menu
FR | EN
Medical assistance
Certified Medical Tourism ProfessionalBest Medical Travel Agency 2015Best use of technology in Medical Travel 2017

Facts about Anaesthesia

23/01/2014

Facts about Anaesthesia

If you are contemplating surgery then you will most likely be having some form of anaesthesia and so knowing the facts will help you to make an informed choice and understand what will happen.


Anaesthesia simply means ‘loss of sensation’, which is what anaesthetic medications are designed to achieve. A mixture of medications are combined to either put a patient to sleep or numb the pain in a specific area so that surgery can be carried out without the patient experiencing any pain.




General anaesthetic


This is the term used to refer to the type of anaesthetic that makes a patient completely unconscious so that they are not aware of the procedure and so will feel no pain. This type of anaesthetic is administered via injection or gas which puts the patient to sleep and is used for serious, complex or lengthy procedures.


Regional/local anaesthetic


This type of anaesthetic is used for minor surgery or procedures where the patient does not need to be unconscious but do need to feel no pain. This anaesthetic is given for a specific area of the body and is only intended to numb that area.


There are different types of regional anaesthetic:


  • epidural – type of regional anaesthetic that is used to numb the lower half of the body and is usually used during labour and childbirth

  • spinal – regional anaesthetic that is used to give total numbness that lasts approximately three hours

Possible side effects


As with any medical procedure there are potential side effects that can affect people who have anaesthetic. Whilst these side effects are not usually serious they can make it uncomfortable to have anaesthetic. They do not often last for a long period of time. The side effects can include:


  • feeling nauseous

  • vomiting

  • feeling faint or dizzy

  • headache

  • feeling cold and shivery

  • aches and pains

Photo credit: © dmitrimaruta - Fotolia.com

expand_less