The story of how hospital stays, surgeries became painless and convenient - watsupptoday.com
The story of how hospital stays, surgeries became painless and convenient
Posted 16 Oct 2020 04:01 PM

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The story of how hospital stays, surgeries became painless and convenient

New Delhi, 16-Oct-2020

Medical advancements in the world have really helped reduce mortality rates and improve life expectancy, help people live longer and healthier lives. The cures, treatments, and diagnosis for various diseases that did not exist in the past are now available, and some other developments have made the process of getting such treatments easier, convenient, and painless. From the discovery of penicillin to inching closer to a vaccine for a new virus, in such a short time, the world has moved forward in the field of medicine and how. One such discovery that has made hospital stays, surgeries, and other medical procedures painless and convenient is anaesthesia. Anaesthesia remains relevant even after almost two centuries from its discovery and continues to provide convenience to medical professionals, as well as patients. World Anaesthesia Day is observed on the 16th of October, every year. It is also known as National Anaesthesia Day or Ether Day in some countries. The day commemorates the first successful demonstration of diethyl ether anaesthesia on 16 October 1846.

The world before Anaesthesia
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There was once a time when surgeries were synonymous with pain, knives, and screaming people. Medical professionals were asked to become indifferent to the cries and screams of patients they were performing surgeries on, while the patient lay there, cut open and fully aware of how his/her body was being ripped open. While just the thought and sound of it sounds absurd and uncomfortable, at a point, the only way to provide �anaesthesia� to people was to strangle them till they passed out and surgery could be performed on them, beat them on the head so they lose consciousness, alcohol overdose, and a number of people holding the patient as surgery was performed.

How Anaesthesia came into being
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In the 15th century, however, Paracelsus noticed how ether made household chickens sleep, and awaken, without causing any apparent harm to their health. This gave him the idea that it could be a possible treatment for painful illness. However, ether soon became a cheap drinking alternative, and the thought was lost. While many ideas were conceived to free people of painful treatments, none came into being until 1846, when finally, Willian T. Morton, a dentist, used anaesthesia for the first time, successfully. He performed the first public demonstration of surgical etherization at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA. Morton administered sulfuric ether to Edward Gilbert Abbott (1825-1855) for an operation performed by Boston's leading surgeon John Collins Warren, MD (1778-1856; Hersey Professor of Anatomy and Surgery at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA). Gilbert was aware of his surgery but had no sensation or pain. Reports of surgical and dental operations performed when patients were rendered insensible by the inhalation of ether appeared in newspapers, medical journals, and personal correspondence from Boston's physicians. Ships carried news of etherization to Europe and the rest of the world. The rest, as they say, is history.

The evolution of Anaesthesia
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It has been over 150 years since anaesthesia was used successfully for the first time, and needless to say, it has come a long way since then. Anaesthesia has changed the world of medical care. Various medical procedures, surgeries, and treatments are only possible because of the different degrees of anaesthesia available now. Anaesthesia is now not just able to help in the loss of consciousness of the patient but also helps in muscle relaxation, which helps surgeons perform their work more efficiently and quickly. Administration of anaesthetics has also become easier. Just a simple jab, and the job is done. Surgeons can now also render just a part of the body numb, the one which they have to operate, without making the person lose all consciousness. People today cannot imagine a world without anaesthetics that have made medical care so easy and convenient. So many treatments would not be possible if a pain-free, convenient way to perform surgery or to make hospital stays easier was not found.

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