What Is General Anesthesia?

General anesthesia is a medical procedure that a patient is unconscious through the use of drugs and gas. Often used to enable quick and painless surgery or medical treatments, general anesthesia is a common tool in the medical world. Unlike local anesthesia, the stunned or dull pain in one particular area, general anesthesia affects the entire body. Most people with this type of anesthesia, no surgical experience pain and have no memory of the medical intervention.

For almost the entire length of human history, surgery was performed without anesthetic, causing incredible pain and often severe psychological consequences for patients undergoing any type of medical procedures. Although certain herbs and inhalants had dull pain was used to grasp the idea of a general anesthetic is not until the study of chemistry and scientific research has been disseminated. In the middle of the 19th Century began several doctors with ether and nitrous oxide gas as a means to stop and soothe pain patients during surgery. Although originally these early surgeons used anesthetics themselves of modern medical practice often used trained a licensed anesthesiologist or a nurse in the implementation and monitoring of anesthesia.
 
General anesthesia is often recommended lengthy operations, or those that a patient must be kept in a certain position. During surgery, the patient care by an anesthesiologist, who keeps track of vital signs and can administer more medicine, when the anesthesia seems to be wearing off monitors. Despite numerous security measures is some anesthesia risk, which vary with the health and medical history of the patient to perform.

Although minor side effects such as nausea, tremors, dizziness or extreme, most patients with common major complications may occur during or after the use of general anesthesia. Heart attacks, strokes, plummeting blood pressure and even lead to death can occur while a patient under the influence of anesthesia. Age, general health and specific diseases significantly increase the risk of complications caused by anesthesia. Most doctors complete medical history and physical examination before a patient undergoing the treatment.
Anesthesiologists use a variety of methods to establish the level of consciousness necessary for painless surgery. Some methods use a combination of both drugs and gas to ensure that the patient is concerned. Dentists that sleep dentistry often lead patients to require a muscle relaxant pill before coming into office, then apply additional gas or oral medication to complete the numbing effect.

There are often several codes of practice requirements needed before a general anesthetic can be applied. Because the process can relax the stomach and allow digestion of food into the lungs filter, doctors usually insist that the patient not eat for several hours before the operation. In the outpatient procedure, doctors also point out that the patient is a friend or relative to him or her drive to and from the appointment and monitoring of the patient after the operation over. It is important to follow instructions relating to both before surgery and postoperative behavior in order to minimize the risk of complications.