Other names: Red Blood Cells, Erythrocytes, RED BLOOD CELL COUNT, RCC
Optimal Result:
3.77 - 5.28 x10E3/uL.
Red blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. They also carry carbon dioxide back to the lungs so it can be exhaled. Red blood cells (RBC) are made in the bone marrow and contain hemoglobin, a protein that carries oxygen to the tissues in the body. These cells are also known as erythrocytes.
Anemia is a condition that results from a decrease in the number of RBCs. Elevated RBC counts are seen in other conditions where there is low oxygen levels, certain drugs, kidney disease, or bone marrow overproduction. If your RBC count results are abnormal, additional tests are usually done to diagnose the cause of the high or low level of red blood cells.
A CBC measures two other components of your red blood cells:
- hemoglobin: oxygen-carrying protein
- hematocrit: percentage of red blood cells in your blood
Abnormal levels of red blood cells, hemoglobin, or hematocrit may be a sign of anemia, heart disease, or too little iron in your body.
What is a red blood cell (RBC) count?
Red blood cell count is a blood test that measures the number of erythrocytes circulating in your blood. This test is almost always done as part of a complete blood count (CBC) that also measures other types of blood cells.
Red blood cells carry oxygen from your lungs to every cell in your body. Your cells need oxygen to grow, reproduce, and stay healthy. An RBC count that is higher or lower than normal is often the first sign of an illness. So the test may allow you to get treatment even before you have symptoms.
What is the red blood cell (RBC) test used for?
A red blood cell (RBC) count is almost always part of a complete blood count, a group of tests that measure many different parts and features of your blood. The RBC measurement is used to help diagnose red blood cell disorders, such as anemia, a condition in which your body does not make enough healthy red blood cells.
Why do I need a red blood cell count?
You may get this test as part of a complete blood count, which is often included in a routine checkup. You may also need this test if you have symptoms of a low or high red blood cell count.
Red blood cell count, hemoglobin and hematocrit:
The results of these three markers are related because they each measure a feature of red blood cells. Lower than usual measures in these three areas are a sign of anemia. Anemia has many causes. They include low levels of certain vitamins or iron, blood loss, or another medical condition. People with anemia might feel weak or tired. These symptoms may be due to the anemia itself or the cause of anemia. A red blood cell count that's higher than usual is known as erythrocytosis. A high red blood cell count or high hemoglobin or hematocrit levels could point to a medical condition such as blood cancer or heart disease.
When should I get a red blood cell test?
RBC count is usually tested as part of a complete blood count, which is a common lab test that can be used to detect or monitor many different health conditions.
Your health care provider may order this test:
- As part of a routine check-up
- If you are having symptoms of anemia, such as fatigue, headache, loss of appetite, or problems concentrating
- If you are having other symptoms of blood cell changes, such as fever, infection, or weakness
- When you are receiving treatment that can affect your blood cell counts, such as chemotherapy
- To monitor a long-term health problem that may change your blood count results, such as chronic kidney disease
Interpreting red blood cell test results:
RBC count is written as a number value in cells per microliter (number of RBCs x106/µL). The normal range for red blood cells depends on factors like age and sex and can vary slightly among different laboratories due to the equipment used in different laboratories. In general, reference ranges for adults typically fall between 4 and 6 million cells per microliter of blood. Males typically have a higher number of RBCs than females.
The number of RBCs can also be affected by elevation in the area where testing is conducted. At higher altitudes, less oxygen is available thus the need for your body to increase the number of RBCs that can deliver the required amount of oxygen.
The expected RBC count in babies, children, and adolescents can vary significantly based on their age. RBC counts are often highest in newborns and decrease through infancy before reaching levels similar to adults during childhood and adolescence. Because multiple factors can affect your RBC count, it’s important to talk to your doctor to understand what your test results mean.
The typical lifespan of an RBC is 120 days, so they have to be replaced constantly. Erythropoietin is a hormone that is made in the kidneys and is released to stimulate the bone marrow to make more red blood cells. Health conditions that disrupt the normal creation and function of RBCs can cause abnormal RBC count.
References:
Barbalato L, Pillarisetty LS. Histology, Red Blood Cell. 2022 Nov 14. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2022 Jan–. PMID: 30969524.
Peter Klinken S. Red blood cells. Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 2002 Dec;34(12):1513-8. doi: 10.1016/s1357-2725(02)00087-0. PMID: 12379271.
Kuhn V, Diederich L, Keller TCS 4th, Kramer CM, Lückstädt W, Panknin C, Suvorava T, Isakson BE, Kelm M, Cortese-Krott MM. Red Blood Cell Function and Dysfunction: Redox Regulation, Nitric Oxide Metabolism, Anemia. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2017 May 1;26(13):718-742. doi: 10.1089/ars.2016.6954. Epub 2017 Jan 18. PMID: 27889956; PMCID: PMC5421513.
Hamasaki N, Yamamoto M. Red blood cell function and blood storage. Vox Sang. 2000;79(4):191-7. doi: 10.1159/000056729. PMID: 11155068.
Cortese-Krott MM, Rodriguez-Mateos A, Sansone R, Kuhnle GG, Thasian-Sivarajah S, Krenz T, Horn P, Krisp C, Wolters D, Heiß C, Kröncke KD, Hogg N, Feelisch M, Kelm M. Human red blood cells at work: identification and visualization of erythrocytic eNOS activity in health and disease. Blood. 2012 Nov 15;120(20):4229-37. doi: 10.1182/blood-2012-07-442277. Epub 2012 Sep 24. PMID: 23007404.
There are numerous reasons for a high red blood cell count, or polycythemia. RBC production increases when the body's oxygen levels are low because of a medical condition or because the external oxygen supply is limited (for example at high-altitude locations).
High RBC count can be triggered by various factors, including:
- Bone Marrow Disorder
- Smoking
- Dehydration
- Living at high altitude
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary disease [L]
- Congential heart disease
- Heart failure
- Genetic defects that impair the ability of RBC to transport oxygen efficiently (Hemoglobinopathies)
- Kidney Cancer
- Kidney Transplant
- Medications such as anabolic steroids, erythropoietin (EPO), genta micin (Gentamicin), and methyldopa (Aldomet)
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Various types of heart and lung disease
- Testosterone replacement therapy (read blog article here)
Symptoms:
Some people may not produce any symptons, while others may have nonspecific symptons such as adominal bloating, dizziness, fatigue and headache. Physical indicators such as chest pain and shortness of breath are also possible, particulary in those who have heart or respiratory problems due to their high red blood cell count.
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A low red blood cell count can be a sign of:
- Anemia
- Leukemia, a type of blood cancer
- Malnutrition, a condition in which your body does not get the calories, vitamins, and/or minerals needed for good health
- Multiple myeloma, a cancer of the bone marrow
- May also be a sign of pregnancy
- Overhydration
- Hemolysis, the physical act of red blood cells breaking apart and releasing hemoglobin
- Chronic kidney failure
- Severe bleeding or hemorrhage
- Failure of normal blood cell production in bone marrow
- Certain autoimmune diseases
- Chronic alcoholism
- Toxic chemical exposure
- Genetic/family history
- Some types of medications can also contribute to an increase or decrease in RBC count.
An RBC count test alone often cannot determine the reason why RBC levels are high or low. Other blood cell counts may be considered in interpreting the significance of RBC levels, and further tests are often needed to diagnose a specific cause of an abnormal RBC count. A blood smear is often requested to identify any abnormally sized and/or irregularly shaped RBCs that may be present
Because many different conditions can affect your RBC count, it is important to review your test results with your doctor who can address the most likely explanations for your RBC level.
Symptoms of a low red blood cell count include:
- Weakness
- Fatigue
- Pale skin
- Rapid heartbeat
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Import Lab Results from Any Source
Easily upload lab results from any provider, whether it's a hospital, independent lab, or home testing service. We support PDFs, scanned documents, and JPEGs from patient portals. No need to log in to multiple platforms — everything is centralized in one secure space.
Easily upload lab results from any provider — we support PDFs, scans, and images. Keep all your reports organized in one secure place.
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Every lab result is automatically organized on a chronological timeline, giving you a complete picture of your health journey. Whether you're tracking a condition, managing treatments, or staying proactive, the timeline helps you and your doctor understand how things progress over time.
Every lab result is automatically organized on a chronological timeline, giving you a complete picture of your health journey.
Understand What Your Results Mean
Whether it's a blood test, GI panel, urinalysis, or something else, lab reports measure numerous biomarkers that reveal what's happening inside your body. Our extensive database covers over 10,000 biomarkers, providing clear, simple explanations of what each result means and how you can take action—no matter your membership level. Say goodbye to confusion and get the insights you need to better understand your health.
Our database covers over 10,000 biomarkers with clear, simple explanations—so you can finally understand your results and what to do next.
Enter Your Lab Reports Yourself — Always Free
Enter Your Lab Reports — Always Free
If you'd like to handle inputting your health data into your account, you can do so with our easy-to-use data entry forms. Our user-friendly form is designed to guide you through the quick and easy submission process, making it simple to keep track of your health metrics. This is available to both Complete plan and Unlimited plan members.
Our user-friendly form guides you through a quick, simple submission process, making it easy to enter your health metrics.
Add your results anytime with our easy entry form. It's quick, guided, and helps you stay organized — free for all members.
Visualize Your Results
View your lab data through easy-to-read graphs and tables. Quickly spot patterns, track changes, and compare results across different dates — all without digging through multiple reports. You can also select and compare graphs of specific biomarkers side-by-side to better understand how they relate and change over time.
See your lab reports in clear graphs and tables. Spot patterns, track changes, and compare results over time — all in one place.
Export Your Complete Lab History in a Single File
Export Your Complete Lab History
After collecting lab results from different providers, you can download your entire history combined into a single file. Choose from PDF, Excel, or CSV formats to easily review, share, or get a second opinion—no more juggling multiple reports.
After collecting lab results from different providers, you can download your entire history combined into a single file.
Comprehensive Data Entry Service for Your Reports
Data Entry Service for Your Reports
Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest. Complete plan members receive one report entered for free, then $15 per report after that. Unlimited plan members receive ten report entries for free, then $15 per report after that.
Our inclusive service handles the data entry for your lab reports. Just submit your information and we'll take care of the rest.
Securely Share With Anyone You Trust
Whether you're working with a doctor, nutritionist, caregiver, or wellness coach, you can securely share your complete lab history by sending an invite link to anyone you trust. You have full control over who sees your information and for how long, ensuring your privacy and peace of mind at every step.
Share your full lab history with your doctor, nutritionist, or coach using a secure invite link.
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I have been using Healthmatters.io since 2021. I travel all over the world and use different doctors and health facilities. This site has allowed me to consolidate all my various test results over 14 years in one place. And every doctor that I show this to has been impressed. Because with any health professional I talk to, I can pull up historical results in seconds. It is invaluable. Even going back to the same doctor, they usually do not have the historical results from their facility in a graph format. That has been very helpful.
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Unlimited Plan Member since 2021
What fantastic service and great, easy-to-follow layouts! I love your website; it makes it so helpful to see patterns in my health data. It's truly a pleasure to use. I only wish the NHS was as organized and quick as Healthmatters.io. You've set a new standard for health tracking!
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As a PRO member and medical practitioner, Healthmatters.io has been an invaluable tool for tracking my clients' data. The layout is intuitive, making it easy to monitor trends and spot patterns over time. The ability to customize reports and charts helps me present information clearly to my clients, improving communication and outcomes. It's streamlined my workflow, saving me time and providing insights at a glance. Highly recommended for any practitioner looking for a comprehensive and user-friendly solution to track patient labs!
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Healthmatters Pro Member since 2024
Healthmatters is a personal health dashboard that helps you organize and understand your lab results. It collects and displays your medical test data from any lab in one secure, easy-to-use platform.
With a Healthmatters account, you can:
Professionals can also analyze client data more efficiently and save time managing lab reports.
Healthmatters.io personal account provides in-depth research on 4000+ biomarkers, including information and suggestions for test panels such as, but not limited to:
You can combine all test reports inside your Healthmatters account and keep them in one place. It gives you an excellent overview of all your health data. Once you retest, you can add new results and compare them.
If you are still determining whether Healthmatters support your lab results, the rule is that if you can test it, you can upload it to Healthmatters.
While we work with many popular labs, we welcome reports from lots of other places too.
It's as simple as this: if you can get a test done, you can upload it to Healthmatters and we can interpret results from any lab out there. If laboratories can analyze it, we can interpret it.
If you're on the hunt for a specific biomarker, contact us and we'll add it to our database. Anything from blood, urine, saliva, or stool can be uploaded, understood, and tracked with your Healthmatters account.
The Complete Plan ($15/month) is perfect for individuals who want ongoing access to their health data. It includes unlimited lab imports, visual tracking, custom ranges, result explanations, full account exports, and secure sharing — all with a simple monthly subscription. You can cancel anytime and restart your plan whenever you're ready — your data will still be there waiting for you. You can also upgrade to the Unlimited Plan at any time, with the cost prorated based on what you've already paid.
The Unlimited Plan ($250 one-time) is also designed for individuals but offers lifetime access with no ongoing subscription. You'll get all the same features as the Complete Plan, plus a larger initial data entry allowance (10 reports), making it a great choice if you prefer a one-time payment and long-term use without monthly fees.
In short:
There are two ways to add your test reports to your Healthmatters account. One option is to input the data using the data entry forms. The other method is to utilize our "Data entry service."
Our data entry forms offer an easy, fast, and free way for you to input the reports yourself. Self-entry allows you to add an unlimited number of reports at no cost. We make the self-entry process user-friendly, providing dozens of templates that pre-populate the most popular laboratory panels and offering instant feedback on entered values.
For those who prefer assistance, we offer a "Data entry service" to help you input your data. Simply attach an image or file of your lab test results, and a qualified team member from our data entry team will add the results for you.
We support various file types, including PDFs, JPGs, or Excel. This service is particularly useful if you have many reports to upload or if you're too busy to handle the data entry yourself.
Our Data Entry Service is for when you don't want to manually type in your lab results yourself. You simply upload your report (PDF, image, or screenshot), and our trained team enters the information into your Healthmatters account for you — accurately and neatly organized, ready to view in graphs, tables, and timelines.
The $15 per report covers the time and care it takes for a real person to review your file, make sure each result is entered correctly, and double-check for accuracy. This ensures your health data is precise and easy to work with — without you having to spend the time doing it yourself.
Prefer to do it yourself? You can always use our free self-entry tool to add results manually — it just takes a bit more time and attention.
For users on the Complete monthly plan, the first report is entered free of charge, and each additional report incurs a fee of $15.
Unlimited account holders enjoy the entry of ten reports without charge. Subsequent reports are subject to a $15 fee per report.
Additionally, users on the Complete plan can upgrade to a yearly subscription from the account settings. The annual subscription includes a data entry service for five reports.
All professional accounts allow you to import and onboard an unlimited number of clients and their lab results. The distinction between professional plans lies solely in the data entry service.
The Pro Monthly Plus plan is priced at $75 per month and includes a data entry service for five reports each month. Additional reports can be self-entered at no extra cost or, if preferred, you can use our data entry service for an additional fee of $15 per report.
The Pro Monthly plan is priced at $45 per month and does not include a data entry service. Self-entry is free for an unlimited number of reports, and you can opt for the data entry service at a fee of $15 per report.
You also have the option to upgrade to higher monthly or to annual plans, which come with substantial discounts. All upgrades can be done directly from your account.
Simply log in and navigate to your account settings to cancel your subscription. Scroll down to locate the 'Cancel' button at the bottom of the page. Ensure you cancel at least one day before the renewal date to prevent any charges. Once cancellation is requested, the subscription remains active until the conclusion of the current billing cycle.
Our goal has been to make your Healthmatters account as intuitive as possible.
We've crafted multiple ways for you to navigate your data, whether you're glancing at a single report or delving into your historical test reports.
1. Graph View:Dive into a visual journey with our biomarker graphs, showcasing over 40 data points. Combining years of results unveils trends, empowering you to make informed decisions. Our visualization tools make it a breeze to compare and understand changes over time, even if your results are from different labs. A search function and filters simplify the exploration of extensive data, allowing you to focus on what needs attention.
2. All Tests ViewExplore neatly organized reports on a timeline, highlighting crucial details like dates, critical results, and lab/panel names. Each report opens up to reveal in-depth descriptions and additional recommendations for each biomarker. The history of previous results is just a click away, and you can download a comprehensive report for deeper insights. Color-coded and user-friendly, it's designed for easy reading, understanding, and navigation.
3. Table View:For a holistic view of all biomarkers side by side, our table view is your go-to. Results are neatly displayed in a categorized and dated table, ideal for those with an extensive test history. Utilize sorting, filters, and color-coding to enhance your analysis and gain extra insights.
Yes, you can download your information anytime. We offer two easy ways to export your lab data:
This makes it simple to save, back up, or share your health data whenever you need.
Yes, you can print your report. To do so, navigate to "All tests" and open the report you wish to print. You'll find a print button in the right corner of the report. Click on it, and your browser's print window will open. If you prefer to print in a bigger typeface, adjust the scale using the print window settings.
Yes, you can! We highly recommend activating Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for your account. To do so, please navigate to the "Profile and Security" section of your account, where you will find instructions for activating 2FA.
Yes, you can. When entering values for the biomarker, you will see an "Edit Range" button. Click this button, and you'll have the option to enter a custom range.
A personal account is all about keeping your own lab test results in check. It's just for you and your personal use.
The professional account is designed for health professionals who wish to track and organize their clients' laboratory results.
To learn more about Healthmatters Pro, please refer to the professional page.
At HealthMatters, we're committed to maintaining the security and confidentiality of your personal information. We've put industry-leading security standards in place to help protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. We use procedural, physical, and electronic security methods designed to prevent unauthorized people from getting access to this information. Our internal code of conduct adds additional privacy protection. All data is backed up multiple times a day and encrypted using SSL certificates. See our Privacy Policy for more details.
