A Colonoscopy screening is necessary to detect colon cancer. It is advisable to have a colonoscopy check after the age of 50 but it can be done earlier if a person exhibits any of the symptoms such as abdominal cramps or blood in the stool. If there is a direct relative who has been diagnosed with the disease, then it is necessary to undergo a colonoscopy test.
Colonoscopy is a medical procedure where a long tube called a colonoscope is inserted into the anus and the colon is checked for abnormal growths called polyps. To carry out a colonoscopy test, the bowel needs to be empty so that the colon can be viewed clearly.
The bowel preparations vary depending on the physician and how many days before the screening the preparations have to start also depends on him/her.
The first step in preparation for colonoscopy is to stop the intake of all iron supplements a week prior to the test. This is because iron changes the colour of the intestines. Anti-inflammatory medicines such as Aspirin will also have to be stopped.
The day before the procedure only clear liquids should be consumed. Liquids which are red or purple in colour should be strictly avoided as the red coloured dye might stick to the walls of the intestine and might prove difficult to differentiate from blood.
On the eve of the procedure, there should be no intake of food including liquids. Food takes a long time to travel through the bowels and the absence of food will help the bowels to clean out the stool that is already present, without having to process new food.
There is a tablet which is also referred to as a colonoscopy mix. It comes in regular and lemon flavoured tablets and help to empty out the bowel contents within half an hour of swallowing the pill.
Laxative tablets, which are generally prescribed for constipation, are also recommended as they assist in completely emptying the bowel before the colonoscopy procedure. The laxatives usually dehydrate the person so it is important that there is a constant intake of fluids every hour after the laxative dose is administered.
Every medical procedure comes accompanied with its share of complications but thankfully, complications in a colonoscopy screening procedure are very rare and the odds are that is unlikely to occur.
