Is an ultrasound painful?

Most ultrasound exams require no preparation . However, there are a few exceptions: For some scans, such as a gallbladder ultrasound, your doctor may ask that you not eat or drink for certain period of time before the exam. Others, such as a pelvic ultrasound, may require a full bladder.

How ultrasound scans work. A small device called an ultrasound probe is used, which gives off high-frequency sound waves . You can’t hear these sound waves, but when they bounce off different parts of the body, they create “echoes” that are picked up by the probe and turned into a moving image.

A majority of ultrasounds are done externally, on the outside of your body. The only feeling throughout the scan would be the temperature of the translucent gel that is used and a slight moving of the transducer on your body, so the pain is virtually non existent .

An ultrasound scan uses high-frequency sound waves to make an image of a person’s internal body structures . Doctors commonly use ultrasound to study a developing fetus (unborn baby), a person’s abdominal and pelvic organs, muscles and tendons, or their heart and blood vessels.