“What happens if I eat before a CT scan?”
I am a 34 year old male and I will have a CT scan of my neck. What happens if I eat before a CT scan?
5 Answers
Better to be on an empty stomach before a CT scan. No food or drink 4 hours before the test. You will be laying on your back and do not want to aspirate previously eaten food, But, if you do eat, It should not effect the quality of the examination.
If the scan is being performed without intravenous contrast it should be no problem. If IV contrast is given, some people may experience mild nausea and in that case you may want to wait until after the scan to eat.
For a neck CT, nothing is affected.
It depends on the type of CT. Sometimes the IV dye given for the imaging may cause nausea.
Your gallbladder will contract, and you will have food in your stomach. This is only for an abdomen CT, otherwise it won't matter.
