Anesthesia

Introduction:

Anesthesia is the treatment of pain during a medical procedure. A dentist, Dr. Horace Wells, discovered anesthesia and it flourished into all of the branches of the medical field (“Dr. horace wells (1815-1848),” ). There are four main types that include conscious and unconscious pain relief of either a part or region of the body or the entire body (“Anesthesia,” 2011). It is still growing today and anesthesiologists are finding new anesthetics to use in the future for specific complications or health issues the patient may have.

Discovery:

Horace Wells, a dentist of deep religious convictions, discovered anesthesia. He would become extremely bothered by the excruciating pain he caused his patients by performing a necessary surgery. Horace Wells would become traumatized and even considered ending his career in dentistry all together. On December 10th, 1844, Horace Wells and his wife went to a stage-show laid on by “Professor” Gardner Quincy Colton. A friend of theirs, store-clerk Sam Cooley, hurt his leg without flinching once from the normal pain, Horace Wells recognized that nitrous oxide might be the necessary component to surgical medicine, as wells as popular entertainment (“Dr. horace wells (1815-1848),” ).

Types of Anesthesia:

There are four main types of anesthesia that a patient may be given before surgery:
• Local: numbs a small area of the body-remain awake and aware
• Conscious or intravenous (IV) sedation: uses a mild sedative to relax the body and pain medicine to relieve pain-remain awake but may not remember the surgery afterwards
• Regional anesthesia: blocks pain in an area of the body (i.e.- arm/leg)
o Epidural anesthesia- sometimes used during childbirth
• General anesthesia: affects your entire body-enter into a deep sleep and don’t feel or remember anything
The type and amount of anesthesia depends certain factors, such as your age, your current health (taking into account your current issues or complications), and the type of procedure you are having (“Anesthesia,” 2011).

Anesthesiologist:

An anesthesiologist is a doctor that focuses on pain relief for the patient. Some of the responsibilities that an anesthesiologist has include examining the patient to determine the type of anesthetic needed, communicating all relevant information to the appropriate medical practitioners, administering local, intravenous, or spinal anesthetic to the patient, recording the type and amount of anesthesia administered, maintaining the patient’s vital life functions (i.e. heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, and breathing) through continual monitoring and assessment during surgery, and conferring with other physicians and surgeons to determine the condition of a patient before, during, and after sedation. People interested in this profession must be dedicated to a lifetime of continuing education in order to stay current with the constantly evolving nature of anesthesiology and pain management. To be successful in anesthesiology, individuals must excel academically, be incredibly detailed-oriented, calm in stressful situations, and warm and caring in order to ease patient’s anxiety (“Anesthesiologist,” 2004).

Nitrous Oxide:

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is used in the medical field as an anesthetic during surgery. It is an oxide of nitrogen. It is often called “laughing gas” or “sweet air” because of the euphoric reaction it causes your body to have when inhaling it. Nitrous oxide is a colorless non-flammable gas at room temperature with a “slightly sweet odor and taste.” When N2O reacts with oxygen atoms, it gives off NO, which reacts with our ozone. As a result, it is the main naturally occurring regulator of stratospheric ozone and it is a major greenhouse gas and air pollutant. Over 100 years, it has 298 times more impact per unit weight than carbon dioxide (“Nitrous oxide,” 2011).

List of References

• Anesthesia. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/anesthesia.html

• Anesthesiologist. (2004). Retrieved from http://www.mshealthcareers.com/careers/anesthesiologist.htm

• Dr. horace wells(1815-1848). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.general-anaesthesia.com/images/horace-wells.html

• Nitrous oxide. (2011). Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrous_oxide