Anesthesia I am focusing on the problems that arise while using anesthesia. First, let me brief you on what anesthesia is. Anesthesia is a medicine used to induce sleep or numbness typically before a surgery. It is often used with other drugs and is induced by an anesthetist. Whom is a trained professional. There are several problems when it comes to anesthesia. I will focus on children, the practice of it, the hazards in gives off, and pregnancy.

One must realize that even kids and infants need surgery, and their body is very different from that of an adults, so when going about anesthesia, you have to be aware of these differences. “The child’s nervous system is not fully developed. Certain reflexes which are active in adults are absent in the newborn(Adriani).” This is one of the many differences have compared to an adult. “an apparently insignificant loss of blood in an adult may cause severe hemorrhagic shock in an infant.(Adriani).” This is all because the cardiac output of an adult is less then that of a child. So, the child’s respiratory system responds differently to certain things, such as anesthesia. Because of this the “anesthetist, mixes anesthetics for inhalation differently(Adriani).” If you are not aware of these huge and vital differences than these differences, may in fact be life threatening.

In order to become an anesthetist you must go to lots of school, and become a highly trained professional on the matter. With each surgery comes experience, and every operation is different. So with a great anesthetist comes lots of experience. “Anesthesia has undergone many changes since 1844, at which time is was first demonstrated in a surgical clinic(Boise).” There are three periods of anesthesia. The first, being when surgery was preformed fast, and more often than not, the patient died. The second, was “in which complete relaxation was the aim, a condition in which the surgeon could work unhampered by reflexes and rigid muscles(Boise).” But still, about half the time, the patient still died. The third period is now. We have come along ways, but do not get yourself wrong. We still have issues with today’s anesthesia. The anesthetist must be fully aware of everything about the patient, because something as simple as having asthma as a kids, could in fact change everything when undergoing anesthetics. Some patients put up fights, which make the induction that much more complex. “When the anesthetic is pushed too fast at the beginning, the strong vapor irritates the nose, throat and bronchi, causing an excess of mucus membranes. This in turn impedes free breathing and cyanosis results. Rigidity rapidly ensues and we are confronted by the vicious circle. Until the jaw is relax,