Drinkers are tempted to drink alcohol before donating blood, what food is allowed before visiting the hospital?
In order for the examination results to be not distorted and correspond to reality, it is necessary to observe a number of rules that the doctor usually brings to the patient. One of the most important requirements on the eve of blood tests is the absence of ethanol in it.
How alcohol can affect
Does alcohol affect the blood test and how to properly prepare for the examination? A 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 adherence to all the recommendations of the attending physician is a very important step that affects the result, and should be taken seriously. The speed of the patient's recovery, the methods of treatment that the doctor prescribes directly depends on the results of the study. Therefore, to the questions of whether it is possible to donate blood after alcohol or whether it is possible to drink beer before donating blood, there should be an unambiguous answer - no. Alcohol must not be taken before donating blood.
Usually, a specialist warns the patient that blood is taken on an empty stomach in the morning, and even coffee and tea should not be consumed. However, some patients do not always follow the recommendations and may drink beer or take other alcohol before taking tests.
How does ethyl alcohol get into the bloodstream? It causes chemical transformations and has various effects on the body:
- there is a decrease in glucose levels - an effect on blood sugar;
- the content of uric acid increases;
- the content of lactate in plasma increases;
- a number of other chemicals in the blood and urine also change.
Drinking alcohol can distort the test results quite strongly, and in the best case, you will have to spend time re-passing the test. Alcohol also affects urine analysis.
How preparation for the examination should proceed
What foods and drinks should not be taken before donating blood?
Experts strongly recommend the following points in preparation for the study. The person who is going to pass the test should know them:
- refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages 48, and ideally 72 hours before blood donation is carried out;
- if a person drank alcohol before the analysis (even accidentally), it is recommended to refuse the visit to the hospital and postpone it to a later date;
- there are studies in which the use of alcohol is completely prohibited (these include tests for hepatitis, HIV, diabetes mellitus, tests for the content of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and some hormones);
- the day before visiting the clinic, the use of sugar (and all foods containing sugar), as well as fried, spicy and fatty foods is prohibited - this can adversely affect the test;
- you should try to avoid stressful situations - you know about their negative impact on the analysis result;
- refrain from smoking 1-2 hours before donating blood.
Analysis of sugar and the effect of alcohol on its results
The use of drinks and preparations containing ethanol when tested for sugar is strictly prohibited. This is especially true in diabetes mellitus. The point is that alcohol affects the liver. As a result, ethanol breakdown products enter the blood and urine, which radically distort the research results. The ethyl alcohol molecule actively participates in the body's metabolism, and as a result, glucose is formed. Hence the distortion of the result arises.
In addition to affecting the liver, ethanol can chemically react with medical instruments, resulting in the production of extraneous 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 mellitus may arise.
If you do not want to waste time and money on re-passing the examination, carefully read the preparation rules and completely exclude alcohol from the diet - even those drinks in which there is a minimum amount of ethanol, because they do not in the best way affect the reliability of the results.
In some cases, a person is sent for research spontaneously, without preparation. This can happen, for example, in a 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 injury at work. In such cases, a urine test for alcohol may also be performed.
In some enterprises, there is a medical examination of the employee before taking up the workplace. Usually these are enterprises in which workers are responsible for the lives of people or operate equipment that can lead to serious consequences if not properly operated.
Such tests do not require special training - just a sampling of biomaterial is performed. A blood alcohol content of 0. 2 ppm is considered harmful to the body, and 0. 5 ppm is a lethal dose.