Without a doubt, anesthesia is one of the greatest inventions of our time. As you already know, anesthesia is a part of not only every surgery one undergoes but also every medical procedure that can be painful. In this text, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about anesthesia, from its origin to types of anesthesia as well as its benefits.
So, when was the anesthesia first administered? The first person who used anesthesia and wrote and published a paper about it was a Boston dentist, William T.G. Morton back in the middle of the 19th century. The first anesthetic that was administered through a sponge and glass inhaler was ether. Nowadays, anesthesia includes a cocktail of several medications and techniques which all vary depending on the procedure and general health of the patient.
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There are three types of anesthesia:
- General anesthesia is used for surgeries that can take a lot of time, be extremely painful and is also used for surgeries that can affect one’s breathing such as chest surgeries. When one is under general anesthesia, he is put into a medically induced coma. The main purpose of general anesthesia is to remove natural response to pain and motor reflexes as well as to induce memory loss, unconsciousness, and skeletal muscle relaxation. General anesthesia is administered intravenously, through an IV or inhalation. Once the medications are reversed, one will wake up within minutes and be fully conscious after a few hours. Besides grogginess and confusion, patients don’t usually experience side-effects from this type of anesthesia. However, some may experience nausea, vomiting, sore throat, shivering, dry mouth, etc.
- Local anesthesia is administered to certain numb parts of one’s body for non-invasive surgeries when a patient doesn’t need to be hospitalized such as a dental procedure or stitching minor cuts. This type of anesthesia is administered through injection or spray, gel, ointment, etc. After local anesthesia, people don’t experience any kind of side effects except for the tinging as it wears off.
- Regional anesthesia is used to numb nerves and prevent pain in larger areas and parts of the body such as an arm, leg or abdomen. This type of anesthesia is administered through injecting anesthetics into certain parts of the body in which the patient might experience the pain. It is most typically used in orthopedic surgeries or during childbirth. Epidural is a type of regional anesthesia that is administered to women to relieve the pain during childbirth. Since regional anesthetics are injected into the nerves, they can be only administered by a trained and qualified anesthesiologist to avoid any serious side-effects.
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The type of anesthesia and medications that are used during a surgery or procedure depend on the type of a medical procedure that has to be performed, the severity of one’s injuries and conditions such as allergies, medical history of previous diseases and current general health.
The anesthesia can be only administered by an anesthesiologist. After studying one’s blood work results and medical history, the anesthesiologist will determine with the type of medications and sedatives he will administer. If one has to undergo invasive surgery and has to be put under general anesthesia, the anesthesiologist will be present at the surgery and he will be monitoring one’s breathing and vital signs such as heart rate rhythm, blood pressure, pulse, temperature and so on.
Just like any other professional, anesthesiologists have to be paid and there are certain codes that are used for anaesthetic billing. There are a number of companies which offer services such as invoicing, receipting, prepayment, etc.
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If you are having any kind of medical procedure soon which has to be done under anesthesia, these are some main things you need to know. Even though every surgery comes with a risk, if you talk with your medical team – doctor, surgeon, anesthesiologist and others, and discuss every detail, the risks and chances of something going wrong will be reduced.
