There are situations when you need to take tests, but the person drank. Consequently, the question arises, is it possible to drink alcohol before donating blood? First of all, people are not interested in hearsay, but in what authoritative scientific studies say about the effect of alcohol on blood tests.
Alcohol and blood composition.
You should know: alcohol affects all organs and systems of the body due to the fact that it is instantly absorbed into the blood and changes its composition. This is the main reason why alcohol affects the blood test and changes the indicators.
That is why, if you want to get accurate results, and you drank the day before, you should think about whether it is possible to donate blood after alcohol, and if possible, postpone blood donation for two or three days. Of course, the effect of alcohol on blood tests may turn out to be small, and in some cases the indicators will not change much - much depends on the individual characteristics of the body, the amount consumed, the type of analysis and the type of alcoholBut still thus, it is better not to take risks: if you pay for the analysis, you can lose a lot of money.
And if it is more or less clear with vodka, then when it comes to a low-alcohol drink, in order for an alcohol lover to understand whether it is possible to drink beer before drinking it, he must understand exactly how alcohol is drunk before tests. affects the body. To do this, you need to have an idea of how alcohol affects metabolism and other processes.
clinical blood test
Alcohol causes dehydration of the body, which causes the blood to thicken. This leads to the fact that a general blood test may show a false increase in the number of leukocytes, erythrocytes, platelets, when not their number has changed, but the amount of water in the blood.
There may be another image. For example, excess alcohol reduces the level of white blood cells in the blood. This is due to the fact that immune cells die in the fight against toxins, so the number of leukocytes is lower than normal. The fewer white blood cells there are in the blood, the more difficult it is for the body to deal with infections.
Of course, drinking a dose or two of alcohol is unlikely to negatively affect the functioning of the immune system. But if you drink a lot of alcohol, this is a completely different story. If some time after drinking a person feels intoxicated, this is an accurate indicator that the immune system is being damaged. With such amounts of alcohol, a lack of nutrients is created, which weakens the immune system. And all this is able to show the analysis.
Alcohol also has a negative effect on red blood cells: it makes them stick together. Because of this, clumps of red blood cells are often unable to pass into the narrowed vessels and block blood flow in the capillaries. This significantly reduces the supply of oxygen to the tissues and the cells of the body begin to experience oxygen starvation. This negatively affects the state of health and, accordingly, the analysis.
biochemical analysis
Alcohol should not be drunk during any blood tests, even if it is necessary to carry out an analysis of the biochemical composition of the plasma. The doctor needs this data to obtain information about the normal function of the kidneys, liver, heart, and other important organs.
Indicators of a biochemical blood test include studies of enzymes, proteins, hormones, electrolytes, glucose, potassium, sodium, chlorine, carbon dioxide, and other substances. Drinking excessively or accidentally can lead to an imbalance in the acid-base balance and change the level of all indicators, which will affect the results of the analysis.
Drinking alcohol negatively affects the functioning of the cardiovascular system. Therefore, if the doctor prescribes tests aimed at diagnosing his work, the results will be negative. For example, if we talk about how alcohol affects total cholesterol (necessary to create brain tissues, nerve cells, hormones), then alcohol increases its level in the blood no less than animal fats.
Although the body needs cholesterol, its excess can cause heart disease, since it is the cause of atherosclerosis.
Another type of blood test that is greatly affected by alcohol use is liver function tests. Basically, they measure whether the enzymes you produce have deviated from the norm. Their number after alcohol can increase or decrease, depending on the state of the liver.
After drinking alcohol, the level of ammonia in the blood, which is the end product of protein metabolism, increases. It then enters the liver through the portal vein, where it is converted to urea. The level of this toxic substance greatly affects acid-base balance and brain function. Drinking alcohol increases the amount of this toxin in the blood and poisons the tissues.
hormones and alcohol
If a person drinks alcohol before having a blood test for hormones, the result will not be reliable. The fact is that hormones are chemicals that control and coordinate the activity of all tissues and organs. Each of them is secreted by a certain gland and, after entering the bloodstream, goes to the target cell.
In order for the hormonal system to function normally and the tissues to respond correctly, the amount of hormones in the blood must be constantly normal. Drinking alcohol significantly disrupts the activity of the glands that produce hormones, which has a negative impact on health. That is why if a person drinks before donating blood, the work of the hormonal system will be disrupted, which will be reflected in the test results. Therefore, answering the question whether it is possible to drink alcohol before donating blood for hormones, the answer is no.
An example of alcohol's effect on the hormonal system is its effect on sex hormones. Among them, the most important are two groups of hormones: androgens and estrogens. These hormones affect puberty and various manifestations of primary and secondary sexual characteristics in males and females (hair growth, breast development, menstrual cycle, fertility).
Alcohol has a negative effect on all these processes, which affects the results of the analysis, and the answer is, is it possible to drink alcohol before donating blood? If you constantly drink alcohol, impotence and infertility often develop.
alcohol and glucose
If you have to donate blood for sugar (glucose), then you should know that although it is not a hormone, it clearly shows whether two other hormones, insulin and glucagon, which are produced by the pancreas, are doing their job. The fact is that glucose is the main source of energy in the body, thanks to which cells can grow and develop.
Hormones from the pancreas, as well as the adrenal and pituitary glands, regulate and maintain normal blood glucose levels. For example, insulin's job is to deliver glucose to every cell in the body. Its work is especially important for the activity of the brain, since it does not store glucose, but completely depends on the supply of this substance from the blood.
Alcohol disrupts the activity of all these glands, due to which glucose metabolism slows down and its level is below normal. But there can also be a jump in the big direction. For example, in chronic alcoholics, on the contrary, the level of glucose in the blood rises, which causes a decrease in the susceptibility of receptors to insulin.
In any case, the deviation of sugar from the norm is an alarming signal. Therefore, if a person donates blood for sugar after drinking alcohol, the doctor may suspect that he has diabetes.
When is it allowed to take
Thus, it is obvious that alcohol, which has a negative impact on the work of many organs and systems, is the reason why the blood test gives negative results, which causes the doctor to sound the alarm. The time it takes for the body to make it work depends on:
- how long it has been since the last dose was taken;
- how much the person drank;
- How much do you drink in general?
If it was a glass of wine, blood can be donated for general analysis in one day. If you need to pass a biochemical or other analysis that requires more thorough preparation, you are allowed to pass the analysis after three days. In the case of taking a significant dose of alcohol, it is necessary to withstand a longer period before testing. To get the most accurate data, it is best to wait two weeks.