The article tells what ESR is, what are the norms of this indicator, in what cases there are deviations in one direction or another and what to do with it.
Content
- High ESR, what does that mean?
- Increased ESR: Causes
- Lower ESR: Causes
- The norm of ESR in men and women after 30?
- What is the norm of ESR in men and women after 40 years?
- What is the norm of ESR in men and women after 50 years?
- What is the norm of ESR in men and women after 60 years?
- How does ESR change in women and men?
- ESR in pregnant women, norms
- How to reduce ESR in blood in women and men?
- Video: Erythrocyte settlement speed: norm, reasons for increasing
In the absence of significant health problems, few tend to go into the meaning of incomprehensible characters and numbers in the blood form. Usually at the doctor’s appointment you can only hear the phrase that the analysis is good or bad without explanation.
Of course, it is impractical to delve into an infinite number of indicators, at least for two reasons:
- most of them do not carry a semantic load or clinical value individually, they should be considered in the aggregate
- lack of medical education, experience, as well as ignoring individual factors in each case, which is taken into account during a personal examination by a doctor, will not give clear and reliable answers to the reason for the deviation of a particular indicator in the analysis
Nevertheless, there are a number of important indicators about which it is necessary to have at least a general idea, since:
- It is these indicators that are the main guidelines for further diagnosis after the initial examination
- in the case of loading and conducting a reduced blood test, these indicators are necessarily present during a laboratory examination in any case:
- hemoglobin
- leukocytes
- sedimentation rate of erythrocytes
A special place in this list is occupied by ESR. This indicator will be discussed later.
High ESR, what does that mean?
The indicated abbreviation is deciphered as the rate of erythrocyte settlement. High speed is reflected in an increase in the indicator, low - respectively, in a decrease.
At first glance, it is completely incomprehensible what is important for making a diagnosis or detecting problems in the body the fact plays how quickly the red blood cells settled. Questions also arise:
- why and where are they settling?
- which is better: slow lowering red blood cells or, conversely, fast?
But first things first.
It is known that the blood consists of plasma and uniforms:
- red blood cells
- leukocytes
- platelets
The largest percentage in the structure of the elements is red blood cells that make up the basis of blood cells. Under the influence of gravity due to a higher specific mass compared to the mass of plasma, the red blood cells settled over time.
The ESR indicator is measured in mm/hour. For analysis, blood is placed in a test tube, added a substance that prevents coagulation. Over time:
- erythrocytes accumulate below - the dark part of the tube
- plasma remains at the top - the bright part
The result is the height of the upper part of the tube formed in an hour of time. It shows how many red blood cells dropped in 60 minutes, that is, the speed of their settlement.
It is obvious that despite the unified action of gravity, the rate of erythrocyte settlement in different people and in different periods of time is not the same. In other words, a number of factors affect it.
The red blood cells will fall faster in case of sticking with each other, the formation of columns and thus increasing their mass.
Factors affecting speed:
- plasma protein ratio
In plasma, there are a certain amount of protein fractions that can be divided into albumins and globulins. The concentration of the former have an inversely proportional connection with ESR: the lower, the higher the speed, and vice versa.
Globulins stand out a number of large non -amymmetric molecules of the acute phase proteins, as well as immunoglobulins that contribute to sticking and unification of red blood cells. The greater the concentration of such proteins, the higher the ESR.
Stress-beams include:
- fibrinogen
- c-reactive protein
- ceruloplasmin
- alfa-glycoprotein
- alpha Antitripsin
- gaptoglobin
These elements belong to markers of an inflammatory nature, respectively, increased ESR means an increase in the number of proteins of the acute phase, and therefore reflects the presence of inflammation
Important: an increase in ESR is usually associated with acute inflammatory, infectious or pathological processes in the body.
- the number of red blood cells
The more red blood cells, the higher the likelihood that they will form accumulations and, accordingly, settled faster
- electric charge of red blood cells
Normally, red blood cells repel from each other, but a change in their electrical properties can provoke sticking and increasing the rate of falling
- the form of red blood cells
A change in the morphology of red blood cells affects their ability to form characteristic columns and fall. An abnormal form prevents this process, therefore, leads to a decrease in ESR
- technical features of the test
To properly assess the result of the test, strict observance of the conditions of the vertical position of the tube, as well as maintaining the necessary room temperature, is important
- age
The older the patient, the higher he has ESE
- floor
The female half is distinguished by higher values \u200b\u200bof ESR than that of male representatives
- pregnancy, lactation
The expectation and feeding of the child has a huge impact on the course of many processes in the female body. ESR was no exception, but the deviation from the norm in the limits permissible for these cases is physiological and temporary
Thus, many factors affect the deviation of ESR, but high ESR causes special concern, since the priority suspicion falls on the presence of inflammatory and infectious processes.
Increased ESR: Causes
The ESR indicator refers to the category of non -specific, that is, the increased value of ESR, provided there are no other symptoms of the disease and finding other indicators within the norm, cannot serve as the basis for diagnosis.
However, the causes of increased ESR can be:
- infectious processes
- oncological phenomena
- purulent inflammation
- poisoning
- injuries and burns
- anemia
- autoimmune diseases
- myocardial infarction
- thrombosis
- kidney disease
Important: in case of an infectious focus, the level of ESR increases after a day or two after increasing temperature and increased leukocytes. After the recovery of ESR, it also does not decrease immediately and may exceed the norm for some time.
The false positive factors of excess of the norm include:
- pregnancy
- taking some drugs, including oral contraceptives
- elderly age
- period of menstruation
- postpartum period
- obesity
- recently suffered infection (recovery period)
- tilt of the test tube during the analysis
If the increased ESR showed a blood test carried out for preventive purposes, that is, in the absence of complaints about the state of health, a second examination is usually prescribed for monitoring the indicator.
In addition, they pay attention to other analysis indicators. If necessary, the doctor gives a direction for additional studies.
Analysis for the level of ESR can be carried out during treatment to assess its effectiveness.
In any case, the high ESR is not a reason to be scared, but the signal to take additional measures to maintain health.
Lower ESR: Causes
Despite the fact that the diagnostic value mainly has an increased level of ESR, a significant decrease in this indicator and approaching the lower border can also alert.
Low ESR is observed at:
- hepatitis
- stomach ulcer
- epilepsy
- erythrocytosis (polycythemia)
- leukocytosis
- blood coagulation (DVS-syndrome)
- vegetarianism
- hungry, diet
- anomalous form of red blood cells
- lactation
- cooling of the tube during analysis
- untimely analysis after blood sampling
Given that the deviation of the indicator can be associated with both pathological and physiological processes, as well as with impaired research technology in the laboratory, it is unreasonable to focus on a one -time result.
Important: the value of ESR reaches the maximum value during the day and minimum after night sleep.
The norm of ESR in men and women after 30?
In order to confidently talk about the excess or decrease in the level of ESR, one should decide before what to compare the result.
Like any other indicator, ESR has accepted norms. However, as mentioned earlier, this indicator is subject to the influence of factors such as the age and gender of the subject of the study.
In terms of women, hormonal background is also important, which changes at different stages of life (menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum period, menopause).
The averaged boundaries of ESR are:
- for women 2-15 mm/hour
- for men 1-10 mm/hour
These figures should be focused if your age is 30-40 years.
As the upper boundary for this age group, they allow:
- for women - 20 mm/h
- for men - 15 mm/h
What is the norm of ESR in men and women after 40 years?
The distinction between ESR norms is provided when the age of 50-60 years is reached. For a period from 40 to 50, you should use the average boundaries of the indicator (see norms higher for the age of 30 years).
What is the norm of ESR in men and women after 50 years?
- for women - up to 25 mm/h
- for men - up to 20 mm/h
What is the norm of ESR in men and women after 60 years?
In old age, the level of ESR rises for natural reasons. For the age of 60 years, the maximum value of ESR is considered:
- for women - 35 mm/hour
- for men - 30 mm/h
How does ESR change in women and men?
It is easy to notice the trend that with age, the requirements for the value of ESR become less rigid. This is due to the fact that, due to physiological causes of ESR, it increases with age.
For the guideline, they use this method: calculate the permissible value of ESR depending on age. For this:
- for men - the age is divided by half
- for women - 10 is added to age and then divided by half
For example, when reaching the age of 70 years, the upper border of ESR is:
- for men - 35 mm/hour (\u003d 70/2)
- for women - 40 mm/h (\u003d (70+10)/2)
ESR in pregnant women, norms
Pregnancy is accompanied by significant transformations in the body of a woman. In particular, changes are observed in the composition of the blood. As a result, many indicators go beyond normal values.
For this reason, pregnant women are often considered as a separate category, and other guidelines are installed for it.
ESR is one of the indicators that change significantly when pregnancy. As a rule, the value of ESR begins to gradually grow from the second trimester. The high level of ESR is preserved for some time after labor.
ESR growth occurs mainly due to:
- increase in plasma volume
- increasing the concentration in its composition of globulin
ESR for pregnant women loses its diagnostic value, and this indicator is not considered as a signal about the presence of a focus of inflammation.
It is usually said that during the period of gestation of ESR can reach up to 45 mm per hour. In practice, this indicator can take higher values \u200b\u200band does not indicate the mandatory appearance of any problems.
Therefore, to detect unexpressed inflammatory processes in pregnant women, they turn to other indicators. For example, more informative in this case will be a determination of the level of C-reactive protein.
How to reduce ESR in blood in women and men?
First of all, it should be remembered that the value of ESR is only a figure. With a deviation from the norm, the indicator may reflect the presence of a certain disease, and in some cases described above, it does not necessarily indicate the existence of problems.
In any case, the goal should not be adjusted the indicator for dry numbers of existing norms, but control over your health and timely response to the occurrence of the disease.
In other words, you need to look not for ways to reduce ESR, but the reasons that have entailed an increase in this indicator in excess of permissible norms, and direct the forces to eliminate these reasons. There is no magic tablet to adjust the level of ESR.
Examples:
- If the cause of the increase in ESR is an infectious disease, obviously, the decision will be the course of antibiotics prescribed by the doctor. After recovery and the level of ESR will return to normal
- With high ESR during pregnancy, the gynecologist, assessing the state of the future mother and the significance of other indicators of the clinical examination, most likely will not pay much attention to ESR. This deviation from the norm is in the vast majority of a temporary character
- In a situation where ESE is increased against the background of ideal indicators of other tests and good health, you need to retake a blood test.
Thus, in order to reduce ESR in the blood you need:
- find out the cause and act depending on the source of the problem
- undergo a course of medical treatment as a doctor in the event of a specific diagnosis
- retake the analysis or monitor the indicator in dynamics for some time on the advice of the doctor
- in addition to treatment, you can take beetroot juice to improve general hematopoiesis, increase the production of red blood cells
- Beetroot juice should be prepared from raw beets immediately before use
- A sufficient dose will be half or one cup per day
- It is necessary to take juice before meals
- The course should be at least 7-10 days
Summing up, it should be recalled once again that the rate of erythrocyte settlement rate is involved in the diagnosis of many diseases, but there are a large number of factors affecting its indication. Therefore, the value of ESR should ultimately be interpreted only by a doctor.