What is anesthesia?

Anesthesia is a way to control pain and keep you safe and comfortable during a procedure. Medicines are used to block pain. They also may make you relaxed, sleepy, or forgetful. Or they may make you unconscious for your procedure.

The types of anesthesia include:

• Sedation. It's medicine that helps you relax or fall asleep. It may be used with other medicine to control pain.
• Local. It numbs a small part of the body.
• Regional. It blocks pain to a larger area of your body. Some types of regional anesthesia include:
  • Peripheral nerve blocks. This is a shot of medicine to block pain around a specific nerve or group of nerves. Blocks are often used for procedures on the hands, arms, feet, legs, or face.
  • Spinal and epidural. These are shots of medicine near the spinal cord and the nerves that connect to it. They block pain from an entire region of the body, such as the belly, hips, or legs.
• General. It affects your whole body. You're unconscious during the procedure.

Tell the specialist about any health problems your child has. Tell them about your child's past surgeries. Also let them know if a family member had problems with anesthesia. Give them a list of any medicines, vitamins, and herbal products your child takes.