Is fasting required for routine physical examination?

Routine physical examinations do not require a blanket fasting. Whether or not you need to fast depends entirely on the physical examination items you choose.

Many people have the inherent impression that "physical examination must be done on an empty stomach". In fact, it is not without reason. In the early years, everyone basically chose the universal basic package. Liver function, blood lipids, fasting blood sugar, and abdominal hepatobiliary and pancreatic ultrasound were basically standard. These items do have strict fasting requirements. Take blood lipids as an example. If you have just eaten fried food or fatty food, the blood drawn out will be chylous, and the instrument cannot measure it accurately at all. When I was helping to conduct examinations at a community physical examination center a while ago, I met a young man who gnawed a meat bun before going out. It was found that his triglycerides were more than three times higher than the normal value. The doctor could only ask him to come back the next day on an empty stomach, and he had to wait in line all morning. There is also abdominal B-ultrasound to check the gallbladder. If you eat something, the gallbladder will contract and discharge bile to help digestion. It is impossible to see whether there are polyps or stones in the deflated gallbladder, so checking it is useless. It is precisely because of the requirements of these common items that gradually everyone has formed a fixed understanding that "physical examination must be fasting".

However, in the past two years, many doctors in the physical examination department have repeatedly reminded everyone not to blindly fast. There is really no need to starve to the point of fainting while waiting for blood draws. I met a young girl who just graduated last month. She didn't dare to eat or drink after 7 pm the night before due to strict fasting. I queued up until after 10 o'clock in the morning. Before it was my turn to draw blood, she fainted due to hypoglycemia and fainted next to the blood collection area. Not to mention a bump on my forehead, I couldn't do the scheduled gynecological examination and had to reschedule it. In fact, if the physical examination items you choose only include blood routine, chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, thyroid ultrasound, gynecological ultrasound, etc., you can eat a light breakfast normally, such as a bowl of millet porridge and a boiled egg. As long as you don’t eat too oily, too sweet, and don’t drink alcohol or coffee, it will not affect the results at all. On the contrary, you can avoid problems such as hypoglycemia and blood pressure fluctuations. If you are really unsure, just ask the staff casually when you make an appointment for a physical examination. If there are items in the package that require fasting, go there on an empty stomach. Carry some bread and milk in your bag. After the blood draw and abdominal B-ultrasound, you can take a few mouthfuls directly. There is no need to starve until all the items are completed. There is no need to suffer such unnecessary sins. Oh, by the way, many people think that you should not even drink water on an empty stomach. In fact, it is not that exaggerated. If you are really thirsty when you wake up in the morning, it is perfectly fine to drink one or two sips of boiled water. Just don’t drink sugary drinks, milk tea, coffee, etc. It will not affect the test results.