Procedure prep
Fasting Before a Bronchoscopy
A bronchoscopy passes a thin camera into your airways to look at the lungs and sometimes take samples. It's usually done with sedation and throat-numbing spray, occasionally under general anesthesia. Because your throat is numbed, fasting before and after matters.
Fasting for this procedure
→ Get your exact fasting times with the calculator
Medicines to check
- Blood thinners (aspirin, clopidogrel, warfarin, Eliquis, Xarelto) — often stopped if a biopsy is planned, as sampling can bleed; sometimes continued for a look-only scope. Follow your team's plan. See medications to stop.
- Diabetes medicines & insulin need a fasting-day plan. See diabetes tablets.
- Blood pressure medicines — confirm which to take with a sip of water.
- Bring your inhalers, and tell your team if your breathing has been worse than usual.
When this surgery may be delayed
- A worsening chest infection or fever (though bronchoscopy is sometimes done to investigate one — follow your team)
- Being more breathless than usual
- Blood thinners not paused when a biopsy is planned
- Very high blood sugar
- You ate or drank outside your fasting window
Reports & documents to carry
- Photo ID and your insurance or hospital paperwork
- A current list of all your medicines, doses, and allergies
- Your chest X-ray or CT scans and recent blood tests
- Your inhalers and any oxygen details
- A ride home and an escort if you're having sedation or anesthesia
What to ask your anesthesia team
- Will I have sedation or a general anesthetic?
- Are you planning to take biopsies, and do I need to stop blood thinners?
- How long after the test before I can eat and drink again?
- What might I feel afterward — sore throat, cough, or a little blood?
- When will I get the results?
Your prep checklist
Tick things off as you sort them — saved on this device only, nothing is sent anywhere.
A general guide — your hospital's own instructions always come first.
Frequently asked questions
Why can't I eat straight after a bronchoscopy?
Your throat is numbed with local anesthetic spray during the test, and that numbness can stop you swallowing safely for a while — food or drink could go down the wrong way. Your team will tell you when the numbness has worn off and it's safe to eat and drink again, usually after an hour or two.
Do I need to stop blood thinners before a bronchoscopy?
It depends on what's planned. For a simple look-only bronchoscopy they may be continued, but if biopsies or brushings are planned — which can bleed — blood thinners are often stopped beforehand. Your team will give you specific instructions; don't stop them on your own.
Is it normal to cough up a little blood afterward?
If you had biopsies, a small amount of blood-streaked phlegm or a mild sore throat and cough for a day is common and usually settles. Heavier bleeding, a lot of fresh blood, breathlessness or fever are not expected — contact your team if those happen.