Anesthetic

What is an Anesthetic?
An anesthetic is a drug that causes anesthesiareversible loss of sensation. They contrast withanalgesics( painkillers), which relieve pain without eliminating sensation. These drugs are generally administered to facilitate surgery .

Common side effects after anesthesia

Nausea and vomiting after surgery (also called postoperative nausea and vomiting ) Sore throat Teeth damage Shivering/Chills

Mechanism of action
All local anesthetics are membrane stabilizing drugs; they reversibly decrease the rate of depolarization and repolarization of excitable membranes (like nociceptors .) Though many other drugs also have membrane stabilizing properties, not all are used as local anesthetics( propranolol , for example). Local anesthetic drugs act mainly by inhibiting sodium influx through sodium-specificion channels in the neuronal cell membrane ,in particular the so-called voltage-gated sodium channels. When the influx of sodium is interrupted, an action potential cannot arise and signal conduction is inhibited. The receptor site is thought to be located at the cytoplasmic (inner) portion of the sodium channel. Local anesthetic drugs bind more readily to sodium channels in an activated state, thus onset of neuronal blockade is faster in neurons that are rapidly firing. This is referred to as state dependent blockade .

How Overdose Occurs

-Incorrect labeling on anesthetic -Confusing two different anesthetics -Injecting too quickly -Improperly timing durations between injections -Injecting too much anesthetic at a given time -Combining incompatible anesthetics

Overdose Symptoms
-Anxiety -Slurred speech -Coma -Elevated heart rate -Elevated respiratory rate -Respiratory arrest -Cardiac arrest -Wrongful death