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Choosing Anesthesia Services Requires Research

By Catalina Nielsen


Various forms of anesthetics have been around since the ancient empires of the world. They have been used to dull the senses for various surgeries and injuries. Early forms of pain management consisted of opiates and herbal tonics. Today anesthesia services have been refined from their primitive form and honed into a tool that helps save lives.

The earliest accounts of pain killing methods in human history go back to the Roman Empire. Nearly two million years ago physicians were in the practice of using opium from the Chinese poppy flower along with other herbs to help ease the discomfort of certain ailments and surgical procedures. The word anesthesia is of Greek origin, meaning without sensation. It refers to the dulling of sensory receptors.

Today we control pain through medicines we call anesthetics. These drugs can assist in regulating the body's functions as well as lessen pain. Anesthesia is employed in surgery to temporarily place patients into unconsciousness and help regulate their breathing, heart rate, and blood flow. Without these measures most patients would go into shock or other emergency states during intrusive medical procedures.

There are many factors that can interfere with the use of the drug being administered. Certain ailments can be debilitating in conjunction with the anesthetic being applied. Heart, kidney, and liver disease are sensitive health conditions and must be held in account when adjusting the dosage of the pain killers. Diabetes and allergies to anesthetics can also deter the process of numbing. Healthcare practitioners are careful to monitor patients who have chronic problems and are being induced.

There are several forms of numbing medications that can be utilized to relax a patient, block their pain or keep them unconscious during a surgical procedure. Different surgeries require different methods. And individuals all require a specific dose calculated to their organism. It is not uncommon for some patients to even forget bits and pieces of events occurring on the day of their medical surgery.

There are three main types of anesthetics with two subgroups. The first, and most regularly used is local anesthetic. Local numbing is applied during small procedures such as for regular dental work and stitches. The medicine is directly applied to the area that is going to be worked on and works to block the sensory receptors in that region.

Regional anesthesia has two categories of anesthetics grouped under it. When regional numbing occurs it is usually in a large region of the body such as a leg or the torso. The first subgroup of this type of anesthetic is peripheral and it deals with blocking the nerve receptors in a certain area of the body. Pregnant women of the last quarter century know the second sub group well. The epidural form of anesthetic is a needle that is injected into the spine so that the lower abdomen, lumbar spine, and the hips are numbed.

The last and most serious is general anesthesia. It is fed to the body intravenously and can be quite dangerous. General numbing induces sleep and lowered heart rate. Anesthesiologists who are not watchful or careful can lose patients during a procedure. Most anesthesia services are contracted from outside the hospital, surgeon, or doctor's practice. Independent anesthetic groups specialize in the field and are liable to mistakes. It is important to do research and disclose health information to these individuals in order to receive the best care.




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