A clear view of your health usually begins with your blood. Blood tests are essential for assessing your overall health, with the complete blood count (CBC) test being one of the most commonly ordered tests. A CBC test can provide an overall health status by carefully analyzing different types of cells circulating in your bloodstream. By evaluating your red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets, this test helps healthcare providers detect issues such as anemia, infections and inflammation—all of which can affect your vitality and well-being.
Through early detection of these conditions, potential health issues can be addressed promptly, offering you and your healthcare provider the opportunity to work on strategies that enhance your health. Incorporating CBC tests into routine health check-ups can empower you to make informed decisions about your lifestyle and manage any emerging health concerns effectively with your provider.
Why take a CBC test?
Because a CBC is clinically meaningful if you have abnormal results, it’s a good baseline test for understanding your health. Here are a few reasons why you may choose to take a CBC test:
- General wellness check: Review your overall health
- Early detection of emerging health concerns: Identify potential causes of symptoms, including weakness, tiredness, fever, bruising, swelling and redness
- Chronic Conditions: Monitor active health conditions that impact your blood count
- Medications: Understand the impact of certain medications, such as rheumatoid arthritis treatments, on blood count over time
If you do receive abnormal results, you should share your results with your provider to determine next steps.
What can a CBC test detect?
A CBC test measures different types of cells in your blood. That includes your white blood count, which is linked to your body’s ability to fight off infections and foreign agents that cause inflammation. It also measures your platelets, which indicate your body’s clotting ability or if you are at an increased risk for bleeding in certain situations, and your hemoglobin, which is the oxygen-carrying protein in red blood cells. When hemoglobin levels are low, the decreased levels of oxygen can cause symptoms such as fatigue, dizziness and headaches.
A CBC test can be used to look at overall health and aid in the detection of a a wide range of conditions that may include:
- Anemia
- Autoimmune disorders
- Bone marrow disorders
- Dehydration
- Infections
- Inflammation
- Hemoglobin abnormalities
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Sickle cell disease
What a CBC can tell you about anemia
Anemia affects more than 3 million people in the U.S. and approximately 1 in 3 people in the global population. It is a condition caused by a lack of healthy red blood cells, or low hemoglobin, in the blood. A CBC test is the initial step to help diagnose anemia, with a focus on looking at your red blood cells. There are many types of anemia, each with their own cause; iron-deficiency anemia is the most common. You may also want to take an anemia test, which measures your iron, B-12 and folate levels and other markers. We recommend sharing your test results with your healthcare team to decide on any next steps.
Does a CBC check liver and kidney function?
A CBC test does not check liver and kidney function.
If you’re curious about liver and kidney health, a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) test can help assess the function of these vital organs. With your healthcare provider’s review and guidance, a CMP test with a clinical examination may help support detection of conditions like kidney disease, liver inflammation or diabetes.
Purchase a CBC test online
Labcorp OnDemand’s high-quality CBC test is the same one used by your healthcare provider, so you can trust the results you’re getting. This is a CBC with differential blood test, meaning it includes the CBC test and a measurement of the various white blood cell types in your body (e.g., neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, basophils, eosinophils).
Simply buy the test online and visit the nearest Labcorp location at your convenience to provide a blood sample. From there, your results will be available online in your Labcorp OnDemand account. Your results can be downloaded and shared with your provider.
