Although being hungry and thirsty is quite annoying, the most important reason for this is not to encounter any problems during the surgery.
But what does surgery have to do with what we eat and drink?
What is the connection between anesthesia and the digestive system?
The digestive system comes into play during general anesthesia, which disables all conscious functions of the body and prevents us from staying awake during surgery.
If you have food in your stomach during anesthesia, it can leak into the esophagus or, even worse, into the lungs. Normally, while the digestive system continues to work, our swallowing and vomiting reflexes prevent stomach acid from rising up. However, during general anesthesia, these reflexes are temporarily disabled.
It is required for the safety of the lungs.
If there is food or liquid in your stomach and these contents mix with the respiratory tract, aspiration means that the stomach contents escape into the respiratory tract. This can lead to serious lung problems such as pneumonia.
Particularly acidic stomach content causes damage to lung tissues and can cause health problems that are very difficult to treat. In order to minimize these risks, it is recommended that the stomach be empty while under anesthesia.
How many hours before the surgery can we eat anything?
Regardless of the time of your surgery during the day, we are not asked to eat anything after 12 at night. Generally, this period is considered to be 6-8 hours as the ideal time for the stomach to empty all its contents.
Of course, those with diabetes and those who need to take regular medication may be especially uneasy about the ban on eating and drinking, but your doctor will make the best decision. When going through an anesthesia check before the surgery, you should state your health condition and act under the supervision of a doctor.
Remember that although it is very difficult to stay hungry, the aim is to protect our health and prevent possible dangers.
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