What Is Bioanalysis?

Bioanalysis is the practice of examining a person’s overall health and biological structure to discover the root cause for both acute and chronic health problems. Doctors usually check bodily fluids first, making sure that blood, lymph, and other bodily secretions don’t contain any foreign antigens. They then analyze bone and muscle structure, sometimes testing nerve function as well. Those that ascribe to bioanalysis often believe that any symptom in the body can point to a larger imbalance, which might lead to more serious problems later in life.

Most of the time, doctors use bioanalysis to make sure a patient’s symptoms aren’t being caused by medications or drugs. Those that take a lot of medications may be unknowingly taking two or more prescriptions that react poorly with each other. Some of these medicines also have side-effects that may alleviate some bodily symptoms, but make others worse.

Fluids are also usually tested for over-the-counter, prescription, and illegal drugs because prolonged use of any of these often affects overall health. For instance, some blood pressure medications may cause chronic fatigue and joint pain. When bioanalysis discovers this medication, the doctor may help the patient switch to a different kind of treatment. This may be a simple as a lower dose of the same medicine, or as complicated as completely changing the way the patient eats and exercises.

Sometimes doctors perform bioanalysis on other bodily systems, whether or not they find medications in the fluid tests. For instance, someone that gets frequent headaches may show a high amount of ibuprofen or aspirin in their blood. The doctor may then scan the bones and muscles to try to find the source of the pain. This usually involves an MRI or an X-ray. If the cause is still not found, the doctor may then analyze the brain and other organs in the body.

Many kinds of bioanalysis also involve questioning the patient. The doctor might ask what the patient eats on a normal day, how and where the patient sleeps, and what kind of exercise routine he or she keeps. Vices, like alcohol and smoking, may also be queried. Details like this, along with the medical scans of the rest of the body, help the doctor form a whole picture of the patient. Bioanalysis often uncovers several symptoms in the body that may be caused by the same condition, which the doctor can treat when he or she puts all of the symptoms together.