Can I Wear Makeup To An Mri

Although I'm in practiced wellness, I'm surprisingly injury-prone. I pull or strain at least one body part every year, and I'm on a first-proper noun basis with everyone at the local physical therapy practice. I've also had 3 MRIs done so far—one on my left shoulder, one on my left hamstring, and one on my left thumb. (Perhaps I should just exercise less with my left side?)

Getting scanned isn't my favorite thing to do, as I happen to be claustrophobic and the MRI automobile is non known for its roominess. Only I know that this exam helps my doctor assess the extent of my injuries, every bit information technology uses magnetic fields to create high-definition pictures of my organs and tissues. (MRI stands for magnetic resonance imaging.) MRIs are also used to aid diagnose infections, tumors, strokes, and more.

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I was pretty anxious earlier my first browse, but information technology wasn't equally bad as I expected. Yes, you lot're pushed into a tube not much bigger than your body, and yous're stuck in there for up to an hour. But I managed to survive (3 times) relatively unscathed. (However worried later reading this? Here are four scary health tests made piece of cake.) If you're facing an MRI in the near future or you lot're just curious, here'due south what you should know.

Yous'll have to de-gem yourself.
Got earrings or a gold lookout man? Leave those at home or in the dressing room. You lot'll also have to accept off whatsoever vesture that contains zippers, hooks, or buttons (you'll become a gown). Techs even discourage makeup and other cosmetics because they may contain metallic particles. That's because the MRI machine creates a powerful magnetic field that tin dislodge and move metallic. If you take a pacemaker or implant that may contain metal, be sure to alert your doctor ahead of time and remind the MRI tech.

You might get an injection or have to potable a solution.
Sometimes a "dye" is used to help certain organs, vessels, or tissues prove up more clearly on an MRI. If your doctor says this is necessary, you'll be given an IV injection, enema, or oral solution before the scan gets started.

You can listen to tunes.

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For at least i of my MRIs, I wore a pair of headphones and listened to music that was piped in by my MRI technician. I got to choose the genre; in some facilities, yous tin can cull your favorite radio station. This gave me something to concentrate on aside from what was actually happening (which helps with staying calm). In some cases, you may be able to utilize goggles to watch something other than the inside of the MRI tube.

You lot may not have to go all the way into the tube.
For ii of my MRIs, I was inserted into the MRI tube feet-first. So while my body was in the auto, my caput was out in the open up, which I much preferred. Ask the tech which manner you'll be configured.

You'll be posed.
The MRI techs need a clear view of the body part they're scanning, and they may utilize straps and bolsters to prop you lot and so they tin can go a clear view. This may feel a picayune awkward, but information technology's generally non super-uncomfortable (a practiced affair since you lot'll have to hold the position for quite a while).

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There are open-tube options.
If you're uber-claustrophobic, y'all might consider seeking out an "open" MRI. This machine is U-shaped instead of a airtight tube, but information technology might be similarly narrow and the epitome quality might be poor. "A lot of the open MRIs don't have the same degree of imaging capacity," so your doc might not get the clinical information that he needs, says James Rawson, MD, chair of the American College of Radiology Patient and Family unit Centered Care Commission.

Yous tin take drugs.

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If the idea of an MRI is stressing you out significantly, inquire your doctor if you can become a prescription to take the edge off. "We ofttimes requite patients Valium then they can be awake and able to cooperate during the test but relaxed enough so the tight infinite doesn't bother them," Rawson says. Just proceed in heed that if you take Valium or one of its cousins, you'll need someone to bulldoze you home after the exam. (Here are more health exam secrets doctors don't tell you lot.)

It'south non quiet in there.
Existence within an MRI machine can feel like existence in a clothes dryer total of tennis assurance. Don't worry, all the knocking noises are totally normal. You can habiliment ear plugs if the audio bugs you, and yous can communicate with the MRI tech via intercom during the scan.

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You lot can continue your eyes closed.
Some people (including me) just shut their optics before they're inserted into the tube and go on them closed throughout the test. If you don't encounter the tube, the rationale goes, you aren't really in the tube. Just pretend you're on the beach. A noisy beach with a lot of knocking sounds.

Just you must stay awake.

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This is trickier than it sounds, since yous're supposed to hold absolutely still and you may have closed your eyes. Simply if you doze off, your torso may twitch or motion, which can make the images blurry and necessitate a do-over. You likewise need to exist alarm plenty to comply with whatever animate instructions. (Yous might have to hold your breath for 15-25 seconds at a fourth dimension during a breast or stomach scan.)

You go breaks.
An MRI generally lasts 30 to hour, merely the images are taken in a serial of sets. Most sets last a few minutes, and during that fourth dimension yous'll accept to stay perfectly still or risk blurring all the images from that round. Your technician will probably tell you when one set of images has been taken and another is about to brainstorm, so you'll have a moment to scratch your olfactory organ or jerk a foot that has fallen asleep.

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At that place's a panic button.
If you really do demand to get out of the machine in a bustle, don't just wriggle yourself out like a worm. The MRI folks often requite you lot a button yous can punch if you start to lose it. Says Rawson: "For some patients, having that degree of control makes the exam much less intimidating."