Contents:
- Medical Video: Can You Drink Water While Fasting For A Blood Glucose Test?
- Reasons to fast before a blood test
- Tips for fasting before a blood test
- Drink water
- Duration of fasting
- Drugs
- Smoke
Medical Video: Can You Drink Water While Fasting For A Blood Glucose Test?
Before a blood test, the doctor usually asks you to return tomorrow so you can fast first. Instead of going back and forth, why isn't the blood taken right away? Why do you have to fast before a blood test?
Reasons to fast before a blood test
The content in food and drinks can affect the results of your blood test. Yes, when you eat and drink, substances and ingredients in the food will be digested and absorbed into the blood vessels.
Usually, you need to fast before a blood test if you want to measure:
- Sugar level
- Mineral content, such as iron
- Cholesterol levels and other types of fat
- Enzymes, such as GGT (Gamma-glutamyl transferase)
After eating or drinking, these levels can be increased, so when you check your blood the results do not accurately describe your health condition. Therefore, the results of a blood test after a meal cannot be used as an appropriate reference.
Especially if you check blood for control of diabetes, anemia, cholesterol levels, and liver disease. This health check requires fasting first.
Tips for fasting before a blood test
If indeed you are recommended fasting before a blood test, then there are some things that you should pay attention to.
Drink water
Usually, water will not affect the results of certain blood tests. So, generally you can still drink water as usual even though you have to fast before checking blood. This is done so that your fluid needs are still met.
Indeed there are several blood tests that require you to fast drinking too. So, ask the doctor clearly what should be scanned or limited when fasting before the blood test.
Duration of fasting
When you are asked to fast, you will think for a long time like fasting in the month of Ramadan. Actually, this goes back to the type of test you are going to do.
So, again you have to ask the doctor how long you have to resist eating and drinking. If you are asked to fast for 12 hours, while you have a blood test tomorrow at 9 in the morning, then you must stop eating and drinking since 9 o'clock at night.
Which, importantly adjust to the blood test schedule that you will do.
Drugs
Keep taking medication regularly when you really have to fast. Except, the doctor recommends stopping it for a while before a blood check is done.
Smoke
Smoking can affect the results of blood tests, so you should avoid smoking during fasting before checking blood.
