Drinkers are tempted to drink alcohol before donating blood, what food is allowed before going to the hospital?
In order for the results of the examination not to be distorted and correspond to reality, it is necessary to adhere to a series of rules that the doctor usually brings to the patient. One of the most important requirements before 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? The blood test is one of the most important, it enables the assessment of the general condition of the organism and making an accurate diagnosis, so proper preparation for taking blood and following all the doctor's recommendations 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 prescribed by the doctor directly depend on the results of the study. Therefore, the question of whether it is possible to give blood after alcohol or whether it is possible to drink beer before giving blood, should be an unequivocal answer - no. Alcohol should not be taken before donating blood.
Usually, the specialist warns the patient to take blood in the morning on an empty stomach, and even coffee and tea should not be drunk. However, some patients do not always follow the recommendations and may drink beer or other alcohol before testing.
How does ethyl alcohol enter the bloodstream? It causes chemical transformations and has different effects on the body:
- there is a decrease in glucose levels - the effect on blood sugar;
- uric acid content increases;
- plasma lactate content increases;
- a number of other chemicals in the blood and urine also change.
Alcohol consumption can pretty much skew test results, and at best, you’ll have to spend time retaking the test. Alcohol also affects urine analysis.
How to prepare for the exam
What foods and drinks should not be taken before donating blood?
Experts strongly recommend the following points in preparation for the study. The person taking the test should know them:
- refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages 48, and ideally 72 hours before giving blood;
- if a person drank alcohol before the analysis (even accidentally), it is recommended to refuse a visit to the hospital and postpone it for a later date;
- there are studies in which the use of alcohol is completely prohibited (this includes tests for hepatitis, HIV, diabetes mellitus, tests for calcium, magnesium, phosphorus and some hormones);
- the day before the visit to the clinic, the use of sugar (and all foods containing sugar), as well as fried, spicy and fatty foods is prohibited - 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 giving blood.
Sugar analysis and the influence of alcohol on its results
The use of beverages and preparations containing ethanol in sugar testing is strictly prohibited. This is especially true of diabetes mellitus. The point is that alcohol affects the liver. As a result, ethanol degradation products enter the blood and urine, which radically distorts the research results. The molecule of ethyl alcohol actively participates in the body's metabolism, and as a result glucose is formed. Therefore, the results are distorted.
In addition to affecting the liver, ethanol can chemically react with medical instruments, resulting in the production of foreign chemicals that negatively affect research.
Ethanol can significantly reduce the amount of glucose in the blood for a while, because 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 taking the exam again, read the rules of preparation carefully and completely exclude alcohol from the diet - even those drinks in which there is a minimum amount of ethanol, because they are not in the best order. 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 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 testing to prevent injuries at work. In such cases, a urine alcohol test may be performed.
In some companies, there is a medical examination of the employee before entering the workplace. These are usually companies in which workers are responsible for people's lives or handle equipment that can lead to serious consequences if not used properly.
Such tests do not require special training - only sampling of biomaterials is performed. A blood alcohol content of 0. 2 ppm is considered harmful to the body, and 0. 5 ppm is a lethal dose.