What is the Well Woman Test?
A Well Woman blood test is a comprehensive test to check all the main aspects of female health. It covers essential tests to gain an insight into overall health and wellbeing providing you with the chance to take any steps needed to improve it.
What does it test?
Female Hormones
Cholesterol
Liver Function
Kidney Function
Bone Health
Iron
Inflammation
Vitamins
White Cell Count
Thyroid
Red Blood Cells
Minerals
Other
What Can Each Test Tell Us?
Female Hormones:
Hormone analysis is a really useful tool in being able to identify the function of the endocrine system and detect any hormonal imbalances or abnormalities. Hormonal imbalances can be responsible for a range of symptoms including irregular menstrual cycles, fertility issues, mood swings and some symptoms of the menopause. The hormones the test include are:
Progesterone: is a hormone secreted by the adrenal cortex as well as the ovaries which helps to regulate menstruation as well as support pregnancy.
Testosterone: in women testosterone helps to support bone density and muscle mass, as well as cognitive function, mood and energy.
Follicle Stimulating Hormone (FSH): produced in the pituitary gland, FSH has an important role in the production of eggs by the ovaries by stimulating the growth of follicles within the ovary.
Luteinising Hormone (LH): LH is also produced by the pituitary gland and works in conjunction with FSH in order to regulate menstruation.
Oestradiol: One of the main female steroid hormones produced in the ovaries and plays a role in growth and development. A decline in oestradiol is seen with the menopause as levels start to decline with age.
Cholesterol:
Cholesterol is an essential fat found in the body responsible for building cell membranes and steroid hormones in the body such as oestradiol. Cholesterol comes from both the liver and the foods we eat. There are two main types of cholesterol, high density lipoproteins (HDLs) and low density lipoproteins (LDLs). HDLs, often referred to as good cholesterol, absorbs cholesterol in the bloodstream to take it back to the liver. Whereas LDLs, also known as bad cholesterol, collects in the walls of blood vessels causing them to narrow resulting in an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. By providing both total cholesterol levels as well as both LDL and HDL levels allows you to get a real insight into your cholesterol levels and understand your potential risk of heart disease.
Liver Function:
Testing liver function is a great way to identify any irregularities of its function and get an idea of your overall liver health by measuring enzymes and markers that can suggest potential damage that might impair its function in metabolising toxins from the body. Alkaline phosphatase (ALP) is found primarily in the liver and bones, measuring its levels gives a good indication of any ongoing liver, gallbladder or bone disease. Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), is another liver enzyme and is measured in conjunction with ALP to distinguish between diseases of the liver or bones.
Kidney Function:
Your kidneys main role is to filter waste and regulate salts in the blood. They also produce various hormones and vitamins that control cell activities helping to control blood pressure. Urea is a waste product produced by the breakdown of protein in the liver, which then gets transported in the bloodstream to the kidneys to be filtered out. By measuring urea levels in the blood it can help to give an idea of how well both the kidneys and liver are functioning. It is possible for results to come back normal if only one kidney is damaged and the other is functioning normally. Creatinine is another waste product produced by the body during muscle metabolism and can be a useful marker in measuring kidney function. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), is a measurement of how well the kidneys are working by estimating the amount of blood they are able to filter, if this level is lower than normal it could suggest their function is impaired.
Bone Health:
Testing your bone health is a good way to check how metabolic processes are affecting your skeletal structure, measuring calcium levels in the blood provides an insight as it plays a key role in developing and maintaining bone health.
Iron:
Iron deficiency is one of the most common deficiencies in the UK, also known as anaemia it can be responsible for extreme fatigue, pale skin and shortness of breath. This is due to the reduced haemoglobin that can be produced as a result, leading to less oxygen being transported in the bloodstream. The test not only measures the levels of iron in the blood but also the binding capacity and how well your body is able to transport it in the blood, as well as ferritin levels which helps to provide insight into the levels of stored iron in the body.
Inflammation:
There is a significant association between inflammation levels and chronic disease, by measuring the inflammatory markers in the blood although it doesn’t provide the location for the inflammation does suggest something may need addressing.
What do the results tell you?
The well woman blood test can give you a huge range of information, from the function and health of major organs to your chance of developing heart disease or diabetes. It can also help you identify the cause of problems with energy, mood swings or menstruation and fertility. By covering a range of markers it can help you to identify areas of your lifestyle that need changing to help improve your health and reduce the risk of certain diseases.
At Phlebotomy Services the Well Woman blood test is one of our private tests, offered to women of all ages either at our Kenilworth clinic or in the comfort of your own home, your test will then be sent to an external private lab for testing and your results sent to you within a week or less.
Get the Well Woman test at the Phlebotomy Services Clinic for £270, book yours today!
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