Is general anesthesia the same as a coma?

General anesthesia is, in fact, a reversible drug-induced coma. Nevertheless, anesthesiologists refer to it as “sleep” to avoid disquieting patients. Unfortunately, anesthesiologists also use the word “sleep” in technical descriptions to refer to unconsciousness induced by anesthetic drugs.

What is the difference between heavy sedation and induced coma?

Sedation, on the other hand, puts the patient in a “semi-conscious state” rather than a very deep unconscious state, allowing the patient to be comfortable during surgery with minimal side effects. Sedation can be administered in ASCs and physician offices, whereas medically induced comas are only appropriate in ICUs.

Will I wake up from general anesthesia?

After the procedure When the surgery is complete, the anesthesiologist reverses the medications to wake you up. You’ll slowly wake either in the operating room or the recovery room. You’ll probably feel groggy and a little confused when you first wake.

What is the difference between anesthesia and a coma?

Anesthesia is a temporary state which usually lasts almost as long as the surgery itself (or slightly longer), whereas coma is caused by brain damage and lasts for a longer amount of time. Doctors usually can’t tell whether someone will recover from a coma or not.

How does general anesthesia work?

General anesthesia uses specific drugs to make the patient completely unconscious and unresponsive (an induced coma), making the patient unable to feel pain or remember their procedure. The coma is so deep that the patient loses control of their reflexes and autonomic nervous system.

What is the difference between sleep coma and coma?

Sleep and Coma Coma is a state in which a person wouldn’t be able to survive for a long time without help from doctors and nurses. Although some people can be partially aware while in a coma, it is a state in which the brain is not working properly – and a person can’t be ‘woken up’ from a coma like they can from sleep.

What is the difference between sleep and anesthesia?

EEG taken from Watson et al. The main difference between sleep and anesthesia is that sleep occurs naturally whereas anesthesia happens only if certain drugs are administered. Those drugs make people unconscious by ‘breaking’ nerve circuits that make us conscious.