Drinkers are tempted to drink alcohol before donating blood, what food is allowed before visiting the hospital?
In order not to distort the results of the examination and to correspond to reality, it is necessary to follow a number of rules that the doctor usually gives to the patient. One of the most important requirements on the eve of blood tests is the lack of ethanol in it.
How alcohol can affect
Does alcohol affect the blood test and how to properly prepare for the test? The blood test is one of the most important, it allows you to assess the general condition of the body and make an accurate diagnosis, therefore proper preparation for blood sampling and compliance with all recommendations of the attending physician is a very important step that affects the result and shouldto be taken seriously. The speed of the patient's recovery, the methods of treatment that the doctor prescribes, directly depend on the results of the examination. Therefore, to the questions of whether it is possible to donate blood after alcohol or whether it is possible to drink beer before blood donation, there must be an unequivocal answer - no. Alcohol should not be taken before blood donation.
The specialist usually warns the patient that the blood is taken in the morning on an empty stomach, and even coffee and tea should not be consumed. However, some patients do not always follow the recommendations and may drink beer or other alcohol before taking tests.
How does ethyl alcohol get into the blood? It causes chemical transformations and has various effects on the body:
- there is a decrease in glucose levels - an effect on blood sugar;
- the uric acid content increases;
- the plasma lactate content increases;
- a number of other chemicals in the blood and urine also change.
Drinking alcohol can severely skew test results, and at best you will need to take the time to retake the test. Alcohol also affects the analysis of urine.
How to prepare for the exam
What foods and drinks should not be taken before blood donation?
Experts strongly recommend the following points in preparation for the study. The person who will pass the test must know them:
- refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages 48, and ideally 72 hours before blood donation;
- if a person has drunk alcohol before the test (even accidentally), it is recommended that you cancel the hospital visit and postpone it to a later date;
- there are studies in which the use of alcohol is completely prohibited (they include tests for hepatitis, HIV, diabetes, tests for calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and some hormones);
- the day before the visit to the clinic it is forbidden to use sugar (and all foods containing sugar), as well as fried, spicy and fatty foods - this may adversely affect the test;
- you should try to avoid stressful situations - you know about their negative impact on the result of the analysis;
- refrain from smoking 1-2 hours before blood donation.
Analysis of sugar and the influence of alcohol on the results
The use of beverages and preparations containing ethanol in sugar testing is strictly prohibited. This is especially true in diabetes. The point is that alcohol affects the liver. As a result, the breakdown products of ethanol enter the blood and urine, which radically distorts the results of the study. The molecule of ethyl alcohol is actively involved in the body's metabolism and as a result glucose is formed. Therefore, a distortion of the result occurs.
In addition to affecting the liver, ethanol can react chemically with medical instruments, leading to the production of external chemicals that adversely affect research.
Ethanol can significantly reduce the amount of glucose in the blood for a while as it interferes with the production of glucose in the liver. For this reason, a false suspicion of diabetes may arise.
If you do not want to waste time and money to retake the exam, read the rules of preparation carefully and completely exclude alcohol from the diet - even those drinks that have a minimum amount of ethanol, because they are not in the best way to affect reliabilityof the results.
In some cases, a person is sent for examination spontaneously, without preparation. This can happen, for example, in the workplace, when management suspects that an employee has consumed alcohol in the workplace and the employee may be referred to a health facility for a test to prevent injuries at work. In such cases, a urine test for alcohol may also be done.
In some companies there is a medical examination of the employee before taking the job. These are usually companies where workers are responsible for people's lives or work with equipment, which can have serious consequences if not operated properly.
Such tests do not require special training - only biomaterial sampling is performed. The blood alcohol content of 0. 2 ppm is considered harmful to the body, and 0. 5 ppm is a lethal dose.