How Does Anesthesia Work In Our Body?

When we fall asleep, if someone is pinching or shaking we will wake up right? But under the influence of anesthesia, even if we are pinched, shaken, even the body is operated on, we will not wake up at all until the anesthetic effect runs out. In conclusion, anesthesia can make us lose consciousness more than when we fall asleep. When we wake up after the effects of anesthesia, we just feel that a lot of time has passed. Whether it's a few hours or maybe a few days, and we don't know what is different at all. When we fall asleep, people call our names, or we hear an alarm, we must wake up right? But when we are under the influence of anesthesia it will not happen, we will only be unconscious. We are closer to coma than sleep. Anesthesia was first used in surgery in 1846. The drug used at that time was ether. Now experts generally use combinations of drugs, such as propofol and fentanyl. That interferes with the nerve pathway so we don't feel pain and remember anything about surgery.

3 Types of Anesthesia

The purpose of giving anesthesia to patients is to make patients feel relaxed when the surgery takes place. Both minimize or eliminate the pain that is felt, or make the patient sleep so that the patient is not aware of the surgery performed. This action is very helpful for a patient, especially for those who are often afraid of the surgical process or other medical measures. The following are the types:

Local

Functioning for small surgeries that can make the area to be operated on experience numbness, but the patient will remain conscious while undergoing the operation. This anesthetic will affect one small part of the body, for example on the teeth. Usually, this anesthetic can be injected, sprayed or applied to the skin or to the mucous membranes in the area to be operated on.

Regional

Its function, to block pain in some areas of the body. Unlike the local, this procedure for areas that will experience numbness is much greater, not just one small part, for example, some areas under the waist. There are several types of regional anesthesia, namely peripheral, epidural and spinal nerve blocks. The most commonly used regional anesthesia is an epidural that is often used during childbirth. For this regional type, anesthesia is usually injected in the part near the spinal cord and connected nerves. This injection will eliminate pain in some parts of the body such as the hips, abdomen, or legs.

General

This type makes the patient completely unconscious and does not remember anything during the operation, this procedure is commonly referred to as general anesthesia. This type will be given for major surgery, such as when performing open heart surgery, brain surgery, or organ transplants which really need the patient's unconsciousness to carry out surgery. Giving this anesthesia can be done in two ways, namely by inhaling gas (inhalation) or by injecting drugs into a blood vessel (intravenously). Intravenous anesthesia will disappear quickly from the bloodstream after surgery is completed, while for inhalation takes longer to disappear.

Things that considered for general anesthesia

There are 3 things that patients need for general anesthesia. First, the patient needs amnesia so that the patient will not remember at all what happened during the surgery. Second, is analgesia which will relieve all the pain that should be felt during the operation. And third, is the condition before the operation. Some surgeons require that the patient be very relaxed, so the doctor will choose muscle relaxant as an anesthetic. Or other surgeons only ask the patient to fall asleep, then anesthetist will be given. So that the drugs given will vary, depending on the conditions that occur. Then there are some experts who suppress the performance of nerve stimulants, and there are also those that improve the performance of nerve inhibitors. Stimulating nerves, for example when our hands are pinched by stimulating nerves will stimulate other nerves. So that the brain receives electrical signals that our body feels pain and we start to feel pain. The inhibiting nerve does the opposite. They make it difficult for nerves to produce electrical signals. Both have the same goal, namely to prevent nerves from sending signals to the brain. Because when the brain does not receive the signal, the brain does not know that our body is being slashed, sewn, or cut. Basically this administration of anesthesia interferes with communication between the nervous system in the body. The surgeons aim for patients not to feel pain, by watching vital signs, heart rate, and blood pressure. Then they also ensure that the patient is unconscious during the operation. After the surgical procedure is completed, the doctor will remove the medical aid. When we wake up and wake up, maybe we will feel the side effects of the medication used. But it won't be dangerous, we might just feel our tongue and mouth feel weird. Unless the patient has a history of certain diseases. Without anesthesia, vital surgery might be impossible. Because if the patient is conscious, or can even feel pain. Will cause patients to get very great trauma, and can even make them fear relentlessly even go crazy.