How to Get a Blood Test

Medically reviewed by Shari Forschen, NP, MA

Last Updated: February 14, 2023 References

Doctors order blood tests for a variety of reasons. This is because there is almost no better indicator of overall health than the number of levels and other factors that can be measured through a blood test. Unfortunately, for many people taking a blood test is a very nerve racking and uncomfortable thing to do. Not only is someone sticking a needle into your veins and causing you pain, but they’re extracting blood (sometimes in large quantities) from you before your eyes. Thankfully, having your blood taken is a relatively short event. It’ll be over quickly, and afterwards you’ll be able to rest assured knowing that your doctor will have important information about your health.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Getting a Blood Work Order

1
Talk to your doctor. The best person to determine if your signs or symptoms demand a blood test is your doctor. If you need one, she will prescribe it and provide you with a blood work order.
- If your doctor orders blood work, make sure you have it done as soon as possible.
- If you’re afraid or anxious about the blood work itself or the potential results of the blood test, talk to your doctor. She can reassure you — the best way to treat what is causing you health issues is to identify the problem. The results of your blood test can help you begin proper treatment.
- Make sure to listen to and talk to your doctor about any special instructions and things you may need to do before the blood is taken.
2
Discuss blood work with a nutritionist. You might need your blood work ordered for non-medical purposes. One of these purposes is to ascertain if your diet and nutrition is what it should be to support your overall health. In this instance, consult a nutritionist and see if he wants to order blood work to determine your vitamin and mineral levels and to find out if you have any deficiencies that should be addressed. You might consult a nutritionist in the case of:^{[1]
X
Research source}
- Pregnancy
- The advice of a medical professional
- You have diabetes, absorption abnormalities, and/or food sensitivities/allergies
- If you are a vegetarian, vegan, or subscribe to any other non-traditional diet
Advertisement
3
Talk about potential blood work with a sports medicine doctor. If you're an athlete, suffer from certain muscular problems, or have suffered some sort of muscular injury, your sports medicine doctor might also order blood work. Blood work can tell your sports medicine doctor a lot of information about muscular health and potential problems like arthritis and similar afflictions. Ultimately, your sports medicine doctor will be the best person to decide if you need blood work related to skeletal and muscular health.^{[2]
X
Research source}
4
Consult with your naturopathic specialist about blood work. Naturopathic specialists or doctors combine natural remedies and medical science to treat an array of afflictions. Depending on the reason you are consulting a naturopathic specialist, he or she might order blood work to help them determine how to treat you. Naturopathic doctors might order blood work in order to help them determine:^{[3]
X
Research source}
- Gluten intolerance
- The treatment of headaches
- Hormonal imbalance
- An array of other problems
5
Have your blood tested without a medical professional. Today, many labs are increasingly allowing individuals to have their blood drawn and tested without an order or prescription from a medical professional. If you for some reason want to have your blood tested, you may be able to find a lab that will test your blood without any blood work order. For more information, contact local blood testing labs in your area. Just because you have this option, however, does not mean you should do it; getting your blood tested without the help of a medical professional is not recommended. Consider the following:
- If you order your own blood work, you won't have the ability to have a doctor interpret it for you and then prescribe a treatment, if needed. Many tests need to be interpreted by a medical professional.
- Information on the internet is not always credible. You may want to get your blood drawn and use information you found online to interpret the results but, this is not a reliable way to read test results.
- Even if you read the test results correctly, you may be unable to get the treatment necessary without a doctor to write a prescription.
- Some labs only offer a handful of blood tests without a doctor-prescribed blood work order.
- This service might not be available in your area.^{[4]
  X
  Research source}

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Having Your Blood Drawn

1
Prepare for your blood test. Depending on the type of blood work your doctor or other medical professional has ordered, there are a number of things you need to do to prepare for the test. This is necessary to make sure that the diagnostics performed on your blood provide accurate data. Some preparations could include:
- Not eating or drinking for up to 12 hours.
- Discontinue use of certain medications.
- Other preparations as ordered by your doctor.^{[5]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  National Health Service (UK)
  Public healthcare system of the UK
  Go to source}
2
Take your prescription to a hospital or lab. After your doctor has evaluated whether you need blood work or not, take your prescription to a hospital or lab. You’ll likely wind up at a specific lab that specializes in collecting blood work and other specimens from people. The lab will either run the blood there or send it off to a central location for testing. ^{[6]
X
Trustworthy Source
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Research and education center within the National Institutes of Health
Go to source}
3
Provide the phlebotomists with information. When you are called in at the lab or hospital, a phlebotomist (a person trained to extract blood from patients) will sit you down and may ask you questions. Cooperate with the phlebotomist. She is not there to cause you trouble or to harass you. The phlebotomist is just doing her job. Questions she might ask you could be for a variety of reasons, including:^{[7]
X
Trustworthy Source
American College of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology
National professional organization of allergists, asthma specialists and immunologists that focuses on supporting and publishing research
Go to source}
- To verify your identity
- To find out if you have allergies to latex
- To calm you down or relax you
4
Relax your arm. When the phlebotomist goes to take your blood, you need to relax your arm. Try to stay relaxed, otherwise the phlebotomist will have a tougher time finding your vein and taking your blood. Staying rigid and not relaxing could cause unneeded pain to yourself and exacerbate an already uncomfortable situation.
- Do not clench your muscles.
- Your palm should be facing up.
5
Let the phlebotomist draw your blood. After you relax your arm, the phlebotomist will then draw your blood. Ultimately, this is the moment you've been waiting for. The actual blood being drawn won't take too long, so relax.
- The phlebotomist will locate a vein from which to take blood, then clean the area with an alcohol swab.
- The phlebotomist will create and tie a tourniquet on the arm to help blood collect.
- The phlebotomist will position the needle at a 15 degree angle and stick it into your skin.
- You'll feel a slight stinging, but nothing significant.
- The blood being drawn will take from 30 seconds to a couple of minutes, depending on how much blood and how many samples (tubes) the phlebotomist needs to take.^{[8]
  X
  Research source}
6
Avoid making yourself anxious. As the phlebotomist is drawing your blood, try to avoid doing things that might cause you anxiety, and push negative thoughts aside. If the sight of blood makes you feel faint, don’t look at the blood being drawn out of your arm. If you’re fascinated by it, feel free to look. Just remember, this is a normal and necessary procedure that needs to be done to determine your health. The blood drawing procedure itself won’t hurt you.^{[9]
X
Research source}
- Close your eyes and hum if that helps.
- Think about something else if you get anxious.
- Joke with the phlebotomist or talk about anything but the fact that blood is being drawn out of your arm.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Knowing Why You Should Get a Blood Test

1
Get a blood test for routine monitoring. It is recommended that most people have blood work run every year or two to monitor their blood levels and other vitals. As a result, blood work is often ordered as a part of routine annual physical exams. Ultimately, blood work is one of the only ways to determine if a person’s health is stable or failing. Some important levels that bloodwork monitor include:
- Blood sugar levels. Blood sugar levels can indicate the onset of diabetes or other metabolic disorders and diseases.
- Cholesterol levels. Cholesterol levels are indicative of cardiovascular system health.
- Red and white blood cell levels. These are indicative of your overall immune system’s health.^{[10]
  X
  Research source}
2
Have a blood test if you have an unidentifiable illness or pain. Often times doctors will order blood work if you have been ill and they have been unable to identify the cause of your illness or if you have been experiencing pain and the source cannot be identified. In this case, blood work will help your doctor figure out what is causing your sickness or pain and then prescribe the appropriate medication or treatment to treat you. ^{[11]
X
Research source}
3
Run your bloodwork if you’ve been exposed to dangerous contagions. One reason why you might need blood work is if you’ve somehow been exposed to a viral or bacterial contagion. In this event, your doctor will order blood work in order to determine if you’ve contracted an illness and what type of illness you have contracted. Some examples of contagions that a doctor might order blood work for include:
- Hepatitis
- Mononucleosis
- Bacterial infections — A blood test might be able to help your doctor determine what bacteria is causing your sickness.
- Other rare viral infections
4
Check your blood for other potentially life-threatening ailments. Sometimes people exhibit signs or symptoms of life-threatening diseases or other ailments. One of the only ways to determine if you’ve contracted one of these diseases is to have blood work done. Such ailments include:^{[12]
X
Research source}
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Thyroid disease
- Kidney disease
- Liver disease
- Pancreatic malfunction
- Gall bladder dysfunction
5
Submit to a blood test for drugs or other controlled substances. Sometimes doctors or employers will have blood work ordered in order to determine if employees have taken illicit drugs or other controlled substances in the recent past (though a urine-based DNA gas analysis test is usually more accurate and commonly used). In the case that an employer orders a test, he will refer the employee to a doctor who will order the blood work. Blood tests can detect many types of controlled substances, including:^{[13]
X
Research source}
- Amphetamines
- PCP
- Marijuana
- Cocaine
- Opiates
6
Test your blood for various non-life threatening reasons. Doctors will order blood work for a variety of non-life threatening reasons. Ultimately, there are a large variety of reasons a doctor will want to order blood work. As the best indicator of overall health and genetic makeup, blood tests are invaluable for such monitoring. Some reasons include:
- Testing for pregnancy
- Testing for vitamin or mineral deficiencies
- Genetic testing
- Thyroid level testing
- Amino acid level testing

Warnings

Any time the skin is pierced allows for risk of infection, as our skin is the first layer of defense against infections. Piercing the skin breaks the barrier. Keeping the site clean and dry will help avoid infection. Signs of infection can be redness, swelling, pus/drainage from the insertion site, fever and general weakness and/or fatigue.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 2 Not Helpful 0