• Categorized under Health | Differences Between Anesthesia and Anesthetic

Anesthesia vs Anesthetic

Surgery during the previous centuries was terrifying, especially amputations. The first surgical doctors from Britain only used a bone saw in amputating a part of your body. Within a full minute, your leg would be already amputated. It’s just like cutting off a log. You’d be very thankful that you hadn’t been born during the 19th century. People mostly died after surgical interventions because of sepsis or infection of the whole body.

We all know that during that time, the advancement in medical technology was lacking. Only a few medicines had been invented, and they consisted primarily of not-so-effective, herbal medicines. When you underwent a surgical procedure in the 19th century, you’d definitely scream in pain, and you wouldn’t want to have to repeat that horrifying experience. However, today, there has been a multitude of advancements in the field of medicine. There are already anesthetics to make our bodies submit to a state of anesthesia during surgical procedures.

What is the difference between an anesthetic and anesthesia? If we are talking about the medicine used to numb body parts, then it is referred to as an anesthetic. If we are talking about a person’s current state of numbness due to the administration of an anesthetic, then it is referred to as anesthesia.

Anesthetics are a type of medicine that block pain. If you are given anesthetics, you will be relaxed, sleepy, or unconscious. Since this is a very dangerous drug, only specialists should deliver anesthetics to surgical patients. Anesthesia specialists are also held liable in the monitoring of the condition of the patient while the surgery is going on.

There are three types of anesthetics: local, regional, and general. If you are administered a local anesthetic, a small part of your body will go numb such as your nose and mouth. Usually they are applied topically. A regional anesthetic, on the other hand, numbs a larger area of your body. This can be administered into your spinal cord or any other major nerves. General anesthesia makes the patient unconscious since it is administered directly into the veins.

After administering an anesthetic, you’ll fall into the state of anesthesia. When you are under anesthesia, your breathing, heart rate/rhythm, blood pressure, and blood flow will be regulated. The type of anesthesia condition largely depends on your health history, type of surgical procedure, and current results of laboratory examinations. This is to protect your health and safety while undergoing surgical procedures. If the doctors and nurses haven’t assessed these three important factors thoroughly, there might be accompanying risks during your surgical procedure.

Among the risks are: the uncontrollable fluctuations of your heart rate, breathing rate per minute, increased or lowered blood pressure, and bleeding. Since you are in the state of anesthesia, it can be difficult to bring you back into a normal state.

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