What is a vitamin D test?

A vitamin D test measures the levels of vitamin D in your blood. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium to build healthy bones and teeth. It also helps keep your muscles, nerves, and immune system working normally. Having vitamin D deficiency (very low levels of vitamin D) can lead to bone disorders and other medical conditions.

 

Why do I need a vitamin D test?

Your may order a vitamin D test if you:

• Have been diagnosed with a medical condition that may be related to vitamin D deficiency, such as:

• Osteomalacia, soft bones, often with muscle weakness
• Low bone density, osteopenia, or osteoporosis
• Rickets, a problem with bone growth in children
  • Have signs or symptoms of a condition that may be related to vitamin D deficiency such as:
• Bone pain
• Muscle weaknessor aches
• Soft or deformed bones
• Weak bones and fractures(broken bones)
  • Have a high risk for developing vitamin D deficiency. Your risk may be high if you:
• Rarely expose your skin to sunlightbecause you stay indoors, cover up outside, use sunscreen, or live where there is little sunlight
• Don’t eat enough food or have malnutrition
• Have had weight loss surgery
• Have a condition that makes it difficult to absorb nutrients in food, such as Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, or celiac disease
• Have kidney or liver diseasethat affects your ability to change vitamin D into a form your body can use
• Take medicines that affect vitamin D levels, including certain statinsto lower cholesterol, steroids, and weight-loss medicines

Babies and children can develop serious health problems from a lack of vitamin D. You may order a vitamin D test for:

• Babies that are mainly fed breastmilk. Breastmilk is low in vitamin D. All babies need vitamin D supplements shortly after birth, unless they are fed only formula, which contains vitamin D.
• Children with diets low in vitamin D.

If you are taking vitamin D supplements for vitamin D deficiency, your may order a test to see if your vitamin D levels are improving.

Getting too much vitamin D from supplements can harm your health. This rarely happens, but if you take supplements and have symptoms of high levels of vitamin D, your provider may order a test. The symptoms of too much vitamin D include:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Poor appetite
• Constipation
• Muscle weakness
• Weight loss

What happens during a vitamin D test?

A vitamin D test is a blood test. You also can do a home blood test at home. During a blood test, you will take a blood sample from a vein in your fingertip, using a Lancet, you may feel a little sting when the lancet against the fingertip.  Press the lancet against the fingertip, put the dropper bulb in contact with the blood, The blood migrates into the capillary dropper to the line indicated on the capillary dropper. You can get result in 10 minutes.