Thoraiya DyerHematology: Leave it to pathology labs, not chicken entrail-reading fortune-tellers
December 17th 2008 21:12
Some outrageous baloney arrived on my doorstep this week.
Poor old hematology. Once again, the description of a legitimate branch of science has been corrupted into a meaningless buzzword for fraudulent commercial gain.
“Using only one or two drops of your blood, your Practitioner will use Hemaview™ to investigate the size, shape and ratios of the red cells, white cells and platelets in your blood.,” says the website ( Really Long Link )
”You may have had blood tests before, but nothing compares to seeing your own blood live on a screen in front of you.”
The problem is, having blood that looks like the picture on the left doesn’t mean you’re less healthy than if you have blood that looks like the picture on the right.
The only difference is the manner in which the slide is prepared. Or, they might even be two different parts of the same slide – the exact same blood, in fact.
If you take a look at this picture, from here ( Really Long Link ), you’ll see that a smear has a thick part, where the blood cells overlap (right hand side), and a thin part where they are spread out (left hand side).
The area where the cells don’t touch one another is the monolayer:
“The definition of the monolayer varies from institution to institution, but the definition used to ensure consistent semiquantification of various morphologic abnormalities is the area where about half of the RBCs are touching one another without overlapping. The monolayer is the area of the blood film where WBCs and platelet numbers are estimated and cell morphology is examined.”
…So advertising that they can change your blood from one to the other is a total scam.
If you want more proof, here is a hilarious article on “Quackwatch” which is worth reading: Really Long Link
Amusing excerpts include:
“Blood indicator [Hemaview] claim: Waste (non-blood material) in the blood stream: "Immune system or organs of elimination are ineffective."
Scientific fact: Although the levels of waste products in the blood can be related to the functioning of various organs (such as the kidneys), these chemicals cannot be seen but require chemical tests to measure them.
Blood indicator [Hemaview] claim: Spicules (small, slender sharp-pointed pieces): "May signify liver or bowel toxicity."
Scientific fact: Spicules are artifacts, the most common causes of which are contamination and drying of the blood sample.”
If only these phonies would leave hematology in the pathology labs, where it belongs, and stop with a kind of fortune telling that’s about as useful as reading chicken entrails.
It’s enough to make your blood boil.
Poor old hematology. Once again, the description of a legitimate branch of science has been corrupted into a meaningless buzzword for fraudulent commercial gain.
“Using only one or two drops of your blood, your Practitioner will use Hemaview™ to investigate the size, shape and ratios of the red cells, white cells and platelets in your blood.,” says the website ( Really Long Link )
”You may have had blood tests before, but nothing compares to seeing your own blood live on a screen in front of you.”
The problem is, having blood that looks like the picture on the left doesn’t mean you’re less healthy than if you have blood that looks like the picture on the right.
The only difference is the manner in which the slide is prepared. Or, they might even be two different parts of the same slide – the exact same blood, in fact.
If you take a look at this picture, from here ( Really Long Link ), you’ll see that a smear has a thick part, where the blood cells overlap (right hand side), and a thin part where they are spread out (left hand side).
The area where the cells don’t touch one another is the monolayer:
“The definition of the monolayer varies from institution to institution, but the definition used to ensure consistent semiquantification of various morphologic abnormalities is the area where about half of the RBCs are touching one another without overlapping. The monolayer is the area of the blood film where WBCs and platelet numbers are estimated and cell morphology is examined.”
…So advertising that they can change your blood from one to the other is a total scam.
If you want more proof, here is a hilarious article on “Quackwatch” which is worth reading: Really Long Link
Amusing excerpts include:
“Blood indicator [Hemaview] claim: Waste (non-blood material) in the blood stream: "Immune system or organs of elimination are ineffective."
Scientific fact: Although the levels of waste products in the blood can be related to the functioning of various organs (such as the kidneys), these chemicals cannot be seen but require chemical tests to measure them.
Blood indicator [Hemaview] claim: Spicules (small, slender sharp-pointed pieces): "May signify liver or bowel toxicity."
Scientific fact: Spicules are artifacts, the most common causes of which are contamination and drying of the blood sample.”
If only these phonies would leave hematology in the pathology labs, where it belongs, and stop with a kind of fortune telling that’s about as useful as reading chicken entrails.
It’s enough to make your blood boil.
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