Anesthesia Challenge #anesthesia #anesthesiatypes #anesthesiology #anesthesiologist

What Is Anesthesia?
Anesthesia is a medical intervention that prevents patients from feeling pain during procedures like surgery, certain screening and diagnostic tests, tissue sample removal (e.g., skin biopsies), and dental work. Anesthesiologists are doctors who have been specifically trained to give medicines used for anesthesia, which are called anesthetics. Depending on the type of pain relief needed, anesthesiologists can deliver anesthetics through several methods:

Gas that the patient inhales through a mask covering the mouth and nose
Intravenous line with a needle inserted into a vein, giving direct access to the bloodstream
Catheter (thin tube) inserted into the space outside of the spinal cord or around peripheral nerves
Injection into a body part with a needle and syringe
Topical lotion or spray
Eye drops
Skin patch
Before the introduction of safe and effective anesthetics about 175 years ago, surgeries of any kind were rare, dangerous, and only used as a last resort. Patients who underwent surgeries at this time did so fully conscious. Now, advances in anesthesia have allowed for lifesaving surgeries that would be impossible otherwise. Surgeries to treat cancer, organ transplants, and open-heart surgery are only a few types of the important techniques anesthesia has made possible. Modern anesthetics are typically very safe, but there are risks involved, including breathing problems, allergic reactions, and general confusion after surgery.

Types of Anesthesia
There are four main types of anesthesia. Each has different effects on the body:

General anesthesia affects the whole body, making patients unconscious and unable to move. Anesthesiologists will give general anesthesia for complex surgeries involving internal organs or other invasive or time-consuming procedures, such as back surgery. These anesthetics are given either through an intravenous line or as an inhaled gas.
Monitored sedation is like general anesthesia in that it relaxes the body and may induce sleep. Different combinations of sedatives, anesthetics, and analgesics are given through an intravenous line. However, in monitored sedation, patients are still conscious and may even be able to talk, depending on the level of sedation needed. This form of anesthesia is often combined with other types of pain relief for procedures such as a colonoscopy or complex dental work.
Regional anesthesia numbs pain and sensation to only the part of the body that needs it, such as an arm, a leg, or everything below the waist. This type of anesthesia is used in hand and joint surgeries and C-section deliveries, as well as to ease the pain of childbirth. With regional anesthetics, patients stay conscious and comfortable. These medications are given through an injection or a catheter.
Local anesthesia affects only a small part of the body. For example, this type of anesthetic is used to block pain to a single tooth during a dental procedure or to a part of the skin that needs stitches. As with regional anesthesia, patients who receive local anesthesia remain awake and comfortable. Local anesthetics are commonly given as an injection, topical lotion or spray, eye drops, or skin patch.
#anesthesia #anesthesiatypes #anesthesiology #anesthesiologist

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