Disorders in the digestive system can be light, such as irritable colon, or serious, such as cancer. colonoscopy is today, the best study to confirm in time any type of colon cancer and other complications in the intestine, whether inside the color or the rectum.
To do this, an instrument, the colonoscopy, is used, which incorporates a small chamber attached to an elastic probe capable of touring the entire colon (it can measure up to 180 cm). How is it done? In what cases is it prescribed? Below we discover everything you need to know about colonoscopy.
What’s A Colonoscopy?
colonoscopy is an invasive technique that uses an endoscopic element to see the colon and rectum, and even, if required, the end of the small intestine.
Today, it is used as one of the most common tests for the detection and screening of polyps in the intestine and for the identification and confirmation of signs of colon cancer (extraction of tissue samples for biopsy), although other intestinal disorders may require it such as chronic diarrhea, excessive weight loss in a short time or even sacred.
How A Colonoscopy Is Done
colonoscopy can be done both in the family doctor’s office and in the hospital. In principle, it is a simple test, so it will not require internment. However, to do so, we have to follow a series of guidelines that we will unveil at the end of the article.
Is colonoscopy painful? The less it’s uncomfortable. Normally, when the patient is not relaxed, it is easier for the doctor to do some damage by inserting the colonoscope into the rectum. If you stay awake, it is also very possible that, as the device progresses, you feel greater pressure in the abdominal area and even some colic.
Most colonoscopies are performed with the sedated patient. In any case, your doctor will inform you of how you are going to proceed, and what the risks and possible complications that may arise from it.
It is not first that after the test it expels many gases or generates mild abdominal colic that disappears within a few days. Keep in mind that for the ducts to be visualized well, the gas must be insulated inside these walls and allow better observation-.
The colonoscopy takes between 30 and 60 minutes unless polyps or other agents are detected during the scan that requires more intensive monitoring and observation. In it, the patient is lying on the side table, with his knees flexed to the chest to facilitate the introduction into the anus of the colonoscope.
Risks of Colonoscopy
Although it is a safe technique, it is not exempt from posing a risk to some patients with previous pathologies or special situations. Similarly, complications can occur throughout the test that have consequences for the patient. The doctor must report on all this before proceeding to the test, except in cases where the patient is unable to understand what is explained to him.
Gases and nausea are the most common and disappear with expulsion or with gas medicines. However, a colon drilling or bleeding may also occur during the test. Less common are infections and aspiration of gastric content in the lungs. Only in very extreme cases have cardiorespiratory stops been recorded.
When To Do A Colonoscopy
When the doctor is contacted with some kind of disorder in the intestine or even in the rectum that affects our well-being, the doctor will prescribe to confirm or rule out the origins of the condition, a colonoscopy in the following cases:
If you want to investigate some signs and symptoms of the intestine such as acute abdominal pain, bleeding in the rectum, chronic constipation (or diarrhea), or any other symptoms that may alert you to a dysfunction of the internal device.
If the patient is a person over 50 and does not have a genetic risk of colon cancer, screening can also require a colonoscopy, but not in each follow-up.
In patients who have or have had polyps in the intestine in the past, colonoscopy helps find them more precisely than stool tests and other analytical tests. This measure, although much more annoying, helps in the prevention and early identification of colon cancer, one of the most aggressive and with the worst results of treatment.
It is demonstrated at the scientific level that colonoscopy is an important factor in reducing colon cancer mortality through early detection.
How to Prepare
The day before the test, you should start fasting in the previous afternoon, with a frugal and light meal. There must be no food in the intestine so that the camera can see clearly if there is any dysfunction. If you’re a constipated person, your doctor is likely to tell you to do a pre-test laxative shot to clean the entire intestinal tract before entering the colonoscopy.
In any case, it is important to consult with the doctor about the shape and intake times of the laxative, as each product has concrete effects.
In addition to mandatory fasting, the type of diet for colonoscopy in the previous days also helps or hinders colonoscopy. Thus, it is recommended that the previous days (about 3 days before) be a low-fiber diet (e.g. limit as much as possible to eat vegetables, fruit, and legumes), and, the day before, only liquids, no solids.
Also, once the test is passed, returning to the usual diet should be progressive to let the body get used again to the fiber and regulate transit.
On the other hand, it is common for the patient, once the test is finished, to feel dizzy, so if he or she should travel by car he or she should foresee this eventuality. It is also common for mild anal bleeding to occur in the following days or the rhythm of stools is lost.
It is very important to be patient, as both symptoms last a few days and then disappear. If after a week, these side effects continue, then you should go to your doctor to check that it is not otherwise harmful.