Ultrasound examination is probably familiar to everyone. When we go to the hospital for treatment, doctors often prescribe ultrasound examinations for liver, gallbladder, kidney, etc. However, due to the lack of professional knowledge and incorrect understanding of ultrasound by many patients, we often encounter some "misconceptions" during ultrasound examination. These misconceptions not only affect the progress of patients' examination, but also delay the treatment of diseases. Therefore, it is necessary to popularize ultrasound.
Do you also encounter the following common misconceptions?
1、 Ultrasound examination is only for women
In clinical practice, it is common to encounter male patients asking why a man still needs to undergo ultrasound examination? I only need to do it when my wife is pregnant. This statement is completely incorrect. Although ultrasound examination is widely used during pregnancy in women, the scope of ultrasound examination is very wide, including internal organs such as liver, gallbladder, pancreas, spleen, and kidney, heart, blood vessels, various superficial small organs, etc. Women include uterine adnexa and related examinations during pregnancy. Of course, men also have special examination items for men, and the vast majority of items are universal for both men and women.
2、 Ultrasound must be in color
Ultrasound examination includes two types: black and white ultrasound and color Doppler ultrasound (abbreviated as color ultrasound). The difference between B-ultrasound and color ultrasound is not as simple as color television and black and white television. Simply put, color ultrasound refers to high-definition black and white ultrasound combined with color Doppler (color flow imaging). That is to say, it not only has the advantages of two-dimensional images, but also provides rich information on hemodynamics. Ultrasound is an imaging of blood flow within blood vessels, displaying the blood flow signals within the vessels. Ultrasound images have higher clarity, better resolution, and more comprehensive examination items.
3、 Ultrasound examination requires fasting
Many patients think that fasting is necessary before undergoing ultrasound examination, so they do not eat for a long time, and eventually become extremely hungry. In fact, everyone has different examination items and preparation work. Ultrasound examinations that require fasting include liver, gallbladder, pancreas, bile duct, retroperitoneum, and large blood vessels in the abdominal cavity. Fasting for more than 8 hours yields the best results. If it is for patients who have medication requirements in the morning, they can take a small amount of water instead of milk or sugar water.
4、 Ultrasound during pregnancy cannot be performed frequently due to high radiation levels. Generally, 5-6 prenatal ultrasound examinations are required throughout a woman's entire pregnancy. Sometimes, we may increase the number of examinations based on the specific conditions of the mother and fetus. Some pregnant women believe that ultrasound examination is like radiation examination, and the presence of radiation will have an impact on fetal growth and development, so they choose to do less or even not do it. Little did they know, this would miss out on multiple opportunities to identify deformities and monitor growth and development! Rapid or restricted fetal growth can affect the delivery process and outcome. By detecting fetal growth abnormalities early, doctors can help you choose a more suitable delivery time and be fully prepared for potential emergencies that may arise after the baby is born. Ultrasound is a mechanical energy that is very safe, and there have been no reports of abnormalities caused by ultrasound examination to date. As ultrasound doctors who have been with ultrasound machines for a long time, we have never taken extra precautions, so it can be imagined that ultrasound examinations are safe and harmless. Professional obstetric ultrasound machines have fetal mode, and ultrasound doctors will also control the examination time within a safe range.
5、 During ultrasound examination, the things applied to the body are toxic. In order to make the probe and contact surface more closely fit and eliminate the air between the probe and the examination site, medical coupling agent needs to be applied. Medical couplant is a medical product composed of a new generation of water-borne polymer gel. The harm to the human body is minimal. Due to its neutral pH value, there will be no rancidity, and this coupling agent is not easy to dry, with moderate viscosity and minimal damage to the ultrasound probe. It mainly serves as a 'lubricant' to assist doctors in conducting effective testing.