Ultrasounds & Sonogram: Medical Versus Leisure

Ultrasound imaging is employed by medical practitioners to produce pictures (sonograms) of the inside of the body.

It can be used to diagnose the cause of pain, infection and swelling in the body’s internal organs and are commonly used to examine a baby in pregnant women.

Medically, ultrasounds are also used in guiding biopsies, assessing damage after heart attack, and diagnosing heart conditions.

The procedure is safe, painless, noninvasive, and radiation free.

Though it is best known for confirming and monitoring pregnancy, doctors also use 3D, 4D & now 5D ultrasounds to diagnose conditions affecting soft tissues and organs of the body, including:
· liver
· abdomen
· blood vessels
· kidneys
· heart
· thyroid
· gallbladder
· spleen
· pancreas
· ovaries
· eyes
· testicles

Furthermore, ultrasound imaging help with visual direction when a doctor needs to remove tissue from a specific area in the body.

To prepare for an ultrasound, the doctor may instruct you not to eat or drink for as long as 12 hours before the appointment.

In some cases, the patient can be asked to consume six glasses of water few hours to the exam and then, the scan will begin when the bladder is full.

In normal pregnancies, most women go for ultrasounds once or twice so doctors can check the fetus for abnormalities and inquisitive parents can learn the baby’s gender.

Recreation Ultrasound

At some boutiques in the country, pregnant women can get ultrasounds without a doctor’s order.

This procedure is sometimes referred to as recreational sonography or vanity ultrasound, and it is not covered by insurance.

Some of these local ultrasound boutiques offer 2D, 3D and 4D sonography packages, including a CD and DVD of the baby.

However, medical professionals disapprove of this procedure seeing as the equipment used and the training of the sonographers might not be up to par.

Some of these leisure ultrasounds are made available at any point in the pregnancy, even during the first trimester when there is high risk to the fetus.