How long is the fasting and water restriction period during general anesthesia? When can I eat

General anesthesia is a technique that needs to be performed before surgery. It can help anesthetize the patient's entire body so that the patient does not feel pain from beginning to end. Because the patient needs to completely empty the food in the intestines during general anesthesia, the patient must abstain from water and food for at least six hours. Only in this way can reflux be prevented, or food can be prevented from entering other parts of the body and causing the patient to suffer secondary pain.

Fasting for 6 hours is to empty the gastrointestinal tract before surgery to prevent reflux and aspiration after anesthesia

Because after anesthesia, a person's protective reflexes, such as the choking reflex, disappear. Mask ventilation, high abdominal pressure and relaxation of the cardia after general anesthesia can cause gastric contents to reflux into the pharynx. If there is no protective reflex, the gastric contents will directly enter the airway and cause aspiration pneumonia. In severe cases, it will directly cause suffocation. Therefore, strict fasting and drinking water fasting are required before general anesthesia surgery, and a gastrointestinal decompression tube may be inserted if necessary.

Anesthesia administration

(I) Induction of general anesthesia : Induction of general anesthesia refers to the process of

The stage from the conscious state to the loss of consciousness and endotracheal intubation after entering general anesthesia is called the anesthesia induction period. Before induction, the anesthesia machine, endotracheal intubation equipment and suction device should be prepared, intravenous and gastrointestinal decompression tubes should be opened, and the basic values ​​of blood pressure and heart rate should be measured. If conditions permit, the electrocardiogram and SpO2 should be monitored. The methods of induction of general anesthesia are: 1. Inhalation induction:

(1) Open drip method : A wire mesh mask is tied with gauze and placed over the patient's mouth and nose. Volatile anesthetics are dripped onto the gauze. The patient inhales the anesthetic vapor and gradually enters an anesthetized state. In the past, it was mainly used for ether anesthesia, but now it is sometimes also used for pediatric anesthesia.

(2) Anesthesia machine mask inhalation induction method : buckle the mask on the patient's mouth and nose, turn on the anesthetic vaporizer, and gradually increase the inhalation concentration. When the patient loses consciousness and enters the third stage of anesthesia, intravenous muscle relaxants can be injected to perform endotracheal intubation. Induction can be accelerated if 60% N2O is inhaled simultaneously.

2. Intravenous induction : Compared with open drip method, it is more comfortable for patients, does not pollute the environment, and is faster than mask inhalation method, but the anesthesia stages are not obvious, the depth is difficult to judge, and it has a greater interference with the circulation. At the same time, the veins need to be opened first, which has certain difficulties for children and uncooperative patients. Pre-oxygenation, denitrification and other treatments are required during implementation.