How long nil by mouth before general anaesthetic




















The shock to the body of going through surgery can lead to certain systems of the body stopping, and taking some time to get back to normal. A new surgical approach called Enhanced Recovery ER finds that eating up to six hours before the operation, loading up on high-energy carbohydrate drinks two hours before the operation, and eating as soon as possible after the operation can help speed up recovery.

Another reason for going nil-by-mouth before an operation was the risk that the patient could inhale undigested food that makes its way from the stomach back into the throat, and inhaled into the lungs.

Although there is a risk of choking, it is minimal. The benefits of eating 6 hours before the operation, and taking in high-energy drinks two hours before outweigh the risks of choking. After being nil-by-mouth and going through an operation, a patient can go through dramatic weight-loss. With the patient drinking energy drinks before the operation, and eating as soon as possible afterwards, the body has the energy to recover quicker.

The patient is encouraged to be out of bed and moving as soon as possible. The increased energy and exercise aids recovery. By Topdoctors Surgery. Leave us your contact details and we will call you free of charge.

You can read more about our cookies before you choose. Change my preferences I'm OK with analytics cookies. Theatre staff at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust have exploded the myth of long-standing practices around fasting patients before their operations. The unwritten rules around a perceived need more severe fasting over longer periods are widely accepted and have remained unchallenged for decades.

Not only many staff but also patients and the parents of child patients still think that starvation from midnight prior to surgery is necessary and that it decreases the risk of the operation being cancelled. With times of surgeries sometimes slipping back through the day as emergency patients are slotted in among those who have a pre-planned appointment, this can often leave people without food and drink for very long periods.

The effect in these situations, as an anaesthetist explained to me, is that it is much harder for their bodies to stay strong against the unavoidable onslaught of invasive procedures, anaesthetics and other drugs. It was patient feedback that finally led the trust, the fourth largest acute teaching trust in England, to review their practices. Before having an operation, it's likely that you'll be given either a local or a general anaesthetic.

A local anaesthetic numbs the area being treated, so you do not feel any pain. A general anaesthetic makes you unconscious so you cannot feel anything and you're not aware of what's going on during the operation.

Usually, before having a general anaesthetic , you will not be allowed anything to eat or drink. This is because when the anaesthetic is used, your body's reflexes are temporarily stopped.

If your stomach has food and drink in it, there's a risk of vomiting or bringing up food into your throat. If this happens, the food could get into your lungs and affect your breathing, as well as causing damage to your lungs. The amount of time you have to go without food or drink fast before you have your operation will depend on the type of operation you're having.

However, it is usually at least 6 hours for food, and 2 hours for fluids. You'll be told how long you must not eat or drink for before your operation.



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