Things to avoid eating before a general health exam

This is an automatically translated article.

The article is professionally consulted by Doctor Do Thi Hoang Ha - Laboratory Department - Vinmec Hai Phong International General Hospital.
General health check-up is a necessary form of periodic check-ups to help us screen diseases early, intervene and treat abnormal signs in a timely manner. Here are the notes before the general health exam and what to avoid eating before the test so as not to affect the results.

1. Does a general health check require fasting?

General health examination includes the process of clinical examination and the implementation of many tests, ultrasound, endoscopy... Each test, each inspection activity has separate notes to follow. There are tests that require you to fast for several hours before, but there are also tests that only need to avoid certain foods or have tests to still eat normally. Customers should carefully learn the specific tests that they will perform in order to follow the instructions properly, making the test results more accurate.
In addition, there are foods and drinks that are not good for health, so you should limit eating before the test, such as:
Do not drink alcohol, beer, coffee, or beverages containing alcohol, caffeine. Do not use stimulants. Do not eat foods that are too high in fat. Do not eat or drink candies, foods that are too sweet. Before going for a general health examination, you should drink enough water because water is very good for the body. Water also supports the organs in the body to work better, helping the indicators obtained from the test will be more accurate. Especially when measuring blood pressure or pulse rate. Some tests also need to drink a lot of water to be done, for example: Urinalysis, abdominal ultrasound,...

2. Notes before doing specific tests

2.1. Blood tests There are many types of blood tests, depending on the purpose of the blood test, the doctor will note what foods to avoid.
With blood fat test, blood sugar test, quantitative test of vitamins, ... need to fast for 10-12 hours before doing the test. Because nutrients in foods, especially sugars and fats, can cause inaccurate test results. Ideally, you should do these tests in the morning, sleeping overnight will help the food to be digested and metabolized. Do not drink coffee, alcohol, soft drinks, milk, carbonated drinks, fruit juices, etc. for 8 - 12 hours before the blood test because these drinks provide a lot of energy and stimulants. may cause test scores to be higher than normal. Do not take supplements, vitamins and minerals before the test, especially the vitamin and micronutrient tests. The time to stop taking before the test, the doctor will advise specifically for each type. With diabetes drugs, blood pressure drugs, ..., it is necessary to consult a doctor before use. In addition, there are some blood tests that can still eat and drink normally. For example: Blood count test, iron test, calcium test,...
2.2. Urinalysis Similar to blood tests, the client should not eat or drink foods and drinks that are high in sugar and fat prior to the urine test. You should fast for 12 hours before.
In some tests, the urine test does not require fasting, but you need to drink a lot of water for the test results to be accurate.
2.3. Quantitative Vitamin Tests For vitamin quantification tests, it should be performed on an empty stomach. Therefore, you should fast for 8-12 hours before the test. If you eat or drink before the test, it will cause the results of vitamin quantification to be erroneous.
2.4. Gastroscopy If you have a gastroscopy, you need to fast for 12 hours before. An empty stomach and an empty stomach will help the endoscopic image to be obtained more clearly, the best support for the doctor in the imaging diagnosis.
2.5. Abdominal ultrasound Abdominal ultrasound requires fasting 6-8 hours before. 30 - 60 minutes before the ultrasound, you should drink a lot of water and hold your urine tight, stretch the bladder to help the doctor easily observe the image in the abdomen, diagnose the disease accurately.
Each type of test, re-check has certain characteristics, if you do not know if the test requires fasting or avoiding any food, you can consult your doctor before performing it. The use of specific drugs before the test also needs to be done under the guidance of the doctor so as not to affect the results.

3. General health checkup packages at Vinmec

Regardless of whether the patient is sick or healthy, a general health check-up should be performed every 3 - 6 months. Early detection of the disease will greatly help in the treatment process. Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital is implementing many convenient general health checkup packages, suitable for many subjects. The general health check-up program at Vinmec is different from the usual general health check-up programs. The examination packages are scientifically designed and highly practical, helping to assess health status and screen for diseases early:
Standard General Health Checkup Package For people over 18 years old. Including general medical examination, oral, maxillofacial, eye, ear - nose - throat examination, gynecological examination (for women), performing blood tests, checking liver and kidney function, ultrasound, X-ray
Special General Health Checkup Package For people over 40 years old, who need medical examination at a high level. In addition to performing basic checks, tests, ultrasounds, and X-rays such as a comprehensive general health check-up package, a special general health check-up package also thoroughly checks in biochemical, microbiological tests. birth, immunology, 3D breast ultrasound, electrocardiogram, cerebral artery MRI...
VIP General Health Checkup Package For people over 40 years old, with high demand for checkup acute, check some more high-risk diseases (neurological, digestive, endocrine, musculoskeletal, respiratory), screen for some cancers.
Children's Health Checkup Package For children under 18 years old. The children's general health check-up package includes a comprehensive examination: internal medicine, eyes, maxillofacial teeth, ears - nose - throat, check nutritional status, basic functions of liver, kidney, intestinal tract, blood. .. assessment of children's development
Package of general health check Work permit - Issuance of work permit For customers who need medical examination with foreign elements; Customers are foreigners; Customers are Vietnamese residing abroad; Customers are Vietnamese who go to work under contracts abroad; Customers go to study abroad.

Please dial HOTLINE for more information or register for an appointment HERE. Download MyVinmec app to make appointments faster and to manage your bookings easily.