Why do headaches occur after epidural anesthesia?

1 What is epidural anesthesia

When applying epidural therapy, special drugs are used that are injected into the epidural space. The drug begins to act after the drugs, penetrating through the hard shell of the spinal cord, begin to affect the nerve endings and thereby block the pain. After the introduction of the drug into the woman's body, the latter loses pain and general sensitivity, there is a complete relaxation of the muscles.

As well as for other types of anesthesia, thus such means, as Novokain and Lidocaine are used. If additional drugs are needed, analgesics with narcotic effects are used, but in some countries the use of these drugs for anesthesia is prohibited.

This anesthetic is used to alleviate pain in women during labor or in the event of complications in childbirth. Spinal anesthesia is also used for various inflammations that occur in the area of ​​the roots of the spinal cord or in the area of ​​the intervertebral discs. If a patient is assigned a laparotomy, then this method is in addition to the general anesthesia. If there are pains in the back, this anesthetic is used to eliminate pain.

2 Advantages and disadvantages of

Like many methods that are aimed at getting rid of pain, the procedure has its advantages and disadvantages.

If we talk about the merits of epidural therapy, then the main thing is that when the method is used during childbirth, the woman remains fully conscious. If we compare this anesthetic with other procedures, then unlike other anesthesia( for example, endotracheal anesthesia), the organs remain intact and are not exposed to harmful substances. After anesthesia, patients do not experience a sharp drop in pressure, hemodynamic parameters remain normal, and no abnormal disturbances are noticed.

When epidural anesthesia is used during childbirth, when entering substances, a woman can not worry about the condition of the baby - this does not affect the newborn in any way.

As for the minuses of this procedure, there are a lot of them too. For example, when anesthesia is applied between a child and a mother, communication is broken, hormones that the child needs at this time stop producing.

Often after epidural analgesia, severe headaches are observed in patients, this is due to leakage of cerebrospinal fluid in the epidural area. With the introduction of a large amount of pain medication, pain may occur or a function of the body may be disturbed.

Another drawback of this method is that after its application, subarachnoid hemorrhage and various allergic reactions may occur.

3 The onset of headaches

Headache after spinal anesthesia is the most common pain symptom. For the introduction of the drug, a spinal needle is used which, when penetrating into the dura mater, leads to the outflow of cerebrospinal fluid. As a result of this process, there is a violation of intracranial pressure, which is why the head begins to hurt. If there is a violation in the operation of the cervical canals, pain can also occur in the neck.

Painful sensations depend on the size of the puncture and the amount of cerebrospinal fluid lost.

Headache that occurs after the application of epidural anesthesia, refers to a number of complications that caused the procedure.

For surgical intervention with this type of anesthesia, the patient must:

• 7 hours not to eat food and water;
• remove dentures, if any;
• quit smoking 6 hours before the procedure.

If you comply with all these rules, the risk of complications during intervention with therapy is significantly reduced.

Before such procedures, a specialist who will perform spinal anesthesia, the patient should tell about all the existing diseases. This will help the doctor determine the choice of the drug for the use of anesthesia and prevent complications after its use. Also, the risk of a headache is reduced.

In order to alleviate the symptoms and get rid of complications during or after the procedure, specialists use a small diameter needle, which greatly affects the process of leakage of cerebrospinal fluid.

If you compare the consequences after using anesthesia, the pain with spinal anesthesia manifests less often than after a general anesthesia. This is all due to the fact that substances and drugs that are administered to a patient during anesthesia have minimal effect on the human body.

This anesthetic does not work as much on a person as other types of anesthesia, which makes it very difficult to withdraw. Pain after spinal anesthesia is quite rare.

4 Treatment of headache after anesthesia

After using drugs that are used during epidural anesthesia, patients often have a headache. It is worth noting that there is no specific and specific treatment for getting rid of such symptoms. The main thing that must be observed after anesthesia - bed rest. It is best at this time a person to be in a horizontal position. Before using spinal anesthesia, the patient is strictly forbidden to drink drinks and eat food. Therefore, after the procedure, it is necessary to drink as much water as possible in order to restore the water balance in the body. It is allowed to use tea or coffee, but in small quantities.

If the headaches after spinal anesthesia are strong enough, the doctor may prescribe medication.

For example, you can take drugs such as Citramon or Paracetamol, they quickly and perfectly help in dealing with such pains after applying spinal anesthesia.

If the headaches do not disappear after anesthesia, then you need to see a doctor who will prescribe the necessary treatment. Usually, in such cases, such treatment as an epidural blood patch is prescribed. This procedure should be done by an anesthesiologist. The procedure is that the blood that is taken from the human vein is injected into the place where the epidural therapy was performed. In order to get rid of the headache, one such procedure suffices. Rarely, there are cases when it may be necessary to re-conduct the procedure. But after using this method of treatment, complications can arise which can cause quite serious consequences. There may be a bleeding or a sensitivity disorder.