What is epidural analgesia?

epidural analgesia is one of the possibilities to master pain during labor. It is a local anesthetic injected to the lower back. The function is to anest the nerves in the pelvis and legs. As with all anesthetics, epidural analgesia prevents the brain in trauma and pain occurring in the body.

Epidural analgesia is performed by a trained physician or nurse. The patient must sit on the side of her hospital bed or lie on her side to detect her lower back. First, the patient gets a shot of novocaine to dull his back. Then the nurse or doctor will inject a long needle into a very small area around the nerves in the spine, called the epidural space. The thin tube, called the catheter, is then crushed with the needle and the needle is removed. The catheter is connected to the pump, which is set to supply anesthesia throughout the work.

There are different types of epidurals. The types are separated in two categories. The first category is local anesthetics. Bupivacaine hydrochloride, Ropivacaine hydrochlorideThe pubs and hydrochloride lingocaine are examples of epidural local anesthetics. The second category is opiods that include morphine and fentanyl.

The benefits of the epidural are mostly concentrated around pain relief. Pain relief helps not only during the most intense pain pain, but also is also done during early work. It is not uncommon for work to last long, especially for the first pregnancy. Pain relief in early work can help the patient rest. Epidural analgesia can also speed up work by releasing anxiety mothers. Finally, the epidural is useful if the emergency section needs to be carried out because the patient is already numb.

Any procedure performed in or around the spinal chord comes with a risk, no matter how routine. All needles are sterile in the hospital, but it does not prevent all incidentats infection. The infection is rare, but can cause paralysis and even death.There is also a risk that epidural injections damage the nerve or will be injected too high. The examples are again very rare, but if the epidural is placed in the spinal cord, it may permanently affect the patient's ability to breathe.

There are several other disadvantages of the epidural. Epidural analgesia prevents the patient from feeling when her bladder is full, and therefore a catheter is required to release the bladder. It also increases the chance that fever occurs during childbirth, which can cause problems for the child. Epidural also weakens contractions, so that more drugs may be needed to strengthen them.

Another risk that needs to be considered is that the child can get stuck in a crooked position during birth, but due to numbness the patient cannot move to adjust the position of her child. There is also a higher chance of needing episiotomy, vacuum or pliers to help work. One of the more rare risks ofpidural analgesia is that it can cause a headache headache one to two days afterbirth. If this happens, the patient will have to return to the hospital to relieve.

Every body reacts uniquely to epidural analgesia. Some patients react very well and lose their feeling under the waist in minutes, allowing them to relax comfortably. Other patients continue to feel pain and pressure, even though they have lost their feet. There is no way to say how someone will respond to epidural analgesia.