Last Updated on January 7, 2021
©Wilson Lewis8 am days at school, where you had to be mentally and physically prepared from the night before!
You’re probably familiar with some things that you should avoid doing before certain checkups or surgeries like eating, drinking, smoking, etc., but did you know, for example, that you should never put on perfume or deodorant before a mammogram appointment?
It all depends on what kind of medical checkup or operation you have, as some, such as eye cataract surgery, may require you to fast six to eight hours before your appointment and others may not.
Meanwhile, some products like body lotion or makeup may mess up your test results during a dermatological check-up and force you to repeat the test.
#1 – Eating/drinking before cataract eye surgery
Although many people are familiar with the fact that they should fast before surgery, they may still not know the reason why that is neccessary and what could happen to them during the surgery.
Doctors insist that their patients avoid eating or drinking from six to eight hours before some appointments and operations, and that is to prevent pulmonary aspiration during surgery.
In other words, anesthesia relaxes your stomach muscles and if you eat before surgery, food and stomach acid may pass into your larynx or lungs which may cause lung damage.
Cataract eye surgery, where the eye lens is removed to be replaced by an artificial one, may not seem like a surgery that would require fasting, but you should not eat any solid foods or drink any fluids otherwise your surgery appointment will be postponed like all operations that require fasting.
#2 – Having caffeine before chemical/nuclear stress test
Some stress tests like chemical and nuclear stress tests require that you avoid drinking coffee 24 hours before the appointment as caffeine, being the stimulant it is, increases your heart rate and blood pressure which affects the test results.
Do not drink energy drinks, cola, tea, and other caffeinated beverages and foods, in addition to smoking which can also cause palpitation and irregular heartbeat, hence affecting your test results as well.
