In line with its mission, the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony makes every effort to provide reliable medical content supported by the latest scientific knowledge. The additional flag “Checked Content” indicates that the article has been reviewed by or written directly by a physician. This two-step verification: a medical journalist and a doctor allows us to provide the highest quality content in line with current medical knowledge.
Our commitment in this area has been appreciated, among others, by by the Association of Journalists for Health, which awarded the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony with the honorary title of the Great Educator.
Among the many different diagnostic tests, one of the most frequently performed is ultrasound. Ultrasound examination allows you to detect many disease states in the body, and it can be repeated many times, which is why it is so eagerly used. What is ultrasound? What are its types and when is it worth performing an ultrasound examination. We will answer these and other questions about ultrasound in the following article.
Ultrasound is an imaging examination that allows us to see the size and shape of internal organs. It is one of the most basic tests that is performed for diagnostic purposes, inter alia, to assess the patient’s condition and make decisions about further treatment or prophylaxis. The ultrasound image shows not only the organs themselves, but also all tumors, neoplastic changes, fibroids, and in the case of the future mother – the fetus.
Ultrasound is based on high-frequency acoustic waves. Although the human ear cannot hear them, they have the ability to penetrate our body’s cells, but do not adversely affect them, such as X-rays. The image of the examined organ is displayed on the monitor. To facilitate the conduction of impulses, the part of the body undergoing diagnostics is lubricated with a special gel.
We know many different types of ultrasound, depending on what part of the body we want to image. The most common ultrasound is the abdominal cavity, breast, thyroid, lymph nodes, heart (the so-called echo of the heart), salivary glands, knee or shoulder joints and many others.
There are many different indications for an ultrasound. The most common reason for performing an ultrasound examination is the diagnosis of various lesions and the detection of tumors, traumatic lesions or cysts. In addition, an ultrasound examination is also performed to check what the treatment results have been and whether the next steps must be based on further treatment or whether prophylactic measures are sufficient.
Ultrasound examination is also one of the basic tests of pregnant women. In this way, the doctor assesses how the fetus develops, can detect early abnormalities and, in the later weeks, also determine the sex of the future baby.
An ultrasound scan can help detect many changes in the body. However, in order for it to be carried out fully efficiently, it is necessary to follow a few rules. First of all, let’s forget about smoking just before the test, as smoke may adversely affect the test result or simply distort the image. We should also remember to give up hard-to-digest foods not only on the day of the examination, but also a few days before it, because they cause gases that, like smoke, can distort the resulting image. Therefore, it is best to fast for the test and remember to drink a liter of still mineral water about an hour before the test, so that the bladder is full during the test.
Ultrasound examination is considered to be one of the safest tests, therefore there are not many contraindications to its performance. However, ultrasound examinations in places of open wounds, burns and bone injuries are not recommended. A freshly closed fracture may also be a contraindication, as testing on such a part of the body may cause pain.
Ultrasound examinations are most often performed in special laboratories in hospitals and health clinics. You can sign up for an ultrasound examination under the National Health Fund and then it is free of charge, but it is worth remembering that the waiting time can sometimes be very long. For this reason, many patients choose to pay for tests themselves and choose private ultrasound. Usually, we will pay about PLN 60 for an ultrasound, although there are also tests above PLN 80 and for which we will pay less than PLN 40. The latter should raise our doubts. When choosing a place to conduct an ultrasound examination, it is worth reading a bit about the opinions about a given facility, and also find out whether the doctor who is to conduct the examination is adequately qualified and has a valid certificate.