Stages of General Anesthesia

General anesthesia is used to achieve a medically induced coma state where the patient is unable to feel any pain and know what’s happening. It’s a reversible loss of consciousness which allows the doctor to operate the patient easily. The drug is managed by a specially trained doctor who examines the condition of the patient throughout the surgery. It is very rare that a patient may experience accidental intraoperative consciousness. In such situations, the anesthesiologist does what is needed to be done to send the patient back into a completely unconscious state of mind. The anesthesia might make the patient feel dizzy, nauseous and weak but these are just temporary side effects that will automatically fade away with time. Anesthesia has to be given by an anesthesiologist because an inexperienced person would not be able to control the risks and complexities involved. There are two main types of anesthesia i.e. local and general. General anesthesia is preferred over the local one for a number of reasons. 

In this article, we will shed light on the important steps involved in general anesthesia. 

Stage 1:

Stage one is referred to as induction. This stage takes place between the administration of the anesthesia and the loss of consciousness. The patient just starts to enter into an unconscious state of mind. The anesthesiologist stays with the patient to examine the status and control of any kind of issues that may arise. 

Step 2:

Step 2 is known as the excitement phase which comes right after the patient loses its consciousness. This stage involves an exciting activity where the breathing rate and heartbeat increases and the patient might also feel nauseous. Since the breathing rate is irregular and the risk of vomiting is involved, there is a danger of choking. Though this condition can be controlled in an efficient manner by an expert doctor.

Step 3:

Stage 3 is known as surgical anesthesia where the breathing is depressed, vomiting comes to an end and body muscles start to relax. This is the stage where the patient is all set to get operated.  

Step 4:

This stage is known as overdose. In this stage, the patient is given an extra dose of anesthesia for a number of reasons. Though the priority of an anesthesiologist is not to take the patient ahead of stage 3 considering the risks involved in stage 4.