Can I drink alcohol the day before a routine physical examination?

The answer is that it is definitely not recommended to drink it. Even if it is fruit wine, sparkling wine, or beer with a low alcohol content, it is best not to take a sip.

I have been working in the physical examination center for almost six years, answering reports and answering questions, and I have seen too many people who fall into this trap. After alcohol enters the human body, it must be metabolized by the liver. Even a small amount of drinking will temporarily increase the transaminase of liver cells. It will also interfere with blood lipid metabolism and make the test value of triglyceride much higher than the actual level. If you happen to have appointments for abdominal ultrasound and carbon 14 breath test, abnormal contraction of the gallbladder and slight irritation of the gastric mucosa after drinking will skew the results of these items. Even if there is nothing wrong in the first place, it will look like there is something wrong.

Of course, there are also many people who think that I have a good drinking capacity, I can drink one or two drinks without getting drunk, and nothing will happen to me when I wake up. This kind of thinking is really deceptive. Xiao Zhou came for a physical examination last month. The day before, his department had a quarterly award dinner party. He resisted the advice of his colleagues and drank three cans of cold beer. He usually drinks seven or eight cans of alcohol without any problem, and he didn't feel dizzy after drinking. He didn't connect this incident with the physical examination the next day at all. The result report showed that the alanine aminotransferase directly reached 87, more than double the normal upper limit of 40, and the triglyceride level also exceeded the critical line. HR was about to make an offer, but when he saw the abnormal item and asked him to review it, he came over anxiously to ask if there was a liver problem. Later, as required, he completely abstained from alcohol for a week and then checked again. All indicators were back to the normal range, and he successfully joined the job. After struggling for less than half a month, he said he had known better and would not touch a bite.

Of course, it does not mean that you cannot have a physical examination at all if you have a little alcohol. If you accidentally took a sip at a family dinner, the amount was very small, and you are not drunk at all, then you don’t need to cancel the appointment directly. Just mention this to the registered nurse or the doctor who interprets the report for you. The doctor will make a comprehensive judgment based on other indicators and will not directly label you as "abnormal liver function".

To put it bluntly, a physical examination is to take an accurate "no-makeup snapshot" of your body. Drinking alcohol is equivalent to temporarily putting makeup on your body to fool the camera. Naturally, the photos taken cannot reflect the truest state. If you want the physical examination report to really help you find problems, it is best to avoid hard alcohol as much as possible 3 days before the physical examination, and don't touch a sip the day before. Eat a light diet, which is better than anything else.