Health addition

I promised earlier this week in the paper that I'd add some information here that I couldn't fit into the lab tests package. So... here it is.

A urinalysis really does show a lot -- from infection to diabetes.
If there are white blood cells in the urine, there could be an infection.
If there are ketones, the person could have gastroenteritis (stomach upset/infection) or diabetes.
If there is protein in the urine, a person could be diabetic.
If the microlbumin if off, it could be an early sign of diabetes.

A CBC is also a pretty telling test.
In addition to the things I mentioned in the paper, it checks for several other things.
MCV - Helps determine which type of anemia a person might have. If it's low, then the patient has iron deficiency anemia. If it's high, the patient has pernicious anemia. Usually if this number is off, the doctor will also check Iron and folate levels.

An interesting bit of trivia: Dr. Robert Jones Sr. also told me that physicians can tell if a patient is drinking too much alcohol based on their blood count results.

Dr. Chris Cerjan also mentioned that all children, when they're born, are screened via a heel poke at the hospital for several diseases and disorders. The blood is sent to a state lab, where a thyroid test, a test for sickle cell anemia and tests for other rare congenital conditions are performed.