CT scans allow doctors to study the blood vessels, bones, and soft tissue in your body when they think you might have a medical condition like cancer, heart and vascular disease, osteoporosis, and internal injuries. CT stands for Computer Tomography. The CT scan takes cross-sectional images of your body and transfers them to a computer where the images are put together to form complete pictures of your internal organs and skeletal structure. Here is what you should expect if you are going to have a CT scan performed on your body.
CT Scan Process
You will be asked to lie on a table that will move into a machine that resembles a large piece of round candy with a circular opening (think "lifesavers"). The table slides in and out of the opening while an x-ray device spins around the opening to take one cross-sectional picture of your body per table movement. You will move in and out until all the pictures the doctor needs have been taken. The hardest part of this procedure is that you have to remain perfectly still for the pictures to come out well. Staying still can be very hard to do; especially if you happen to be fidgety anyway. The procedure can take ten minutes, or it can take over an hour – regardless of how long it takes, you can't move. If you find that lying still for an extended period of time causes you to be anxious, you should talk to your doctor about taking an anti-anxiety mediation to help you stay still.
Contrasting Agents
Your doctor may decide that they should use a contrasting agent so they can see inside your body better than not using one. Contrasting agents, often called dyes, are used to help emphasize specific organs, soft tissue, and bones. There are several types of substance commonly used as contrasting agents: barium, iodine, barium sulfate, and gastrografin. The agents can be introduced to your body either orally, intravenously, rectally, or by inhaling an agent.
Some people do have an allergic reaction to an agent, but in most cases, the reward of getting clearer pictures for diagnosis outweighs the risk of someone having an allergic reaction - most reactions are mild at worse. If your doctor feels that a particular contrasting agent will cause you to have a severe allergic reaction, they will make arrangements to use another agent. Make sure your doctors know what substances have caused you to have an allergic reaction in the past.
Many people are apprehensive about getting a CT scan, but they are an important part of the diagnosis process doctors use to determine the health of their patients. If your doctor orders one for you, the more you know about the procedure the less you realize you have to worry about complications possibly arising while you are having the procedure performed on your body through a company like Kinston Medical Specialists PA.
Share25 February 2015
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