Barium Swallow: What To Expect And Side Effects

Medical News Today

• Health Conditions

  Health Conditions

  • Alzheimer's & Dementia
  • Anxiety
  • Asthma & Allergies
  • Atopic Dermatitis
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cancer
  • Cardiovascular Health
  • COVID-19
  • Diabetes
  • Endometriosis
  • Environment & Sustainability
  • Exercise & Fitness
  • Eye Health
  • Headache & Migraine
  • Health Equity
  • HIV & AIDS
  • Human Biology
  • Leukemia
  • LGBTQIA+
  • Men's Health
  • Mental Health
  • Multiple Sclerosis (MS)
  • Nutrition
  • Parkinson's Disease
  • Psoriasis
  • Sexual Health
  • Ulcerative Colitis
  • Women's Health
• Health Products

  Health Products

  All
  • Nutrition & Fitness
  • Vitamins & Supplements
  • CBD
  • Sleep
  • Mental Health
  • At-Home Testing
  • Men’s Health
  • Women’s Health
• Discover

  News

  • Latest News
  • Medicare 2026 Costs

  Original Series

  • Medical Myths
  • Honest Nutrition
  • Through My Eyes
  • New Normal Health

  Podcasts

  All
  • Artificial sweeteners and brain aging: What we know so far
  • Does the Mediterranean diet hold the key to longevity?
  • AMA: Registered dietitian answers 5 key questions about fiber and weight loss
  • Health misinformation and disinformation: How to avoid it
  • Brain health, sleep, diet: 3 health resolutions for 2025
  • 5 things everyone should know about menopause
• Tools

  General Health

  • Drugs A-Z
  • Health Hubs
  • Newsletter
  • Medicare Plans by State

  Health Tools

  • Find a Doctor
  • BMI Calculators and Charts
  • Blood Pressure Chart: Ranges and Guide
  • Breast Cancer: Self-Examination Guide
  • Sleep Calculator

  Quizzes

  • RA Myths vs Facts
  • Type 2 Diabetes: Managing Blood Sugar
  • Ankylosing Spondylitis Pain: Fact or Fiction
• Connect

  About Medical News Today

  • Who We Are
  • Our Editorial Process
  • Content Integrity
  • Conscious Language

  Find Community

  • Bezzy Breast Cancer
  • Bezzy MS
  • Bezzy Migraine
  • Bezzy Psoriasis

  Follow Us

SubscribeWhat to expect during a barium swallowMedically reviewed by Alana Biggers, M.D., MPH — Written by David Railton on April 27, 2017

• Why are barium swallow tests used?
• Procedure
• Associated tests

A barium swallow is a type of test used to look inside the esophagus, or food pipe. A doctor might recommend this test if they need to look at the outline of any part of a person’s digestive system.

Barium is a white liquid that is visible on X-rays. Barium passes through the digestive system and does not cause a person any harm.

As it passes through the body, barium coats the inside of the food pipe, stomach, or bowel, causing the outlines of the organs to appear on X-ray.

Why are barium swallow tests used?

Share on Pinterest

A barium swallow test may be used if someone has any of the following conditions:

• frequent, painful heartburn
• gastric reflux, where food or acid keeps coming back up the food pipe
• difficulty eating, drinking, or swallowing

This test can give a doctor information about how the person is swallowing.

It can also reveal if someone has any of the following in their food pipe, stomach, or the first part of the bowel:

• ulcers
• abnormal growths
• blockages
• narrowing

If someone has a tumor, this will show up on the X-ray as an irregular outline that extends from the wall of the affected organ.

Procedure

People who are undergoing a barium swallow should not eat or drink for a few hours before the test. In some cases, the doctor may ask the person to stop taking medication before the test.

Some hospitals recommend not chewing gum, eating mints, or smoking cigarettes after midnight the night before a barium swallow test.

The test takes around 60 minutes and will take place in the X-ray department of the hospital. A person will need to change into a hospital gown.

People can bring a friend or relative for support. However, the companion will not be able to join them in the X-ray room.

In the X-ray room, the person drinks the barium liquid. It often has a chalky taste but can sometimes be flavored.

Share on Pinterest

In some cases, a person will be given an injection to relax their stomach.

A person will be standing for some parts of the examination, and lying down on a tilting table for other parts. This allows the liquid to travel through the body, and for the radiologist and radiographer to take a selection of images.

People do not have to stay in hospital after the test and are free to go home as soon as it is complete. The results usually arrive within 1-2 weeks.

Risks and side effects

Patients may feel nauseous after a barium swallow test or become constipated. Drinking lots of fluids can help to relieve constipation. Symptoms of nausea should improve as the barium passes through the system.

It is normal for people to have white-colored stools the first few times they use the toilet after having a barium swallow test.

Some people might worry about being exposed to radiation as part of the X-ray process. However, the amount of radiation a person is exposed to is minimal.

Sometimes, the injection given to relax the stomach can cause temporary blurred vision.

Special considerations

People should not have a barium swallow test if they are pregnant.

If someone has glaucoma or heart problems and needs to have a barium swallow, the doctor may not give the stomach-relaxing injection.

If someone has diabetes then the doctor will schedule a morning appointment for the barium swallow.

If the person takes tablets to control their diabetes, the doctor will tell them not to take the medicine before the test. Instead, they should bring their tablets and some food to the exam to have after it is complete.

People who use insulin will be asked to miss their morning dose and maybe the previous evening’s dose. They should bring their insulin and some food to have after the test. However, those who take long-acting insulin should continue taking this.

Associated tests

Share on Pinterest

Another type of barium test is a barium enema. The barium enema test is similar to the barium swallow test and is used by doctors to examine the colon and rectum.

This test usually takes about 40 minutes. A person will be given a laxative the day before having a barium enema test. A laxative is a medicine that helps to clear out the bowel.

During the test, the person lies on their side on a table in the X-ray room. An enema containing barium and water is fed into their rectum through a small plastic tube. Air is also piped through the tube to inflate the bowel.

The table tilts, which spreads the barium throughout the colon. This allows the radiologist and radiographer to clearly see any lumps or swellings within the colon.

The person has to try and hold the liquid in the rectum while the test takes place. Afterwards, most of the liquid drains back into the tube and does not stay in the body.

After having a barium enema test, people may experience some cramping or diarrhea. As with the barium swallow, someone undergoing a barium enema may also have white stools the first few times they go to the toilet after the test.

There is a very small risk of the bowel lining tearing when having this test. This complication only tends to happen if the bowel is very inflamed.

Alternatives to a barium swallow test

An alternative to a barium swallow is a gastroscopy. In this procedure, a narrow, flexible, telescopic camera is used to look inside the food pipe, stomach and the first part of the small intestine.

A computed tomography (CT) scan may also be used in combination with a gastroscopy to provide X-ray images of the gut.

 

• Acid Reflux / GERD
• GastroIntestinal / Gastroenterology
• Medical Devices / Diagnostics
• Radiology / Nuclear Medicine

How we reviewed this article:

SourcesMedical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. We only use quality, credible sources to ensure content accuracy and integrity. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy.

• Barium swallow and meal. (n.d.)https://www.bupa.co.uk/health-information/directory/b/barium-swallow-and-meal
• Barium swallow - esophagram. (n.d.)https://www.cedars-sinai.edu/Patients/Programs-and-Services/Imaging-Center/For-Patients/Exams-by-Procedure/Gastrointestinal-Radiology/Barium-Swallow---Esophagram.aspx
• Barium X-ray. (2015, April 14)http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/cancer-in-general/tests/barium-x-ray
• Having a barium swallow. (2016, October)http://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/resources/patient-information/radiology/barium-swallow.pdf

Share this article

Medically reviewed by Alana Biggers, M.D., MPH — Written by David Railton on April 27, 2017

Latest news

• 2 servings of peanuts daily may help boost brain health
• ACS cervical cancer screening guidelines updates: What to know
• Human brain may only reach adulthood after age 30
• Soybean oil may contribute to obesity, new study shows
• Shingles vaccine may reduce dementia risk, slow progression

Popular in: Radiology / Nuclear Medicine

• What to know about radiation therapy?
• Proton therapy as an option for treating cancer
• What to know about DEXA scans
• What to know about angiograms

Related Coverage

• What causes difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)?Medically reviewed by Mia Armstrong, MD

  Dysphagia is the medical term for difficulty swallowing. Many conditions can cause it, from brain injuries to medications. Learn more here.

  READ MORE
• How does a CT or CAT scan work?Medically reviewed by Seunggu Han, M.D.

  Computed tomography (CT), otherwise known as computed axial tomography (CAT) scans, give doctors explicit internal images of the body, which they can…

  READ MORE
• What to know about MRI scans

  Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans produce detailed images of the organs and tissues in the body. Learn more about its uses here.

  READ MORE
• What to know about X-rays

  X-rays may pose a small cancer risk, but their benefits far outweigh their risks, and they frequently save lives. This article explains everything…

  READ MORE
• Chest pain after endoscopy: Is it typical?

  Mild chest pain after endoscopy may be due to trapped gas or bloating, but it could also signal a complication following the procedure. Learn more…

  READ MORE