The dangers of anesthesia do exist and are real, but do you have to worry about them? And what do you need to know? Important information you will find in this article.
Anesthesia has three different types, which are general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, and local anesthesia. Like many medical procedures, anesthesia of different types may have a share of risks. Let us learn about the risks of anesthesia in its various types as follows:
Risks of general anesthesia
The patient is subjected to general anesthesia when it is necessary to put the patient into a state of complete unconsciousness, where the patient is unable to: move, feel, or perceive what is going on around him, and this is achieved by giving the patient special medications intravenously or by making him inhale gas drugged
These are the main potential risks of general anesthesia
1. Awareness during the surgical procedure
One of the rare risks of general anesthesia is the presence of the patient in an unintentional state of alertness during the surgery, and this awareness may be accompanied by a feeling of pain, or it may be in the form of alertness and awareness of what is going on around him without feeling any pain.
And because doctors give the patient a dose of muscle relaxants in addition to the drugs used for anesthesia, the patient is often unable to make any sign to alert the surgeon that he is conscious during surgery.
The exact cause of states of alertness during surgery is still not fully known.
2. Anaphylaxis
Anaphylaxis can arise as a result of the patient undergoing any type of anesthesia, and these are some of the symptoms that may appear on the patient with this condition: skin rash, vomiting, bronchospasm, and a in blood pressure.
Therefore, it is preferable that patients who may be suspected of having this health problem undergo the necessary tests to diagnose the condition in order to make it easier for doctors to deal with them in the future when any medical condition occurs.
3. Other risks
General anesthesia may cause many other health complications in some cases, such as
Aspiration pneumonia or what is called aspiration pneumonitis.
Peripheral nerve damage.
Embolism or even death.
Nausea and vomiting.
Dental problems or damage.
Memory loss or cognitive problems.
Other problems, such as: sore throat, hypothermia, brain damage, back pain, breathing problems, heart rhythm problems, and delirium.
Risks of regional anesthesia
In regional anesthesia, the patient is given anesthetic substances capable of losing the ability to feel in entire areas of the body, such as: the arm or the lower half of the body.
Here are some possible health complications of regional anesthesia
1. Headache
In some cases, regional anesthesia injections given to the patient in the spinal cord may cause a headache after the effect of the anesthesia wears off. This type of complication is common and often arises as a result of a little cerebrospinal fluid leaking from the injection site, especially if the anesthetic injection used is thick.
However, there are many measures that may help relieve the severity of the headache, such as: bed rest, drinking water, and pain relievers.
2. Hypotension
Regional anesthesia may cause a sharp in blood pressure, and this can be especially dangerous if the patient already has heart and circulatory system problems.
3. Other risks
These are some of the other anesthesia risks that can arise when undergoing regional anesthesia:
Respiratory failure.
Direct nerve damage.
Spinal cord problems, such as: damage, bleeding, or infection and inflammation.
Other problems, such as: hypothermia and urinary retention.
Risks of local anesthesia
This type of anesthesia depends on the patient losing the ability to feel in a very small and limited area of the body, such as a finger.
Local anesthesia is the safest type of anesthesia, but it is not without some potential health complications, the most prominent of which are:
Pain and bleeding.
Infections and infections.
Nerve disorder.
What factors may determine the risk of anesthesia?
These are some of the factors and things that may increase the chances of developing some of the aforementioned risks of anesthesia:
Age: The elderly and children under the age of three are more susceptible to these complications.
Type of anesthesia: Some types of anesthesia are safer than others, such as local anesthesia.
The patient’s health condition: the chances of risk increase if the patient suffers from the following: obesity, seizures, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
Other factors: such as the type of surgery, the length of the operation, and the medications the patient was taking before the operation.
