Is fasting required for routine physical examination

Routine physical examinations do not necessarily require fasting throughout the entire process. Whether you need to be hungry depends on whether the items you choose include any type that requires fasting. Don’t suffer from hypoglycemia just for the sake of “fasting”.

The items that require fasting are actually concentrated in a few categories. The most common ones are fasting blood sugar, blood lipids, liver function in blood biochemistry, as well as abdominal liver, gallbladder, pancreas and spleen ultrasound, carbon 13/14 breath test, etc. Not long ago, we met a retired aunt in our physical examination center. She drank half a cup of sweet soy milk before going out in the morning because she was afraid of being hungry. After taking blood, it was found that her fasting blood sugar was 7.2mmol/L. She wiped her eyes with the report and thought she had diabetes. However, she came back for a reexamination on an empty stomach the next day and found that all the indicators were within the normal range. I worried for several days in vain. There was also a young man who was in a hurry and gnawed two meat buns in the morning before going for a B-ultrasound. As soon as the probe was placed on the right upper quadrant, the doctor frowned. The gallbladder was shrunken due to eating, and the small polyps and sand-like stones inside could not be seen clearly, so he could only ask him to come back the next day, which was a wasted trip. If you had a heavy oily and spicy hot pot or barbecued until late at night the night before, it would have a greater impact on the results of blood lipids and liver function. We have also encountered people who came for a check the next day after eating late night snacks, and their triglycerides were so high that there was a layer of oil floating on the blood sample, and the instrument almost failed to measure the value.

However, not all physical examination items are afraid of you eating, such as blood routine, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, breast and thyroid ultrasound, gynecological ultrasound, etc. If you eat something, it will not affect half a dime. There is no need to wait hungry for a long time. Nowadays, many people have underlying diseases, such as high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. They must take regular medicine every morning. Just take it with a sip of boiled water. It will not affect the results at all. On the contrary, if you stop taking medicine for fasting, your blood pressure will go up, and the electrocardiogram may show abnormal fluctuations, which will be troublesome.

Speaking of which, the requirements for fasting in the industry are not as rigid as before. In the past, the old saying was to fast for 8-12 hours and not touch a sip of water. Now many studies have confirmed that as long as you do not drink sweet drinks such as milk tea and cola, Instead of eating heavy oily things like deep-fried dough sticks or fried chicken, just drink a sip or two of plain water to moisten your throat, or take a sip of water because of taking medicine. The impact on blood sugar and blood lipids is almost negligible, and you don’t have to be so thirsty that your lips will peel and you won’t dare to swallow.

If you are really not sure whether you need to fast, just ask the customer service of the medical examination institution when making an appointment. If you are sure that there are items that require fasting, stuff bread, milk, etc. into your bag. After the blood is drawn, the abdominal B-ultrasound and the breath test are completed, immediately find a rest area to eat a few bites, and then slowly do the rest of the items. Isn't it better to be comfortable than to feel dizzy from hunger?