We’ve all spent weeks on end feeling slightly off, dragging ourself out of bed, struggling to focus at work, or noticing that our hair feels a little thinner than usual. I eventually talk myself into making a GP appointment, only to be faced with the struggle of an 8am call queue, a weeks-long wait for an appointment, and the guilt of taking up a doctor’s time when I’m not traditionally sick, but not quite myself. That’s exactly why so many people shrug off their symptoms and simply assume this is what getting older or being busy feels like – it isn’t!
At-home health testing platforms are totally changing how we look after our health. Instead of waiting for something to go wrong, they allow us to access the exact health data that we need to make smarter, more proactive choices.
What Is At-Home Testing?
Historically, getting a blood test has always meant taking a trip to a local doctors clinic, inserting a needle into the arm to draw blood, and having to join a long wait for a lab to process your results before booking a call with a doctor at a later date to translate the findings. At-home testing has redesigned the entire process.
Instead of adding to the doctors queue, I picked up the exact tests that I needed at GetTested, who shipped the compact, physician-designed kits directly to my door. For my tests I simply collected a small sample of blood from a finger prick and had my results ready in the privacy of my home, in minutes. It fit perfectly into my day with no worry of traffic, parking or having to wait around and queue, which really took the stress out of getting tested. They also offer saliva and urine sample testing through their lab or at-home results for other health concerns.
The Silent Energy Slayers: Vitamin D & Iron
As I’ve been struggling with crashing energy levels recently, a quick online search informed me that two of the most common culprits behind persistent, low-level fatigue are Vitamin D and Iron deficiencies. As their symptoms creep up on us gradually, we rarely realise quite how depleted we have become until we check in with our levels.
Low Vitamin D: The Sunshine Vitamin
Living in cooler, cloudier climates like the UK means that most of us don’t get enough direct sunlight for our bodies to synthesise Vitamin D, which leads to constant fatigue, bone or lower back pain, muscle weakness, frequent colds and feeling down or anxious. Vitamin D is crucial for absorbing calcium, which keeps our bones strong, as well as our immune system firing.
Iron Deficiency: Anemia
Iron is the key ingredient our body needs to make hemoglobin, which is the protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen from our lungs to the rest of our body. When our body lacks iron we can experience brain fog, feel cold all of the time, have pale skin, brittle nails and experience a shortness of breath or heart palpitations after simply walking a flight of stairs.
Without enough iron, our muscles and organs are essentially gasping for oxygen, which is why even basic tasks feel like we’ve ran a marathon.
How Rapid At-Home Tests Work In Minutes
highly comprehensive tests, involving hormones or gut health, are processed in a lab for more detailed profiles, whilst rapid tests for key nutritional markers like Iron and Vitamin D can be performed at home. These quick and easy at-home tests provide accurate, lab-grade readings in under 10 minutes.
To conduct my home tests I started by washing my hands with warm water to stimulate blood flow. I used the alcohol swab provided to clean my finger tip, followed by a sterile, spring-loaded lancet to prick my finger. I then placed a capillary tube onto my finger tip to draw up a couple of drops of blood, so that I could dispense them into my test cassettes.
I then squeezed a couple of drops of the buffer solution into the same well, which acts as a carrier to run the sample through the testing strip. Within 10 minutes lines appeared on the cassette which I then compared to the visual colour chart to see if my levels are optimal, insufficient or deficient. And surprise, surprise, I was deficient in both!
Now I knew which supplements I need to purchase to rebuild my Vitamin D and Iron levels, and get back to feeling my best again.
A Win For The Public & NHS
It’s easy to see how home testing benefits us all as individuals, as it’s fast, private and gives you instant peace of mind. But taking control of our own screening has a massive ripple effect on the wider healthcare system too.
Instead of waiting weeks to see a GP just to ask for a blood test, we have our answers within days of clicking onto our online basket. If our levels are normal, well then we’ve saved ourselves a trip and have peace of mind. But if they are low, we can book a doctors appointment with the data already in hand.
Every person who uses an at-home test for routine wellness checks like these is one less person in a GP waiting room, freeing up doctors time to focus on patients with acute, urgent needs. It also directly reduces administrative burdens and pathology costs for the NHS, which we can all agree is necessary.
Modern medicine is often reactive, as we wait until we are already sick before we seek help. At-home testing shifts the power directly back to you. When we catch a downward trend in our Vitamin D or Iron early on, we can adjust our diet or start taking supplements long before you develop severe symptoms that negatively impact our lives or lead to illness and disease.
As a busy working mother, I really struggle to find a couple of hours to travel to and sit in a clinic waiting room that often gets delayed by traffic and appointments that overrun, so at-home testing is an exceptional time-saving alternative.
Being vegan, I am aware that I am at a higher risk for low iron, as are vegetarians, making routine monitoring a smart health habit for me. Athletes also lose iron through sweat and intense training, directly impacting physical performance, which I notice my symptoms more after a hard gym session or hot day.
And for those, like me, who live in more rural areas where getting to a clinic or booking a doctor is a genuine journey, having everything you need delivered to your door is an absolute godsend.
Instead of guessing why we feel tired, or buying random supplements that we may not need, at home testing provides quick and convenient clarity. It’s simple, fast, fuss-free and may just be the easiest way to start feeling like yourself again.
Use discount code “TRACYKISS12” at Get Tested!
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