How Do You Read Blood Test Results?
• Look at the first column normally entitled “Test.” • Most laboratories use the same format and the first column will be a series of abbreviations. Occasionally, the lab will include the full name of the component being tested, but normally it is just an abbreviation. • An example of this would be white blood cell count, a standard test performed to determine the amount of white cells in your blood. A high reading might indicate an infection. The abbreviation would be listed as WBC. • Look at the next column entitled “Result.” • Compare the corresponding test to the result value. • These values will be in numeric form and could also have a decimal point. These numbers indicate what your results are for each test. For example, your RBC, or red blood cell count, might be 4.75, which is within normal limits. • Read the next column entitled “FLAG, L=Low, H=High.” • This will tell you if a particular value is higher or lower than it should be as compared to the acceptable range for that te
