Vitamin A Test

Why do you need a Vitamin A blood test in India?

An individual who is required to take the blood test must require a lot of health and safety concerns regarding potential symptoms that lead to a lack of Vitamin A in the body. India's population has been suffering from a lot of malnutrition across the years, and is only continuing to rise because the prevalent issue not being taken care of because of by the government. Night blindness is by far the most common and well-known condition that a person can receive due to a lack of Vitamin A in their bodies.

This blood test has been used for other similar types of disorders and medical conditions such as Crohn's Disease, Celiac Disease and Disorders in liver. Pregnant women are also asked to take this specific blood test, as it is shown that having the adequate amount of vitamin A levels in their bodies can help provide proper amounts of growth as well as immune protection. Taking too much Vitamin A intake can prove to be troublesome as well, such as the system getting very toxic and harmful for the working processes. So there must be a perfect balance between how much supplements the body is required to have and how much is being overused.

When should you consider this blood test?

• If you start to experience dry eyes during the day, or if you start to have very poor vision during the night.

• You unexpectedly start to get frequent colds and also have no proper immunity levels as well.

• If you are having a lot of issues that lead to nutrients not being properly absorbed and utilized by the body.

• In case you are expecting a baby or are in the process of having a baby.

• In case you have been having Vitamin A supplements for a very long time with no breaks taken at the time.

How is the Vitamin A blood test taken?

While the Vitamin A blood test is portrayed to be a relatively simple and easy blood test, the timing of when the blood test is required is a very hard and tricky part to take advantage of. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble nutrient and is mostly influenced by the last meal you might have had. Having a fast taken 6 to 8 hours right before the blood test is required to be taken in order to get the best results. The procedure will take just a few minutes at most, and is performed by an extremely trained lab technician who will be able to draw a small amount of blood from a vein in one of your arms with a sterilized needle.

The results for the test will be sent at least 24 hours after the test has been taken, and the most amount of discomfort you will ever feel throughout the entire test is the puncture wound that quickly heals in an hour or so. It is advisable to let your doctor know whether you have been taking any birth control pills, multivitamin pills and even retinoids, as these supplements have the ability to significantly altering the amount of vitamin A levels within the body.

This blood test is available all across the country and is in almost every diagnostic centre and hospital which have included the Vitamin A Blood Test among their various medical packages.

Understanding the normal ranges and what they have mean.

The normal ranges for Vitamin A in the system is between 20 and 60 mcg/dL (Micrograms per deciliter). This specific number may be slightly altered due to how different each and every laboratory works and operates. In case your levels start to falter below the average levels or rise uncontrollably, it means that you have either extremely low amounts of vitamin A in your body and are Vitamin A deficient or you are experiencing an overwhelming amount of Vitamin A in the body and are thus having plenty of Vitamin A Toxicity. Either way, both of these conditions are very bad for the body and must be handled as soon as possible.

Indians who have shown signs of being affected by Vitamin A deficiency or toxicity would often try to self-medicate themselves by consuming cod liver oil pills and other specific vitamin A capsules. Which can be extremely bad for the body as they do not know the accurate levels, it may cause even more damage than the body has already received. The blood test for Vitamin A is the only way to understand how much your body is actually affected by the lack or excess amounts of Vitamin A in the body and then work on getting the proper amount of tests done to help the patient.

What are the conditions that affect Lower and Higher Vitamin A Levels?

LOWER LEVELS

• You will often have lots of night blindness affecting you for some time.
• Individuals who are suffering from lower levels of Vitamin A in their bodies will start to have dry eyes.
• People also seem to get much more common infections over the course of days, leading to lots of other issues to handle.

HIGHER LEVELS

• A person who has been having quite a lot of headaches that have frequently affected them may indicate that Vitamin A levels are much higher than anticipated.
• Those who are having immense amounts of joint pain are also subject to higher levels of Vitamin A in the body.
• Liver toxicicty is also a very common condition for those who are affected by high levels of Vitamin A.
• Blurry vision is a major side effect for anyone affected by high Vitamin A levels.

What are the concerns for Vitamin A Deficiency in India?

The issues for Vitamin A deficiency in the country have become alarming, and the cases have been confirmed to rise by the day. To tackle this complication, the Indian government has been able to derive a public health program that is centred towards providing supplementations to children between the age of 6 months and 5 years, all of whom are suffering from either a lack of Vitamin A in their bodies to children who have shown to have an excess amount of Vitamin A.

Unfortunately, that alone will not be enough to take care of this growing issue, and this test only focuses on the more urban children and is unable to affect the rural and tribal children, despite numerous reports being made at their locations.

Adults who are also above the age of 30 are considered to be borderline Vitamin A deficient, as they have been able to endure a relentless amount of work hours, which has lead to a massive spike in both stress and exhaustion, as well as continuous amounts of stress-eating and unhealthy eating habits that make use of junk and fried foods By switching their dietary choices as well as lifestyle choices, they will be able to live a much more prosperous life by having fresh vegetables such as carrots, beans, lady's finger etc. and by having an appropriate diet and execrise plan as well.

CONCLUSION

The purpose of a Vitamin A blood test may seem like a bit odd at first, given how much preparation is required to take the test and the test itself being a very small one in comparison to some other tests, but the impact it can have for your long-term health status is undeniable. With the ability to prevent major complications to organs and areas where Vitamin A is desperately required, such as the functioning of the eyes, ensuring that the immunity levels of the body are capable and stable, and even getting rid of any potential toxicity in the liver.

India is a country where both deficiencies and overdoses are able to exist only because of dietary imbalances or complications that arise from the supplements that are provided to help the Vitamin A issues. With the proper help of this particular blood test, you will be able to ensure that the supplements that are provided will be able to care for the body and create a peace of mind that your body actually requires.