When can you eat after anesthesia?

If you are about to undergo surgery or have recently had it, this guide will be of great help to you, allowing you to know the keys to good and correct nutrition both in the pre-operative and post-operative period: choosing the right foods helps the body to cope with the surgery and to recover quickly and in an optimal way.

WHEN CAN YOU EAT AFTER ANESTHESIA?

After general anesthesia, it is recommended to resume fluid and food intake after approximately 6 hours.
With regional anesthesia, 1 or 2 hours are sufficient.
If, however, you are subjected to local anesthesia, you can start eating again immediately after the operation, obviously gradually, starting by drinking water in small sips, in a semi-seated position, and then moving on to easily digestible foods.

Planning your recovery after surgery is essential to getting back to normal.

A surgical intervention involves an organic aggression that weakens the patient, to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the type of intervention and the characteristics of the patient, his or her age, general condition and the functioning of his or her organs and systems.

To the aggressiveness that the operation itself implies, it is necessary to add the effect caused by the anaesthetic drugs needed to be able to operate on the patient comfortably.

WHAT CAN YOU EAT AFTER ANESTHESIA?

After surgery, it is common for discomfort and pain to appear in the affected area.

Depending on the type of surgery, we will receive guidelines to follow to facilitate the recovery of our body and eating is part of this recovery plan.

Post-anesthesia nutrition consists of going back to eating solid foods and drinking liquids, even though you probably won't feel like doing so when you wake up.

However, it is important to follow your doctor's instructions so that your body can function normally again. Your stomach and intestines are one of the last parts of your body to recover from the effects of surgery medications, so you will probably need to drink only liquids at first.

When the activity of the stomach and intestines returns to show signs of activity, you will be able to eat solid foods. However, this process is very variable, depending on the type of surgery you undergo, the age of the patient and the physical condition.

CAN YOU EAT AFTER DEEP SEDATION?

Although sedation and general anesthesia are both forms of anesthesia, and sedation is a component of general anesthesia, they are different from each other.

Patients under general anesthesia have a complete loss of consciousness. This means that the patient will not feel or remember anything. To achieve this momentary loss of consciousness, a mixture of agents is needed. Instead, a state somewhere between being very sleepy, relaxed but not unconscious, are the characteristics of sedation. Patients will not feel pain, but will be aware of what is happening around them.

As an advantage, the harmful effects that can be associated with general anesthesia are avoided with sedation. On the other hand, patients retain their natural physiological reflexes and are able to breathe on their own.

Is it possible to eat after deep sedation? The answer is yes. As in cases of local and general anesthesia, even for sedation, the reintegration of liquids and solid foods must be gradual. It begins with the intake of water in small doses because nausea and vomiting, possible effects of sedation, could cause many problems to the patient.

Depending on the type of surgery you have undergone, your doctor will prescribe a specific diet. Here are some examples:

• Absolute diet: do not eat any type of food, not even liquids.
• Liquid foods: These are generally recommended after digestive surgery, as well as in cases where the patient has difficulty chewing and/or swallowing after surgery.
• Semi-liquid diet: in many cases it is a "transition" diet between a liquid diet and a soft diet. It facilitates digestion as it is low in fiber and fat.
• Soft diet: low gastric stimulation. It is indicated when the digestive system needs to work little to recover.
• Basal diet: the patient does not require specific dietary indications and can follow a varied diet. The goal is for it to be a balanced diet that meets the nutritional and caloric needs of the patient.

Except in the absolute diet, where no food is ingested, hydration is important. Drinking plenty of fluids, preferably water, is a fundamental rule .

There are surgeries where diet is crucial to the surgery. After cancer tumor surgery, the postoperative diet will help prevent and/or reverse malnutrition.

If you are undergoing surgery on your digestive tract, your diet is essential to help your digestion adapt to the new situation in your intestines.
Normally, you can proceed with the reintroduction of solid foods a few hours after the operation.

It is essential that the first intakes are free of stimulants or spicy foods, the foods must be smooth and digestible in consistency to aid digestion.
Hydration is an essential aspect to aid the body's recovery. It is recommended to drink water rather than any other liquid .

In any case, in the days before and after the administration of the anesthesia, it is recommended to follow a diet with highly digestible foods that includes:

• Low-fat foods.
• Low gastric stimulation foods (unseasoned, without hot spices or acids).
• Avoid stimulants (coffee, tea, caffeinated drinks, etc.), as they can increase blood pressure.
• Prefer light cooking: steamed, grilled or boiled foods, avoid fried foods!
• Avoid alcohol.

If we choose the right foods, we can help our body cope with the surgery and recover easily and optimally. Surgery makes us vulnerable and exposed to infections.

Just as we adapt our diet to physical activity, we need to help our bodies prepare for and recover from surgery, and nutrition plays a key role here.