A key element in the successful treatment of the disease is timely diagnosis. To ensure that the results of the analyzes are as accurate as possible, training is necessary. Therefore, many people have the question: is it possible to drink alcohol at all before taking various blood tests?
Alcohol and blood tests
Blood tests are performed as part of the diagnosis of diseases. For the result to be accurate, it is important to exclude the effect of many factors, which includes alcohol. Therefore, before taking blood for analysis, doctors require that the patient does not drink alcohol for 1-2 days.
Ethyl alcohol changes blood characteristics:
- reduces the content of red blood cells and hemoglobin;
- reduces the concentration of urea;
- lowers the level of lactate;
- reduces the glucose content;
- increases the concentration of triacylglycerols.
Under the influence of ethanol, the blood becomes viscous and turns into a mess of clots. The doctor can take the levels of erythrocytes and hemoglobin for signs of megaloblastic anemia.
In addition to influencing the blood count, alcohol has a negative effect on the work of laboratory equipment. As a result of chemical reactions of ethanol with reagents, it becomes impossible to detect glucose levels.
The greatest accuracy is obtained by the results of analyzes performed with the help of enzymatic reactions. In such cases, alcohol is very distorted results.
Effect of alcohol on the results of
Alcohol is not the only factor that must be excluded before taking blood for analysis. However, along with smoking and improper nutrition, it reduces the accuracy of diagnosis.
Distortion of test results when exposed to ethanol deprives them of any meaning. The more a person drinks alcohol, the less accurate are the results of researching his blood.
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With general analysis of
Under the influence of ethyl alcohol, the results of a general blood test change as follows:
- erythrocytes are destroyed;
- increases the level of cholesterol( in some cases - by 80%);
- drops hemoglobin due to a decrease in the concentration of red blood cells.
If you drink alcohol before giving a general blood test, the greatest danger is that it affects the level of red blood cells - red cells with a hemoglobin content. They transport oxygen from the lungs to various tissues and organs, and also carry carbon dioxide back to the lungs.
Under the influence of ethanol, the erythrocyte membrane dissolves, which causes them to stop moving chaotically and repel each other, so they begin to stick together. As a result, the concentration of red cells decreases, and then the level of hemoglobin decreases. At the same time microthrombi are formed, microcirculation worsens.
Blood under the influence of alcohol becomes more viscous. Free penetration of the formed clots through the capillary and vascular lumens is difficult. Such a phenomenon threatens the health and life of a person, and also makes it impossible to fully study the blood.
The liver under the influence of alcohol reduces the production of lipids, which causes the deterioration of plasma parameters. These data are of fundamental importance in the period of preparing the patient for surgery. Also, their accuracy is important for controlling the recovery of a person after an infection, when healing serious wounds.
With biochemical
The strongest effect of alcohol is on the results of a biochemical blood test, which is the most complete. It allows you to identify what substances the body lacks, and which are contained in it in excess and require a reduction in their concentrations.
The clinical picture under the influence of alcohol is changed as follows:
- decreases the concentration of glucose and urea in the blood;
- disrupts the absorption of oxygen by cells;
- worsens the overall well-being of a person.
Ethyl alcohol can cause a significant reduction in glucose levels. This is especially dangerous in diabetes mellitus.
The increased concentration of uric acid can be caused by the use of alcoholic beverages. However, it is also a sign of severe blood circulation pathologies, including hemorrhagic shock and acute left ventricular failure. Since urea is responsible for excretion of nitrogen, its high content in the blood indicates gout or chronic arthritis, so for accurate diagnosis it is important not to drink alcohol before analysis.
An alcoholic drink drunk before a blood test can also increase the level of triacylglycerols in it. The detection of these neutral fats is important for the diagnosis of many pathologies, including atherosclerosis, ischemia of the heart, thrombosis of cerebral vessels, viral hepatitis.
As doctors say, most patients do not admit that they violated the ban and drank alcohol before the blood test. This is fraught with incorrect diagnosis and the absence of serious pathology.
In addition, if a patient is going to undergo a blood test in a hangover state, then during and after blood sampling:
- syncope;
- prolonged headaches;
- nausea;
- vomiting.
The amount of blood that a person gives for analysis is a minor loss to the body in case a person is sober. However, alcohol interferes with metabolism and worsens cerebral circulation.
If a person has a hangover, after taking blood from the vein, his brain is exposed to oxygen starvation. This often causes dizziness and loss of consciousness. Subsequently, a person may be worried for a long time with headaches.
Because of alcohol poisoning, the functions of the digestive tract are upset. The patient can tear out in the medical office from the smell of bleach or alcohol, which is treated with a place for piercing the syringe with a needle.
When taking blood for sugar
The blood test for sugar is prescribed to patients who have a metabolic disorder. In this case, the finger is punctured. As a result of drinking alcohol before the test, blood condenses, which makes it problematic and increases the risk of blood clots.
Ethanol adversely affects the liver, as well as the reagents and laboratory instruments used. Therefore, after the blood test, two different results are obtained: increased or decreased blood glucose relative to real values.
1 g. Of ethyl alcohol increases the number of kilocalories by 7 units, since alcohol molecules rapidly interfere with metabolism. Under the influence of hepatic enzymes, glucose is formed from them. As a result, the sugar content in the blood rises.
Alcohol can also cause a temporary decrease in glucose levels. Just 2.5 hours a day, its stable content is provided by carbohydrates entering the digestive tract. The rest of the time the liver forms glucose, using the body's energy reserves, but alcohol breaks this process, which causes a drop in blood sugar levels.
Glucose production is normalized only 1-2 days after drinking alcohol. If a person has a risk of diabetes, the doctor can skip it by writing off increased sugar for drinking alcohol. The time will be lost when it was possible to do with the prevention of the disease.
When can I drink?
Alcohol distorts the results of all types of blood tests. It is especially important to refrain from alcohol in the case when the analysis is performed before a serious surgical intervention.
In some cases, a small dose of alcohol is allowed before the blood test. About this possibility the doctor informs the patient on an individual basis.
When diagnosing HIV, hepatitis B and C or syphilis, abstinence from alcohol increases at least 3 days, otherwise it will be impossible to obtain accurate results.
If the doctor becomes aware that the patient used alcohol on the eve, a blood test is postponed. If it turns out later, the study is repeated when the human body is cleaned of ethanol residues.
The only case where alcohol does not distort the results of a blood test is the diagnosis of alcohol intoxication, which is passed by drivers and some workers. Such tests are carried out without warning, they are aimed at detecting ethanol in the blood. In all other cases, before drinking blood, you can drink only water, and then in a small amount.