Anaesthesia is a drug used by anaesthesiologists to administer to patients to render them unconscious and kill the pain sensation. You will find it impossible to have a safe and sound surgery without inducing anaesthesia in the patient before or during the procedure. During the pandemic situation, everyone realised the importance of medical officers or anyone even remotely connected to the medical field.

From sewing cuts to cold birth to other surgical procedures, anesthesia is used in every field that deals with pain control/management. Of course, when something enters your system, it stays there for a while till your body secrets it out. Same with anaesthesia, it takes an amount of time to get out of your system or till its effects wear off.

About Anaesthesia- General Overview

The main function of anaesthesia is to render the person unconscious or to kill the sensation of pain for a medical procedure. It is imperative that the patient is educated on the duration of effect as it stays in your system for a particular amount of time. Time can vary from a few minutes to hours, given the amount of dosage induced. Its effect can vary from person to person, and it can take up to a few days to completely recover from it.

Types Of Anaesthesia And Their Usage

There are four significant anaesthesia categories, each with its specific function and usage.

• General Anaesthesia– It is used to completely render the person unconscious. It is induced by either IV or inhaling masks as gages or vapour.
• Sedation– It is used to calm and relax the patient and can also put the patient to sleep, given the dosage given. The person can be wakeful in a couple of minutes, even if they are sleeping.
• Regional Anaesthesia– It is used to numb a certain part of the body on which surgery is to be done. Anaesthesia is induced on the cluster of never around that area responsible for sensation. It is applied in the form of cream, spray or gel.
• Local Anaesthesia– It is used for minor pain treatment. It is also used while giving epidural anesthesia to pregnant women during the time of birth of the baby to help ease the pain.

Factors Affecting The Duration of Anaesthesia In Your System

The process of elimination starts when anaesthesia starts metabolising in your body. The general dosage of general anaesthesia will be gone entirely from your body within 24 hours. Still, some forms of anaesthesia and given their dosage can vary the time period, and some can stay up to 48 hours. A person’s age, weight, metabolism rate, and kidney and liver function are also deciding factors as to how much time it will take to be completely out of system.

Conclusion

Anaesthesia is a best friend to the surgeon as it helps the surgeon to perform his duty well. Being a crucial medicine in this field, it should be appropriately treated and well monitored while it’s in the system. As drugs can stay in your body for 24 hours, so you should not go do any outdoor activities such as driving or going to work as being under the influence any mishap can happen.

The duration for which it stays in your system also varies from person to person and on the amount of dosage given. One the surprising turn of events, it is also found that music helps calm the sedated patients in the OR. To know more about this, you can check out the blog Last night a DJ saved my life, by Dr Singh.