Ultrasonography – or general ultrasound, is a technique used for imaging during many medical procedures. Ultrasound physical therapy is a branch of ultrasound, along with pregnancy imaging and diagnostic ultrasound. It is used to detect and diagnose several musculoskeletal issues you might be suffering through including tissue injury, pain, and muscle spasms.
Ultrasound scans are readily done at various lab centers around India. To find the nearest lab centers and hospitals around you that offer this facility, search results for ultrasound near me might be of help. This post will answer all your questions regarding ultrasounds, their benefits, side effects, and ultrasound prices.
What Is an Ultrasound?
An ultrasound, also known as a sonogram, is a medical test or scan that uses high-frequency sound waves to produce live imaging of your body organs. The technology is similar to that used by radar or sonar, which helps the military look for ships and planes.
An ultrasound helps your doctor look at images of organs, vessels, and tissues, and helps them diagnose and treat any problems with your inside organs if present. This eliminates any need for incision since the technique uses sound waves and is harmless for the body.
Unlike other imaging techniques like CT scans and MRIs, ultrasounds do not use any kind of radiation. For this reason, it is considered one of the safest methods of imaging. Moreover, it is the preferred method by most doctors for viewing the fetus during pregnancy.
Why Is an Ultrasound Performed?
A lot of people tend to associate sonograms with pregnancy. While ultrasounds are famously used to detect and monitor pregnancies, the test has many other uses. Your doctor may suggest an ultrasound if you are suffering from swelling or pain, or any other symptoms that require an internal view of your body organs. Some of the organs whose abnormalities are usually diagnosed by ultrasound include:
- Liver
- Ovaries
- The Gall Bladder
- Pancreas
- Spleen
- Eyes
- Kidneys
- Thyroid
- Testicles
- Uterus
How Is an Ultrasound Done?
An ultrasound scan is performed with a series of events, which are completely painless and harmless. Before the test, the doctor is going to ask you to change into a hospital gown, and you will most likely be lying down on a table.
A sonographer, who is an ultrasound technician, will apply a lubricant to your skin to prevent friction to be able to rub the ultrasound transducer on your skin. The transducer will closely resemble a microphone. The lubricant will also aid the sound waves to travel.
Depending upon the area to be scanned, the doctor might also ask you to change positions for better imaging. After the procedure, the lubricant will be wiped off of your skin.
Generally, ultrasound scans last for about 30 minutes or less, depending on the area being examined.
Are Ultrasound Scans Safe?
As of now, there are no known risks of an ultrasound scan. As mentioned before, it is considered one of the safest imaging techniques recommended by doctors. This is why it is so popular around the globe. Moreover, ultrasound scans involve no exposure to radiation, unlike tests like CT scans.
Internal and external ultrasound tests do not have any side effects and are usually painless, except for little discomfort that might be experienced when the probe is inserted inside your body or is pressed against the skin.
Additionally, if you are allergic to latex, it would be important to let the doctor know. This will ensure that the sonographer carries out the ultrasound using a latex-free probe cover.
Can Ultrasounds Detect Pregnancy?
An ultrasound is a highly accurate and precise method of detecting and monitoring a pregnancy. In normal pregnancies, ultrasounds can provide an estimate of gestational age within five days of pregnancy.
In abnormalities like miscarriages, the doctor may suggest a greater number of ultrasound scans to determine whether the pregnancy is viable.
How Much Do Ultrasound Scans Cost?
The cost of an ultrasound scan depends on a range of different factors. Mostly, the price depends upon the state. Every state in India costs differently for an ultrasound scan. Additionally, ultrasound scans also depend upon other factors like the reputation of the hospital or the lab center, the type of the ultrasound scan, the area of the body being examined, and so on.
Ultrasound prices in Delhi can usually range from Rs. 600 to Rs. 2000, varying from hospital to hospital.
How Does an Early Pregnancy Ultrasound Work?
To detect an early pregnancy, doctors and technicians usually recommend a transvaginal ultrasound than a regular ultrasound. Transvaginal ultrasound scans provide the most accurate information, even though the gestational sac and fetal pole of the fetus are extremely small at this period.
During the second and the third trimesters, doctors suggest abdominal ultrasounds, since the fetus has started developing at this point and is visible via regular scans.
Benefits of An Ultrasound Scan
An ultrasound scan has various advantages. The procedure is usually easy to do, painless, and harmless. For this reason, you will be awake during the whole process. This will eliminate any need for anesthetics or pain relievers.
Additionally, therapeutic ultrasound will help alleviate body pain in affected areas. Since ultrasound physical therapy is non-invasive, it is generally safer than other imaging techniques.
Conclusion
To sum it up, ultrasound is an extremely helpful and non-invasive imaging technique used by doctors and technicians all around the world. Ultrasounds are best done at reputed lab centers.
If you live in the Delhi NCR region, City X-Rays are one of the most reputed diagnostic lab centers you will find near. They offer the facility for several scans, Digital X Ray near me and CT scans, MRIs, ultrasounds, Mammography, Blood Tests, etc.
