analysis carried out?
In laboratory conditions, blood with the addition of drugs that interfere with coagulation is placed in a narrow and high test tube. Over the course of an hour, red blood cells begin to sink to the bottom under their own weight, leaving a blood plasma on top - a yellowish liquid. Measuring its level allows you to determine the settling rate in mm / hour.
Why is this indicator needed?
Every doctor who treats inflammatory diseases knows what ESR is in a blood test and what factors affect it. The sedimentation rate of red blood cells may increase and decrease, which will indicate a reaction of the body. Red blood cells move down faster with the appearance of other large molecules - immunoglobulins or fibrinogen. These proteins are produced during the first two days of infection. Just then, the ESR indicator begins to grow, reaching a peak value by the 12-14th day of the disease. If at this level there has been an increase in the number of leukocytes, it means that the body is actively fighting microbes.
Increase or decrease settling rate
You can find out what ESR in a blood test is, why the indicator can increase, at the appointment of your doctor. The norm for women is from 2 to 15 mm / hour, and for men - from 1 to 10 mm / hour. It follows that the weaker sex is more prone to inflammation. Most often, these processes, such as:
- Purulent inflammatory (tonsillitis, damage to the bones, uterine appendages).
- Infectious diseases.
- Malignant tumors.
- Autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis).
- Thrombosis.
- Cirrhosis of the liver.
- Anemia and blood cancer.
- Diseases of the endocrine system (diabetes mellitus, goiter).
A harmless reason for the high erythrocyte sedimentation rate can be pregnancy.
You can find out from the doctor what ESR in a blood test is and when the indicator slows down against the background:
- Gastric ulcer.
- Hepatitis.
- True erythrocytosis (chronic leukemia) and caused by insufficient oxygen supply to the cells (heart, lung disease).
- Muscular dystrophy.
- Pregnancy and fasting.
Patients taking steroid drugs for the treatment of arthritis and asthma also have an increased ESR in the blood.
When should I go to the doctor and be examined?
It happens that the result of a blood test is left without decryption. Then you need to consult a doctor with a question about what is ROE in a blood test (the outdated name for ESR).
The level of up to 30 mm per hour is a manifestation of sinusitis, otitis media, inflammation of the female genital organs, prostatitis, pyelonephritis. Most likely, the disease is in a chronic stage, but requires medical supervision.
A level above 40 mm per hour is an occasion for a large-scale examination, since the value indicates serious infections, metabolic disorders, blood and immune functions , foci of purulent lesions.