2007-04-09 17:30:26 · 11 answers · asked by ___________ 4 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Medicine
When a person is under anesthesia the muscles relax including those used in swallowing and the muscles that prevent you from having things go "down the wrong throat" and into the lungs. The fear is the person will vomit and aspirate (swallow) the fluid and food into the lungs, causing aspiration pneumonia which can kill you!!! That is why no food or liquid for at least eight hours or more before the surgery.
2007-04-09 17:42:23 · answer #1 · answered by banananose_89117 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Straight from the anesthesiologist:
We require patients to have an empty stomach to decrease the risk of aspiration (inhaling your vomit) during general anesthesia. When you are asleep, you lose the reflexes that protect your airway. Even if you aren't planning to have a general anesthetic, any anesthetic can turn into a GA in an emergency, so you need to be starved.
Some of the drugs we use can cause nausea and vomiting (opiates and gases, mainly). If you have a Big Mac on board, you're pretty likely to see it again.
When we get patients for emergency surgery who have not fasted, we have to modify the way we put them to sleep and put the breathing tube in. It's not as safe as fasting, but decreases the time that the airway is at risk. Then we put a tube down the throat into the stomach as suck out what we can. Yes, it's gross.
People used to die a lot from complications related to anesthesia, but that is pretty rare these days. Fasting before surgery is one of the reasons why.
2007-04-10 11:45:57 · answer #2 · answered by Pangolin 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Two reasons...
Some anesthesia causes anti-peristalsis of food from your alimentary canal which might go into respiratory system, in which case, the patient would have severe complications...
The second is... in abdominal surgery, it helps to perfom surgery. Furthermore, leakage of food content into peritoneal cavity can cause peritonities which might be lethal.
2007-04-09 23:14:55 · answer #3 · answered by MUKESH G 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You can not eat before having surgery because while you are under anesthesia you could vomit and the choke to death on your own vomit.
2007-04-09 17:51:51 · answer #4 · answered by J C 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
When they relax you for surgery if you have food in your stomach it may flow back in the lungs and cause serious problems for the and the surgeon
2007-04-09 17:40:05 · answer #5 · answered by ML 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Some anesthetics cause vomitting when you have food in your stomach.
Vomitting during surgery is generally considered a bad idea.
2007-04-09 17:39:39 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Food in your stomach can be upset by many anaesthetics. Throwing up whilst anaesthetized can cause unwanted problems during surgery...
2007-04-09 17:40:24 · answer #7 · answered by Gordon B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because the drugs make you vomit. And then you might choke and die. Also if you vomit before surgery, someone has to clean it up. Yuck.
2007-04-09 17:38:34 · answer #8 · answered by huckleberry 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
incase you gag during surgery.
2007-04-09 17:39:02 · answer #9 · answered by ς๏г๒เภ 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
because the anthresia will not work sucessfully on a person with food in the blood stream and it is dangerous for you
2007-04-09 17:39:17 · answer #10 · answered by ninekittys 3 · 0⤊ 3⤋