To know if you have thick or thin blood a doctor will draw your blood and do a blood test.
The blood test can tell if your blood is thick or thin.
An example of some of the blood tests used if your doctor thinks you may have thick blood include: Complete blood count:
This test screens for the presence of red blood cells and platelets in the blood.
High hemoglobin and hematocrit levels could indicate the presence of a condition like polycythemia vera.
The increase in blood cells makes the blood thicker.
Thick blood can lead to strokes or tissue and organ damage.
Symptoms include lack of energy (fatigue) or weakness, headaches, dizziness, shortness of breath, visual disturbances, nose bleeds, bleeding gums, heavy menstrual periods, and bruising.
Having thick blood (hypercoagulability) means that you are prone to excessive clotting or clotting when you are not bleeding.
It can lead to dangerous blood clots that can result in a heart attack, stroke, or other life-threatening problems.
A person with thick blood, or hypercoagulability, may be prone to blood clots.
When blood is thicker or stickier than usual, this often results from an issue with the clotting process.
Specifically, an imbalance of the proteins and cells responsible for blood clotting can lead to hypercoagulability.
A D-dimer test is used to find out if you have a blood clotting disorder.
These disorders include: Deep vein thrombosis (DVT), a blood clot that's deep inside a vein.
These clots usually affect the lower legs, but they can also happen in other parts of the body.
Hemophilia is a rare disorder in which the blood doesn't clot in the typical way because it doesn't have enough blood-clotting proteins (clotting factors).
If you have hemophilia, you might bleed for a longer time after an injury than you would if your blood clotted properly.
Thin blood is known as thrombocytopenia and is caused by low numbers of platelets.
The normal level of platelets in the blood is between 150,000–400,000 per milliliter (mL) .
If levels of platelets fall below 150,000/mL, it may indicate thin blood.