13 Oct Imaging with Contrast Dye: what can you do?
In an age of medicine in which we’re fortunate enough to have very detailed imagining technology, many patients are asking whether it’s safe to have exposure to the contrast media and what to do about it when such imagining is needed.
Here are a few tips and tricks:
1) Always ask whether contrast is necessary. Sometimes the answer is yes,
2) Contrast dyes are excreted through the kidneys. It is very important to drink a lot of water the day prior to and the day of the procedure.
3) If you want to do more, there have been a couple of trials using Vitamin C (3 grams 2hrs prior to the procedure and two x 2 gram doses post-procedure 12 hours apart).
4) There’s also some research showing that N-acetylcysteine can be helpful. You’d take 600mg twice a day the day before and the day of the procedure with food.
