It is World Anesthesia Day today. It is also called World Anaesthesia Day, National Anaesthesia Day or Ether Day. The day is celebrated annually on October 16 to mark the first successful demonstration of diethyl ether anaesthesia in the year 1846. Not many people know a lot about anaesthesia and this department of medicine holds a lot of interesting facts that will surprise you. For those who do not know, there are four main categories of anaesthesia used during surgery and they are general anaesthesia, regional anaesthesia, sedation aka "monitored anaesthesia care" and local anaesthesia. Sometimes patients get to choose which type of anaesthesia they wan. New Guidelines Say Breastfeeding is Safe After Anaesthesia. 

Here are some of the interesting facts about anaesthesia that will blow your mind: 

  • Some form of anaesthesia is used in more than 100 million surgical procedures performed on Americans every year, but many people are unaware of or overlook the seriousness of anaesthetics, according to The American Society of Anesthesiologists. Artificial intelligence Predicts Patients at Highest Risk for Severe Pain, Increased Opioid Use Post-surgery. 

  • Medical experts do not completely understand the way anaesthesia affects the brain, and sometimes serious complications can occur. According to a recent article in The Wall Street Journal, as more outpatient centres perform surgical procedures with faster-acting anaesthetics, such as propofol, there is an increasing need to better prepare medical staff to prevent and handle anesthesiology emergencies.

  • Before Anesthesia, Patients were Told to “Bite the bullet.” This popular phrase has a meaning that dates back to a time before there was anaesthesia. A wounded patient, often a soldier, would be told to “bite the bullet” while enduring painful surgery without anaesthetic. Aside from bullets, patients were often given sticks, leather straps, and other objects to clench between their jaw during painful procedures.

  • Anesthesia Causes Temporary Amnesia. Anaesthesia activates memory-loss receptors in the brain, which ensures the patient has no memory of the surgery.

  • Smokers May Need Higher Doses of Anesthesia than Nonsmokers. Smokers, as well as people who are regularly exposed to secondhand smoke, may require more anaesthesia than the average non-smoker.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 16, 2020 08:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).