blood test results. help!

[alyb]

Hi every1. Had my bloods taken as i was itching all over for no reason and one of them came back slightly high! It was the ESR test. Does any 1 know what it is and what its for? The average apparently is 8-10 mine came back 13, My doc said its nothing to be concerned about but im not convinced! My full blood count was fine and liver function fine and im awaiting one more result. Im just starting to get a bit paranoid bout this ESR as i dont know what it is!

[constantworrier]

Hiya,

ESR stands for "erythrocyte sedimentation rate". It is basically a measure of inflammation measured by how quickly your red blood cells clump together and fall to the bottom of a tube. Elevations in this are common, women also have a higher ESR than men. There are lots of bugs about at the moment..any of these could cause a tempoarary rise in ESR. It is nothig at all to worry about...trust what your doctor is saying! Hope this helps reassure you a bit.

Take care,

CW :D

"Instead of seeing the rug being pulled from under us, we could learn to dance on a moving carpet." - Anon

[belle]

Hi..
My ESR levels were dodgy after a throat abscess i had. Infections cause a change in them, i had the test repeated two weeks later and everything was fine.
Try not to worry...

Sarah x

[Jem27]

A level of 13 is normal if you have a slight infection. If it was higher than that and the dr was worried he would tell you. My friends mum had a high ESR, much higher than 13, she had a kidney infection.