By Swain Thorne
Sedation is a type of drug that can be used to help patients relax during surgery or other medical procedures. There are many different types of sedatives, and it’s important to know which one will work best for you as well as your specific needs. In this blog post, we’ll discuss the most common types of sedation available.
Types of sedation
Local anesthesia
This type of sedation is used to numb a certain area so that surgery can be performed. It does not take away the patient’s ability to feel pain, but it will make any sensations much less intense. Local anesthesia comes in different forms such as injections (e.g., lidocaine), topical anesthetic creams, and patches (like EMLA).
Local anesthesia is good for pain relief, certain types of surgery where the patient needs to be awake (e.g., mastectomy), some minor surgeries that require very little time in the operating room and will not make patients sleepy afterward. Anesthetic creams can reduce risks associated with injection procedures like infections if there are no sutures on the target area. An oral surgeon may prefer this type of sedation.
Regional anesthesia
Regional anesthesia blocks pain signals from reaching sections of the body by injecting medication into larger nerves around those areas. It does not necessarily put people under general anesthesia but it might do so when needed. In most cases, regional sedation just numbs sensations without making them go away completely. An example of regional anesthesia is epidurals, which are administered on your back (spinal sack). Regional anesthesia is used in procedures such as hip replacement as well as during childbirth.
General anesthesia
General anesthesia renders the person unconscious for a surgical procedure, typically by using drugs. It differs from sedative-based types of anesthesia because it makes people unaware and unable to feel pain or remember anything that takes place. General anesthetics are administered through IV lines in our arm or through masks placed over our nose and mouth.
The most common side effect of this sedation is drowsiness, which disappears two to three hours after surgery, and nausea. This type of anesthesia is used for major operations such as open-heart surgeries as well as knee replacement.
Sedation or Monitored anesthesia
Sedation or monitored anesthesia care is another type of drug-based sleep induction. This process includes IV administration, inhalation, and the use of a breathing tube to maintain airway patency during surgery. These drugs are typically administered in lower doses than those used for general anesthetics because they limit awareness but don’t make people unconscious as general anesthetic does.
The most common side effects from this sedative include dizziness, lightheadedness, and nausea although these symptoms will subside within two hours after the operation has been completed. Sedation can be given as part of other forms of anesthesia such as spinal blocks or epidural medication that numb the area before surgery begins so it’s often used when giving birth by cesarean section.
The level of sedation mainly depends on the type of procedure being administered. In surgeries such as eye surgery, mild sedation is done, whereby the patient is awake and aware and can respond to questions by the doctor. Deep sedation is used for surgeries such as colonoscopy. The point to note is that the patient can breathe comfortably without assistance.
