What is Blood Chemistry?
Our body is composed of millions of chemicals working together to provide function for all organs. They are usually contained in the blood and flowing all around our body to be distributed into cells of your body organs. With that, blood chemistry is defined as the actual composition of the chemicals that is present in our blood. Whenever we are sick, or we have ingested something harmful, our blood chemistry automatically changes. First, because it needs to fight the harmful substances (or microorganisms) off and second, these harmful substances also have their own blood chemistry that mixes with yours.
This is also the reason why your blood tests differ from one health problem to another. Too much sugar changes your blood glucose; a kidney problem may disrupt your blood flow because of too much salt or your liver may give off yellowish color when damaged. These are just few of the chemical changes in the blood whenever our body is harmed.
What are the Blood Chemistry Tests?
There are so many kinds of blood tests that are performed, depending on the symptoms your body is manifesting. Your doctor may order one kind of blood test, or in combination of many. This is because our organs work together in such a way that when one is damaged, the other may be affected too. So, here are the common blood tests that your doctor may request.
1. Glucose – this is by far the most common blood test since the emerging obesity and sedentary lifestyle causes people to have blood sugar problems. With this, your doctor can see how your body uses glucose and diagnose if you have diabetes or any metabolic problems.
2. SGOT and SGPT – for liver function, these two blood tests are necessary to check the condition of your liver. These two are enzymes that work with the liver and so when the said organ is damaged, both of them will be dispersed into the blood that causes them to rise. Elevated levels of SGPT and SGOT indicate liver problems.
3. Blood Urea Nitrogen – the condition of your kidneys are measured by a blood test called blood urea nitrogen or BUN. Your kidney works 24/7 filtering waste from the blood and one of which is nitrogen. When kidney is damaged, nitrogen becomes unfiltered and thus, goes into the blood stream. So, an increase in BUN indicates kidney problems.
Other tests include T2 and T3 for thyroid function, Creatinine test for kidney function or sodium and electrolytes to check dehydration. These are the common blood tests that your doctor can request so your illness can be diagnosed, or check if your organs are still working properly.