2016
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Debra Sullivan is known for Secret Santa (2018), Texas Chainsaw (2013) and Momentum (2015). She has been married to Adam Marcus since 12 December 1998.
- Actress, Writer, Producer
- 1 min
- Overview
- Side effects
- Risks
- Sedation vs. general anesthesia
- Types
- Local vs. general
- Stages
- How does general anesthetic work?
- Outlook
Doctors use general anesthesia during surgery to ensure a person is unconscious and cannot feel pain. Under general anesthesia, people are unable to feel pain (analgesic) and will be unconscious.
General anesthesia is a medicine that is administered intravenously (IV) or through a tube or mask. It is performed by an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist, a specially trained doctor or nurse who will also monitor a patient’s vital signs and rate of breathing during the procedure.
Scientists do not know precisely how anesthetics work, but they appear to act at a number of sites in the central nervous system.
General anesthesia is more commonly used for major operations and during surgery. A person may also experience amnesia temporarily following the anesthetic.
General anesthetics have been widely used in surgery since 1842 when Crawford Long administered diethyl ether to a patient and performed the first painless operation.
In this article, we will cover a number of topics, including the differences between general anesthesia and sedation, potential side effects of general anesthesia, associated risks, and some theories regarding how they work.
There are a number of potential side effects of general anesthesia.
Some individuals may experience no side effects, whereas others may experience a few. None of the side effects are particularly long lasting, and they tend to occur right after the anesthesia.
Side effects of general anesthesia can include:
•temporary confusion and memory loss, although this is more common in older adults
•dizziness
•difficulty passing urine
Overall, general anesthesia is very safe. Even particularly ill patients can be safely anesthetized. The surgical procedure itself offers the most risk.
However, older adults and those undergoing lengthy procedures are most at risk of negative outcomes. These outcomes can include:
•postoperative confusion
•heart attack
•pneumonia
•stroke
Sedation is administered through an IV.
There are three types of sedation, including:
•Mild: A person is awake and responsive.
•Moderate: A person may be sleepy but can wake up.
•Deep: Similar to general anesthesia, as a patient is in a deep sleep.
Sedation and general anesthesia are both forms of anesthesia, but people will experience different effects depending on the type administered by doctors during a procedure, including the level of consciousness, breathing support, and possible side effects.
Alongside general anesthetic, there are other types, including:
•Local anesthesia: This type of anesthesia is given before minor surgeries, such as the removal of a toenail. This reduces pain in a small, focused area of the body, but the person receiving the treatment remains conscious.
•Regional anesthesia: This type numbs an entire portion of the body and prevents pain sensation, such as in the lower half of the body during childbirth.
There are two main forms of regional anesthesia:
•Spinal anesthetic: This type is used for surgeries of the lower limbs and abdomen. The professional administering the anesthetic injects it into the lower back and numbs the lower body.
•Epidural anesthesia: This type of anesthesia is often used to reduce the pain of childbirth and lower limb surgery. It is administered to the area around the spinal cord through a small catheter instead of a needle injection.
There are a number of reasons why general anesthesia may be chosen over local anesthesia. In some instances, the patient is asked to choose between general and local anesthetic.
This choice depends on:
•age
•overall health
•personal preference
The main reasons for opting for general anesthetic are:
Guedel’s classification, designed by Arthur Ernest Guedel in 1937, describes the four stages of anesthesia.
Modern anesthetics and updated delivery methods have improved the speed of onset, general safety, and recovery, but the four stages remain essentially the same:
Stage 1, or induction: This phase occurs between the administration of the drug and the loss of consciousness. The patient moves from analgesia without amnesia to analgesia with amnesia
Stage 2, or excitement stage: The period following a loss of consciousness, characterized by excited and delirious activity. Breathing and heart rate become erratic, and nausea, pupil dilation, and breath-holding might occur.
Because of irregular breathing and the risk of vomiting, there is a danger of choking. Modern, fast-acting drugs aim to limit the time spent in stage 2 of anesthesia.
Stage 3, or surgical anesthesia: Muscles relax, vomiting stops, and breathing is depressed. Eye movements slow and then cease. The patient is ready to be operated on.
The exact mechanisms that produce the state of general anesthesia are not well known. The general theory is that their action is induced by altering the activity of membrane proteins in the neuronal membrane, possibly by making certain proteins expand.
Of all the drugs used in medicine, general anesthetics are an unusual case. Rather than a single molecule acting at a single site to produce a response, there is a huge variety of compounds, all of which generate quite similar but widespread effects, including analgesia, amnesia, and immobility.
The chemical makeup of general anesthetic drugs ranges from the simplicity of alcohol’s chemical makeup to the complexity of sevoflurane.
General anesthetics are known to act at a number of sites within the central nervous system. The importance of these sites on the induction of anesthesia is not fully understood. These sites include:
•Cerebral cortex: This is the brain’s outer layer, which is involved in tasks relating to memory, attention, and perception, among other functions.
•Thalamus: Its roles include relaying information from the senses to the cerebral cortex and regulating sleep, wakefulness, and consciousness.
Although general anesthetics hold many mysteries, they are hugely important in surgery and the field of medicine at large.
General anesthesia can cause some potential side effects and complications. However, overall, it is a very safe medicine, and it is usually the surgery itself that carries the most risk.
May 9, 2023 · Medically reviewed by Debra Sullivan, Ph.D., MSN, R.N., CNE, COI Peeling nails can result from trauma to the nail. Picking off nail polish and pressing on your nails can cause them to peel.
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Debra Sullivan, PhD, MSN, RN, CNE, COI. Dr. Debra Sullivan is a nurse educator with over 20 years of teaching experience.
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