Why does anesthesia make you sleep

Itching — This is a common side effect of narcotics, one type of pain medication sometimes used with general anesthesia. Chills and shivering hypothermia — This occurs in up to half of patients as they regain consciousness after surgery, and it might be related to body temperature. Rarely, general anesthesia can cause more serious complications, including: Postoperative delirium or cognitive dysfunction — In some cases, confusion and memory loss can last longer than a few hours or days.

A condition called postoperative cognitive dysfunction can result in long-term memory and learning problems in certain patients. People who have had a stroke in the past are also more at risk. Malignant hyperthermia — Some people inherit this serious, potentially deadly reaction to anesthesia that can occur during surgery, causing a quick fever and muscle contractions.

If you or a family member has ever had heat stroke or suffered from malignant hyperthermia during a previous surgery, be sure to tell the physician anesthesiologist. Headache — This can occur a few days after the procedure if some spinal fluid leaks out when regional anesthetic is delivered through the spine, as in an epidural or spinal block for childbirth. Minor back pain — Soreness can happen at the site where the needle was inserted into the back.

Difficulty urinating — If you were numbed from the waist down, it may be difficult to urinate for a little while after the procedure. Hematoma — Bleeding beneath the skin can occur where the anesthesia was injected. More serious but rare complications include: Pneumothorax — When anesthesia is injected near the lungs, the needle may accidentally enter the lung. These interneurons act like routers in a computer network: they connect and modulate all the excitatory neurons in the brain.

If you control the interneurons, you can control the rest of the circuits in the brain. Binding to GABA receptors activates interneurons to inhibit the rest of the brain. The enhanced inhibitory activity changes the character of brain waves, the synchronized electrical activity of groups of neurons. They transform from very high frequency, small amplitude waves to very low frequency, large amplitude waves.

As long as the patient receives the anesthesia, the brain stays in this state. The brain waves become so structured and regimented that they can't transmit information anymore. As a consequence, brain regions can no longer communicate with each other, resulting in profound unconsciousness and amnesia. The anesthesiologist may administer an opioid and muscle relaxants to ensure adequate analgesia and akinesia, respectively. When the drug wears off, the brain rhythms slowly return to normal, and the patient comes to.

Sleep and anesthesia are two entirely different conditions. Through the night, you go between the two states in cycles of about 90 minutes, four to six times total. Anesthesia is nothing like that. Under general anesthesia, brain waves are held hostage in the same state and remain there for the length of the operation. Learn how a lower body lift works, including the procedure and aftercare, and hear from two board certified plastic surgeons about what to expect from…. Itching is usually part of recovery when you have a healing wound.

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Brown and his colleagues are working to develop drugs to help patients more quickly emerge and recover from general anesthesia. Anesthesia is generally considered quite safe for most patients. By some estimates, the death rate from general anesthesia is about 1 in , patients.

Side effects have become less common and are usually not as serious as they once were. If you have concerns, talk with your doctor. It might help to meet in advance with the person who will give you anesthesia. Ask what kind of anesthesia you will have. Ask about possible risks and side effects. Knowing more might help you feel less concerned about going under.

Editor: Harrison Wein, Ph. Managing Editor: Tianna Hicklin, Ph. Illustrator: Alan Defibaugh. Attention Editors: Reprint our articles and illustrations in your own publication. Our material is not copyrighted.