DNA Analysis Breaks the Curse of Hereditary Disease

DNA analysis and testing has come a long way. Once the stuff of science fiction, DNA analysis now allows people with a history of inherited disease to find out if they and their loved ones will be affected.

Unlike the DNA testing you see on CSI and other popular crime dramas, DNA analysis for hereditary disease has nothing to do with identity or sleuthing. Rather, it uses the same kind of DNA information to figure out if the test subject carries the genes - or DNA - for the disease being analyzed.

HealthCheckUSA’s consumer lab testing service currently offers the following DNA analysis tests:

• celiac disease DNA analysis
• Factor V Leiden testing (hypercoagulable disorder DNA analysis)
• Factor II prothrombin testing (hypercoagulable disorder DNA analysis)
• R2 polymorphism testing (hypercoagulable disorder DNA analysis)
• analysis and testing for hereditary hemochromatosis

DNA Analysis: Celiac Disease

As mentioned earlier in this blog, celiac disease is an autoimmune reaction to gluten. Celiac disease, while common, is often misdiagnosed and can easily be spotted with the proper DNA analysis testing. Celiac disease can be especially troubling to new parents who are distressed by the gastrointestinal problems of their infant.

Other people who should investigate DNA analysis testing for celiac disease are:

• people who have family with celiac disease
• people with iron-deficient anemia
• people with dermatitis herpetiformis
• people who suffer from diarrhea, abdominal pain and distention, cold sores, osteoporosis, infertility, multiple miscarriages, anxiety, or depression
• children with abdominal pain, diarrhea, abdominal distention, short stature, delayed puberty, irritability, attention-deficit disorder, or poor school performance
• people with negative or equivocal antibody or biopsy results and celiac disease symptoms.

DNA Analysis: Factor V Leiden Testing

Factor V hypercoagulable disorder is a potentially devastating inherited malady that affects the way the patient’s blood clots. Ordinarily, blood only clots when trauma or exposure to air requires it. In hypercoagulable disorder patients, the blood does not clot properly, and specifically, for victims of Factor V Leiden, clots are resistant to being broken down by the body’s normal processes. Factor V Leiden DNA analysis quickly determines if this is the case for you or your loved one. HealthCheckUSA also offers combined Factor V Leiden DNA analysis with prothrombin testing.

DNA Analysis: Prothrombin Testing

This mutation results in activated Factor II thrombin in the blood, which causes a high risk of clotting in the patient’s blood passages. Of course, this also brings with it a danger of heart attack, stroke and other cardiopulmonary incidents. Needless to say, if you believe you or your family are at risk for inherited prothrombin, we encourage you to investigate prothrombin DNA analysis immediately. Prothrombin patients often suffer from deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, cerebral vein thrombosis, premature ischemic stroke or premature myocardial infarction.

DNA Analysis: Hereditary Hemachromatosis

Almost one in ten American Caucasians is a carrier for hereditary hemachromatosis, a mutation that causes the body to absorb and carry too much iron. Unless you take a hereditary hemachromatosis DNA analysis test, you may be unaware you have this disease, especially if you are a man under 30 or a woman under 50. If you are a victim of hereditary hemachromatosis, you may experience arthritis, liver issues, congestive heart failure, impotence, skin pigmentation and pancreas damage.

DNA Analysis Testing Provides Early Warning

With DNA analysis testing from the accredited testing labs of HealthCheckUSA, you don’t need to live in fear of inherited disease. Simply select and purchase your test online. Then go for your DNA analysis test at a lab that’s convenient for you. That’s all it takes!

Testing for Diabetes Can Be a Breeze

The “testing for diabetes” dilemma is solved! For both people who are concerned that they might be at risk for diabetes and diabetes patients seeking to manage their disease, HealthCheckUSA offers comprehensive testing for diabetes - in one simple lab test - that analyzes blood glucose control over several months.

Diabetes testing can be an obstacle for many people. When arranged through your doctor, testing for diabetes is expensive and takes multiple appointments. Any kind of medical testing is associated with a number of natural fears - risks, hidden costs, unqualified personnel, inaccuracies, hard-to-understand results and painful procedures. And to further complicate matters, sometimes you think you need testing for diabetes but your doctor doesn’t. How do you get diabetes testing without fracturing the trust between you and your doctor?

Add these factors together and you might be feeling like a cat on a hot tin roof - whether you’re a diabetes patient or just someone with a family history of diabetes.

Those fears can now be allayed with HealthCheckUSA’s testing for diabetes.

Halting Testing Fears with HealthCheckUSA’s Diabetes Testing

Testing for diabetes is so simple with HealthCheckUSA’s HbA1c Diabetes Management Test. You don’t need a prescription for the health test. You just pick the testing for diabetes option from our list of medical tests, select a lab testing location, pay and then go for your lab test when the time comes. Testing for diabetes isn’t painful or complicated; the technician will simply take a small blood sample which then goes to a testing lab for a diabetes read. There are no hidden costs; all of the testing for diabetes charges are summed up in one simple and very affordable price.

HealthCheckUSA diabetes tests are administered by medical professionals - probably the same people who would perform and analyze the test if it’d been requested by your doctor. Our lab tests are accurate, too; all of our diabetes testing labs (and all our labs) are fully accredited.

When the results come back from your testing for diabetes, they’re in a simple and confidential report. Reading your lab test isn’t difficult and if you have questions about the lab test, all you have to do is email us. You can even take the test to your doctor or order our special physician interpretation service so you can get additional medical assistance finding out about your testing for diabetes.

Testing for Diabetes Shouldn’t Be Postponed

Just because testing for diabetes is easy doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be a priority. Whether you’re a diabetes patient checking your blood sugar levels or a person who thinks you might be at risk for diabetes, you should look into testing for diabetes. Like many other diseases, diabetes is an insidious killer. It’s powerless against well-informed patients who have access to lab testing for diabetes. And with HealthCheckUSA, that should be you.

Thyroid screenings and thyroid cancer

Thyroid screenings aren’t the first things most people think of when we think about lab tests, but perhaps they should be in our top ten for “most important lab tests.” Certainly thyroid screenings can be lifesavers because of how critical the thyroid gland is to our daily health and wellness.

Thyroid screenings: the thyroid

Your thyroid gland is a hormone factory in your throat, and it’s the metronome for all your body’s cells. Too much thyroid hormone and you’ll be on overdrive, suffering from tension, sweating, weak thighs and upper arms, frequent bowel movements and an erratic pulse. Too little, and you’ll suffer from hypothyroidism symptoms like exhaustion, dry skin, hair loss, constipation, sore muscles, depression and a constant feeling of being cold.

Thyroid cancer is another thyroid-related disease. Fortunately, most thyroid cancers are associated with an excellent outlook. Thyroid cancer is more likely to afflict people who’ve had childhood x-ray treatments for acne, Hodgkin’s, enlarged tonsils and/or thymus glands. Routine x-rays do not pose such a risk.

Thyroid screening lab tests

The Thyroid-Stimulating Hormone Test, or TSH test, is offered in three packages at HealthCheckUSA, and it’s the most important test for determining thyroid status. The TSH thyroid screening analyzes the hormone production of your thyroid gland. The American Thyroid Association recommends that everyone over 35 get a TSH thyroid screening every five years.

If your TSH thyroid screening comes back abnormal, the usual procedure is to follow up with a total T4 or free T4 test as confirmation; these check for hypothyroidism and hyperthyroidism and are effective thyroid screenings for infants. The total T3 lab test and free T3 lab test are other common thyroid screenings used to check for hyperthyroidism.

HealthCheckUSA thyroid screenings

HealthCheckUSA offers two economical thyroid screening panels that combine multiple thyroid lab tests with the TSH thyroid screening at an economical price. The Thyroid Panel includes the TSH thyroid screening as well as the T3 uptake, T4 total, and T7 thyroid screening tests. The Thyroid Panel II provides you with the TSH test and the free T3 and free T4 thyroid screenings.

Other thyroid screening offerings at HealthCheckUSA include the standalone TSH thyroid screening, the TSI (thyroid stimulating immunoglobulin) thyroid test and the anti-thyroid antibodies screening, which helps your doctor or accredited lab specialist distinguish between different thyroid ailments and pick out any autoimmune thyroid problems.

Thyroid screening tips

Several medications can interfere with a TSH thyroid screening, like corticosteroid, aspirin, and lithium. Also, if you’ve had recent X-ray that used radioactive dyes, ask your doctor when you can take a TSH thyroid screening. Women in their first trimester should also ask their doctor about the proper time to get a TSH thyroid screening.

Individuals with thyroid problems can live normal lives as long as they properly manage their thyroid condition. If you have a family history of thyroid problems, don’t hesitate to order a lab test and get a thyroid screening at HealthCheckUSA!

Cancer screenings: fear is the killer

Cancer screenings are one of the most important kinds of laboratory tests you can take. What’s so important about cancer screenings, you ask?

A personal cancer screening story

A favorite uncle and aunt of mine used to live overseas with my cousin James. James and his parents were a treat, if one rarely seen. They never complained, and always had a ready smile or joke. Honest people for whom every moment was a simple pleasure.

And so it was, because Aunt Mary had cancer. She never got a cancer screening; she just lived with the pain, perhaps afraid of what a cancer screening would tell her, perhaps already believing that the cancer would kill her before age 50 and devastate the family. Rather than tell her husband and get a cancer screening, she kept the disease hidden, preferring to avoid cancer treatments and enjoy the time she had.

Cancer screenings shed light

Our grief at her passing was accentuated knowing that she could’ve lived a full life with a timely cancer screening like one of the three cancer screenings offered by HealthCheckUSA. An early cancer screening would’ve allowed her to get a doctor’s diagnosis, avoid long chemotherapy and strike at the cancer pre-emptively. HealthCheckUSA really can be your best defense against disease.

The HealthCheckUSA cancer screening difference

Cancer screenings at HealthCheckUSA provide you with important advantages. They generally cost much less than the lab tests you’d order at a hospital because there are no hidden markups. A fully accredited medical reference laboratory analyzes every cancer screening result. These are the same cancer screenings ordered by physicians. However, with HealthCheckUSA cancer screenings, you control what tests you take and when.

Nothing beats the peace of mind of a HealthCheckUSA cancer screening. If you suspect you might be at risk for ovarian cancer, colon cancer or prostate cancer, order a health test at our website today.

AIDS testing is a cut-and-dried reality for most of us lucky enough to be reading blogs on the Internet. We know what AIDS testing is, and we know when to get tested for AIDS. We know what it does, and we have a pretty good concept of the dangers and symptoms of AIDS.

We’re really, really fortunate.

Babalwa Tembani is a 21-year-old woman who lives in Cape Town, South Africa. At the age of 14, she was raped by her HIV-positive uncle because he believed the myth that sex with a virgin would cure him of the virus. Now Babalwa is infected and must take anti-AIDS drugs regularly to stay alive.

If her uncle had known a little more about AIDS, Babalwa would probably be looking at a bright future, full of promise. Instead, her health will always be a black cloud hovering over her ominously.

A little knowledge goes a long way. HealthCheckUSA provides quality AIDS testing at affordable prices, but if a person doesn’t know that they need to be tested, they’ll never find out about their health, and they may end up curtailing their lives and those of the people they love. And that’s not the only ignorance that might prevent them from pursuing AIDS testing.

If a person believes some of the many myths about AIDS, they may fail to seek out the medical help that can save their lives. These myths are widespread; they’re not South African. For example:

• AIDS is nearly always fatal so testing is futile (in reality, quick diagnosis can save lives),
• AIDS can always be cured by modern medications, so there’s no reason to worry or rush to be tested (it can’t - success rates are about 80%),
• AIDS was developed by the government to kill minorities (a survey of Texan Latinos and blacks found that some 30% of that population believes this),
• AIDS doesn’t exist, and is a conspiracy to marginalize the gay community (untrue).

I’d be the last person to trumpet the glories of public education in the Western world. The First World can alarmingly rank last at things. (In fact, South Africa is considered a first-world country by many.) But I am grateful to the teachers, public health officials and medical professionals - and yes, even the news media - who have successfully educated me and my loved ones about AIDS testing. Although there’s still a daunting amount of myth-busting to be done, I’m privileged to have benefited from their guidance.

If only Babalwa Tembani were so lucky.