Vitamin K
Vitamin K helps the blood to clot to enable cuts and scrapes to stop bleeding. Persons suffering from liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease or cystic fibrosis are at risk of Vitamin K defiency. Symptoms of Vitamin K insufficiency include heavy bleeding, anemia, bleeding gums and even osteoporosis. Low levels of Vitamin K do not allow sufficent use of calcium in bones. This vitamin is naturally found in green leafy vegetables, broccoli, and soya beans.
Fecal occult blood test
Fecal occult blood test (FOBT) aids in detecting any occult blood in the stool. This test is part of any colorectal cancer screening process. New flushable reagent pads allow you to conduct this test either at home or a laboratory. About 2 -3 stool samples are taken on different days to check for fecal occult blood. While FOBT can detect presence of blood in the stool, it can pinpoint the cause. Fecal occult blood can occur due to colon cancer, gastritis, hemorrhoids, fissures, inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcer or esophagitis. Fecal occult blood test must not be conducted if the person is suffering from colitis, diarrhea, constipation or diverticulitis. Women who are menstruating or persons with active anal bleeding due to fissures or hemorrhoids must not take the FOBT. Avoid eating beets, grapefruit, poulty, red meat cooked rare, turnips or horseradish about 48 hours prior to FOBT. If any blood is detected during fecal occult blood test, further diagnostic tests are conducted to check the causes.
MPV blood test
MPV (Mean platelet volume) blood test measures the average number of platelets in a volume of blood. When the average size of platelets rises, it can indicate risk of heart attacks or strokes. Lower than normal MPV may be caused by aplastic anemia or inflammatory bowel disease.
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