A blood culture test is a test by which doctors find out if there is an infection in your body that can infect your whole body. Doctors call this a systemic infection.
In this test, a sample of your blood is taken to check for the bacteria or yeasts in the blood that are causing the infection.
What is Blood Culture Test
Blood culture tests check for germs such as bacteria or fungi in the blood.
If microbes are found in the body in the test, it will help doctors to know which medicine will work better to cure the patient’s infection.
When it is done
A blood culture test is done when a child shows signs of infection caused by bacteria or fungi. This test is also done when a child has an infection in any part of the body and it has also infected the blood.
Your doctor may recommend a blood culture test if you have any of the following symptoms:
- Fever or chills.
- Tiredness.
- Frequent urination is less than usual.
- Getting nausea.
- To be delusional.
- Rapid breathing or rapid heartbeat.
If your infection is more severe, you may have the following problems:
- Swelling in different parts of the body
- Small blood clots form in small blood vessels.
- The rapid drop in blood pressure.
- Stop working any part of the body.
Before the Blood Culture Test
You do not need to do any preparation before this test. If you are taking any kind of antibiotic, then tell your doctor about it.
Also, tell your doctor when you took the last dose of the medicine. Tell your doctor about all the types of herbs, vitamins and supplements you take.
During the Blood Culture Test
Before the test, the part of your body from which blood will be drawn is cleaned. After this, blood is drawn by pricking a needle in your vein.
To get the most accurate test results, this process will be repeated in another vein, that is, blood will be drawn from the other vein as well.
After Blood Culture Test
Your blood samples are then mixed with a special type of material. This material is called culture. Doing so increases the number of bacteria or yeast already present in your blood.
The result of this test can be found in the lab in 24 hours. But you may have to wait 48 to 72 hours to know what kind of bacteria is causing the infection in your body. You may need to have some other tests as well.
What are the risks of this Test?
There are some risks involved in having a blood culture test with a needle, including bleeding, infection, bruising, and feeling light-headed.
You may feel slight pain when the needle is pricked into your arm or part. After that, there may be slight discomfort in this part.
What do blood culture test results mean
The result of the test can depend on many things like your age, gender, health, method of test. Based on the test results, you cannot say that you have any kind of disease.
Therefore, after the result comes, find out from your doctor which disease you have. A positive result means that bacteria or yeast have been found in your blood. Whereas if the test is found negative, it means that no bacteria or yeast have been found in your body.
