Can I eat before a general blood test and why?
To date, few have enough time to carefully monitor their health. And this is not good. It is advisable to go to a qualified specialist at least once every six months to plan your own condition. Not all people know about whether it is possible to eat before the general analysis of blood. This issue is very important, because, after receiving the wrong results, the doctor can not accurately determine the disease and choose the appropriate treatment program. Let's try to understand this issue in more detail, and also talk about how to prepare your body so that the results are reliable.
General information
This type of laboratory test is the most informative for many doctors. It is he who is assigned to the patient first of all when he goes to the hospital. This clinical analysis has been performed for a long time and is very time-consuming, but it provides an opportunity for doctors to get a similar picture about the health status of their patients.
Is it possible to eat before a general blood test and why? The answer is unambiguous - no! The whole point is that in order to obtain the correct interpretation of the results of the analysis, it is necessary that blood be taken with a natural chemical composition. And if you eat any food, then it will be broken, which, in turn, will affect the results.
What information does the blood test provide?
If you do not know if you can have breakfast before a general blood test, then it's best to consult the doctor first about this.
This type of laboratory research allows doctors:
- To correctly assess the patient's health.
- Correctly identify the disease.
- Identify the presence of a disease that occurs secretly.
- Monitor the treatment and make the necessary adjustments to the therapy.
The results of the analysis allow you to establish whether the indicators correspond to the norm or how much they deviate from it. If deviations are detected and any indicators are underestimated or overestimated, this is evidence of the presence of any diseases.
Can I eat before a general blood test? The answer to this question should be clear to everyone, because eating any food, various substances and macronutrients enter the blood, as a result of which their quantity increases, and the indicators deviate from the norm. In addition, after eating, the number of leukocytes increases. This is quite normal, but the doctor can regard this as the presence of any disease.
Why is it critical to stop eating before testing?
So we came to the answer to the question of whether it is possible to eat before the general analysis of blood. All doctors immediately warn their patients that they can not. This is an important nuance, because only so the results will be accurate, and the doctor will be able to get a real picture of the patient's state of health. In addition, before the analysis, it is not recommended to eat too late, as this can also have a negative effect on the results. After consuming food, it should take at least 8 hours.
General advice and recommendations
If you must donate blood for tests, then a few days before you go to the hospital, you must:
- refuse from fatty, spicy and fried foods;
- does not eat sweet;
- drink only plain water;
- not to drink alcohol;
- not bathe in the sauna or sauna;
- try not to take any medications or notify the doctor about their admission.
Many people are also interested in the question of whether it is possible to smoke before a general blood test. If you are an avid smoker, then in the morning it is not recommended to smoke, as harmful tar, acids and nicotine can affect the reliability of the tests.
How to behave on the day of the trip to the hospital?
On the day of delivery it is better not to have breakfast or drink juice or compote at all. Only non-carbonated water is allowed. It will not only quench your thirst, but also increase blood fluidity. Can I drink tea or coffee before a general blood test? The answer is no! From any drinks should be discarded.
The following rules are also prohibited:
- if you are sitting on a diet, then shortly before going to the hospital you need to abandon it;
- , at least one day prior to the analysis, it is forbidden to undergo an X-ray examination;
- before the analysis, it is necessary to cancel any physiotherapeutic procedures.
It is worth noting that the rules for preparing the body for blood donation may be different. Here everything depends on what the doctor is interested in. Therefore, it is recommended to consult a doctor beforehand. In some cases, breakfast may be mandatory, for example, if you need to determine the level of insulin in the blood.
Can I feed my children before donating blood for laboratory tests?
Each parent is interested in the question of whether a child can eat before a general blood test. Children should prepare for the analysis as well as adults. Therefore, if your child is sick and the doctor needs a laboratory blood test to correctly determine the disease, then you should not feed him at least 8 hours before them. Some doctors say that it is better not to eat at least 12 hours before the alleged hospital trip to donate blood.
What is allowed for food?
People suffering from certain diseases should eat much more often than a normal and completely healthy person. For example, if a patient has problems with the pancreas or the endocrine system, then the person should eat often, but in small portions. Therefore, without food they simply can not. You can eat light foods. It can be a small portion of porridge cooked on the water, without using any seasonings. You can also eat a sandwich with cheese, crackers or fresh vegetables.
Meat, fish, sausages and canned foods are strictly prohibited. This also applies to any goodies and marinades.
Preparation of the body for the analysis of
So, we figured out whether it is possible to eat before a general blood test. Let's now talk about preparing for analysis. There are no strict rules here, but that everything went as it should be desirable to adhere to some tips.
The blood sample for analysis is most often taken early in the morning. In the hospital, the patient is made a small incision on the finger with the help of a scarifier and takes a few drops of blood. If the finger is damaged, then in this case the blood is taken from the earlobe. In young children, blood can be taken from the toe or heel. In some cases, for a general analysis, blood can be taken from the vein.
A few days before the test should completely abandon the alcohol, as it contributes to a violation of the normal blood composition, resulting in the results will be incorrect. This applies to the diet. It is best to eat "light" foods cooked steamed or boiled. In this case, you should stop using salt, sugar and any spices in the cooking process.
If you go in for sports and go to the gym, then shortly before going to the hospital to donate blood for laboratory tests, you must stop training. This also applies to work that requires great physical exertion. If possible, it is best to postpone it.
In conclusion
Your health needs to be taken very seriously. If you get sick, then you need to go to the hospital for a profiled specialist to undergo therapy. But that the doctor can determine the disease and choose an effective treatment program, he needs to have an idea about the chemical composition of the blood, namely the compliance of all indicators with the norm. Therefore, it is necessary to prepare for analysis with all seriousness.
If you do not know, you can have breakfast before going to the hospital for blood tests for laboratory tests or not, then consult a doctor on this and he will tell you everything in detail. In this case, your health will be determined correctly.