Phlebotomy: Definition, Need and Consern
Definition of Phlebotomy
The term Phlebotomy originates from a Greek expression known as Phlebo. The word Phlebo stands for the vein. The word tom refers to the act of cutting or puncturing and finally, the last letter y refers to a process. Bearing all this in mind, the term refers to cutting or puncturing of veins so as to collect blood samples for the sole purpose of testing for the presence of illnesses or infections. The procedure involves withdrawing a preset level of blood. More often than not, the amount of blood to be withdrawn from the patient is almost half a liter.
At the same time, the doctors administer a set level of intravenous fluid that acts as volume replacement. To administer the intravenous fluid, the doctors use normal saline. Phlebotomy has proven to be important medical procedure in the medical field today in enabling doctors conduct proper diagnosis to determine illnesses and give apt health care review.
Why the need for Phlebotomy?
The primary function of the red blood cells in a human body is collecting oxygen in the lungs and transporting it to various organs in the body. Cyanotic congenital is a heart ailment that is as a result of less oxygen entering the blood. Consequently, the body aims to increase the number of red blood cells in order to compensate for the less amount of oxygen in the blood. This condition is referred to as erythrocytosis.
Increase in the number of red blood cells in the body makes the blood thicker and may result in signs of fatigue, headaches, dizziness, blurred vision, faintness, muscle aches and decreased alertness. In this case, the objective of phlebotomy is to alleviate these symptoms. Funny enough, every person can develop their own unique symptoms. During the phlebotomy, doctors seek to monitor the patient’s blood work with aim to examine the patient’s hematocrit as well as hemoglobin. Thus this ensures the health fitness tips.
Concerns Before Having Phlebotomy
It is important for a patient to have careful discussions between them and their physician prior having a phlebotomy. Such discussions are recommended for the sole purpose of ruling out other causes that may result in the symptoms. Doctors cannot recommend phlebotomy to patients that suffer from iron deficiency syndrome or patients that have extremely high blood count as a result of dehydration. In this case, both the iron deficiency and the high blood count ought to be corrected prior consideration of a phlebotomy. It is worth noting that phlebotomy is not undertaken to avoid stroke.
In actual fact, patients risk suffering from iron deficiencies, worsened symptoms, and high risk of cerebrovascular events due to inapt phlebotomies. Patients that do not experience the symptoms cited above that interfere with their day-to-day activities do not require a phlebotomy. Even in the circumstance that a patient has both high hemoglobin and hematocrit.
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