Instructions on bowel preparation

2 days before the test:

• Omit fiber form your diet like cereal, brown bread, nuts and vegetables. You may have meat, fish chicken, rice and pasta.
  
  
• If you suffer from constipation obtain Epsom salts from the chemist, dissolve 1 tablespoon in orange juice, drink followed by a glass of water.

1 day before the test:

• There are 2 sachets of Pico-prep, dissolve each one in a glass of warm water then cool in the fridge as it tastes better cold.



• From the time you wake up, you can only drink clear fluids, so no breakfast, no solid food or dairy products the whole day.



• You can have: water, fruit juice with no pulp eg. clear apple juice (but not tomato or orange), soup you have strained, stock cubes, soft drinks, cordial and tea/coffee without milk. You may also have lollies and jelly but avoid the red/black/purple ones
.


• It is important to drink as much as possible to avoid dehydration.



• At 2pm (or you may start after work) drink one glass of Pico-prep over 15 minutes, then drink a couple more glasses of water. The bowel washout that follows is variable but should start 1-2 hours later. If you feel sick, call us or drink the next glass more slowly, say over 1 hour.



• At 6pm or 4 hours after the first dose take the second glass of Pico-prep followed by 2 glasses of water



• You should drink plenty of fluid to avoid dehydration.



• You can continue fluids until 4 hours before the test then nothing can be taken except important medications.