If you are someone who is about to undergo some form of treatment, you might be put under what is known as general anesthesia. To most, this can sound scary – are you going to be, OK? Will it wear off? Will you have to worry about any side effects?
Although your feelings are valid, you have nothing to worry about. You should want to know more about general anesthesia, but you should also be ready to accept that in the right hands, there is nothing to fear. How, can you ensure that your general anesthesia goes smoothly?
Will you be asleep?
If you undergo what is known as general anesthesia, then you will be “asleep” for the most part. However, you also get what is known as regional anesthesia; this means that a certain part of your body, such as your legs, is numbed. You might even undergo a local anesthetic, which is typically used for a small part. For example, if you go to a dentist, they will normally use a smaller anesthetic than a general anesthetic. Try to keep in mind that not every form of anesthetic is going to be put you to sleep.
Getting ready for surgery
Since most forms of anesthetic are used prior to forms of surgery, including dental surgery, you need to be suitably prepared. Normally, you will see your anesthetist a day or two prior to treatment, with prior meetings also arranged so you can know what is happening.
In these meetings, your medical history will be reviewed as will your family medical history. You should therefore look to understand what you are dealing with, as getting ready for surgery is just as important as turning up for it in the first place. If any issues pop up, the medical experts will review them with you.
Eating and drinking beforehand
Most of us want to make sure we arrive feeling good prior to surgery. However, your surgeon should go through the challenges of eating and drinking before surgery. You want to make sure that food is never taken into the lungs or other parts of the body. When you are in the middle of an anesthetic, your body can no longer provide the same depth of protection.
As such, you want to make sure that you arrive for surgery with an empty stomach. However, you will be given full information about which type of anesthetic you will be getting and what the before and the after process will be like.
After surgery
Most of the time, anesthetic patients will be given time to recover from the wear and tear of the process and the act of being under anesthesia. As such, you should focus on listening to the exact instructions given to you by the professionals who you work with during your treatment.
This is vital because being ready to deal with the after-effect of anesthetic is just as important as navigating pre-treatment accordingly.
Focus on listening to the instructions given, though, and anesthetic should never become something you need to fret about or fear.