Blood Drug Testing

what types of things are checked in a blood test?

Just wondering what they would check for in a standard 'check up' blood test or a blood test where you have been sick prior to going to the doctor's office? Besides looking at red and white cell numbers do they automatically check for infections, diseases, STD's, weaknesses in the body etc, or do you have to ask your doctor to have them check all these things before the test? Thanks! Thanks everyone, I got the answers I needed!

Public Comments

1. for the std's the doctor has to inform you before testing! most probably they will check all values...like cholesterol, liver, iron, etc... its a pretty long list! you have the right to receive a copy of the results afterwards (you will have to ask for it)
2. blood count...ask for other stuff if you want too..or they might be like i want to check your blood sugar levels and stuff like that
3. they can check a variety of things in a blood test .Some things are automatically checked (like blood pressure and dieseases) while others you have to ask your doctor about them(like if your thyroid is funtioning properly of not)
4. The doctor can instruct the lab to check for pretty much anything he wants except HIV. Doctors decide based on what conditions they are trying to rule out. You can also ask for additional tests that he may have left out. Just ask him or the lab which tests were ordered.
5. As a rule, a blood test is a pretty basic set of values. To get more than those, you'll need to request other tests. The values for a "chem-7" for example, are BUN (blood urea nitrogen), serum chloride, CO2, creatinine, glucose, serum potassium, and serum sodium. A chem-7 is a VERY VERY basic test of the components of your blood serum, and doesn't even look at the red blood cells (that would be a CBC, which looks at white cell count [a differential count of the various types of white cells], red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, red blood cell indices [three different ones], platelet count, and a blood smear [which looks at the size and shape of the cells]). A high white cell count is often indicative of infection, but things like STDs often require different tests, as does drug screening. If you think you need some of these things, TELL your doctor; he/she is NOT a mind-reader, and has no way to know some things unless you speak up and indicate that you think there's a problem.
6. There are many types of test that can check by blood test. usaully body checkup (blood tests)like yearly, can check for : cholesterol, full blood count,liver function, kidney function, typhoid function, hepatitis A & B,STD disease, urine and stool test. that is not all, a lots more.