Ramadan is the holy month in the Islam faith, where observers will fast from sunrise to sunset.  This includes food, water, some medications, smoking and sex.  This can obviously have some impact on patients' health, especially when presenting to the ED.  Here are some considerations to keep in mind:

• In general, there are exemptions to fasting for pregnant persons, children,  breastfeeding persons, and people travelling. 
• Bleeding is considered a contraindication to fasting, so menstruating women are exempt.  Some people may interpret this to mean they cannot give blood or have lab work done, but there is an exemption for medical purposes
• Volume status is probably the main area to be concerned about.  Always ask your patients if they are currently fasting and explain why IV fluids would be necessary

As with everything, maintaining cultural awareness and compassion will help to

References

Patient Care During Ramadan: A Narrative Review

M Nadir Bhuiyan 1,?, Rayya A Saadiq 1, Michael R Mueller 1, Ahmed D Abdalrhim 1, Joshua Overgaard 1

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PMCID: PMC11268016  PMID: 39050928