Question: What precautions are taken before the anesthetic is administered and after consciousness has been regained?
The patient is not allowed anything to eat or drink for at least four hours before the operation. This reduces the changes of vomiting and inhaling fluid into the lungs when the anesthetic is being given.
After the operation, the anesthesiologist should remain with the patient until consciousness is regained.
Question: How do local anesthetics differ from general anesthetics?
A local anesthetic is injected either into the tissues surrounding the area to be treated or next to the nerves serving the area. Adrenaline is sometimes added to the injection to increase the time for which the anesthetic is effective and to reduce bleeding.
Question: What are the various types of local anesthetic?
There are four types of local anesthetic. (1) The most common form of local anesthetic is the type used for a dental injection, in which the loss of sensation affects only a limited area. (2) A local anesthetic that affects a whole section of the body, such as an arm or a leg, produces what is called regional anesthesia. The injection is given close to where the nerves leave the spinal cord. (3) When an injection is given around the spinal cord (epidural anesthesia) or into the cerebrospinal fluid of the spinal cord (spinal anesthesia), the body is anesthetized below the site of injection. Epidural anesthesia is sometimes used during childbirth. (4) Drugs may be injected to produce partial anesthesia combined with amnesia. The patient then becomes peaceful and relaxed.
