Nutrition after anesthesia

General anesthesia during surgery is often necessary. Therefore, nutrition after general anesthesia is a fairly common issue. It is known that its effect on the body does not pass without a trace, and therefore requires proper rehabilitation in the first days after it. The speed of recovery of the human body depends not only on the attending physicians, but also on the serious approach to this issue of the patient. What is allowed to eat after any operation, and what should be discarded will be discussed in this article.

Diet after anesthesia - why is it needed

Quite often, doctors give their patient a special memo about what you can eat after anesthesia. But why stick to such diets, especially since they have a lot of restrictions for a person who does not have serious diseases.

It is a specially selected diet that helps a person restore all the trace elements in the body, which at this time will be lacking. These include: vitamins, proteins, minerals, as well as the body is required in the replenishment of fluid.

It is in the first few hours and days that the patient has to adhere to a special diet. Nutrition after anesthesia will also help ensure its proper metabolism. If the operation was performed in relation to the organs of the digestive tract, then a more severe restriction in food will be required.

The biggest problem is that anesthesia artificially inhibits any reaction of the human central nervous system, and not just pain. In this case, there are different types of anesthesia: superficial, light, deep and very deep. They are selected by anesthesiologists depending on the complexity of the operation and the individual tolerance of a person to anesthetics.

After getting out of anesthesia, a person remains inert, inhibited for some time, his systems are just starting to work at the same pace.

It is for this reason that proper nutrition is so important, which will not burden the human body and will help to avoid unpleasant consequences during recovery.

Strict prohibitions regarding food intake in the first days after anesthesia

Such recommendations must be followed, since quite serious consequences are possible, including complications. Often, malnutrition after anesthesia during operations leads to poor health, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness and fever.

Prohibited foods after surgery:

• Milk in any form, even if it is skimmed;
• Carbonated drinks, as they affect gas formation in the organs of the digestive tract and can disrupt the body after anesthesia;
• Cereals and other foods that contain a lot of fiber;
• Eat less sweets - chocolate, sugar, syrups, drinks.

How to eat right after surgery and anesthesia

Depending on what kind of operation was performed, experts make some restrictions on food intake. If the surgical intervention concerned the digestive organs, then after how much you can eat after the operation, the doctor determines in each case, depending on the transfer of the operation and the withdrawal from anesthesia. As a rule, in such cases, in the first 4 days, you can not drink water and take food through the mouth.

Be sure to appoint a special diet, taking into account the nature of the operation and the consequences after it. In most cases, it looks like this:

• The first 4 days after the operation - eat only liquid food (very liquid cereals, low-fat soups, drink compotes);
• Semi-liquid meals are introduced gradually after this time. What can you eat after anesthesia in this case: liquid soups with a small addition of potatoes and cereals, which are pre-crushed or pounded, liquid kazhy (except pearl barley and corn);
• After this time, you can gradually introduce ordinary food in a pureed form.

Even in those cases where the operation was not too long and complicated, after anesthesia it is necessary to follow a diet for about 7-10 days. As for water, it can be drunk already an hour after the operation and the restoration of human consciousness. If there are other instructions from the anesthesiologist, then they should be followed.

It is correct to take water in the following order. At first, the patient is asked to take only a few sips, gradually increasing the amount of her intake after a certain time.

How long can you eat after general anesthesia in cases where the operation was not difficult? Eating is allowed already 5 hours after the complete withdrawal from anesthesia, this is checked by a doctor. In this case, you should adhere to the following diet:

1. More chicken or turkey broths.
2. If desired, you can eat jelly, preferably not very sweet and without the addition of fruit.
3. Eat mashed soups.
4. Boiled rice porridge is one of the best ways to eat during this time, but don't overdo it.

When asked whether it is possible to eat after anesthesia in the usual volume, doctors give a categorical refusal. You need to eat in small portions and at least 7 times a day, that is, every 2 hours. Such a diet can last from 5 to 15 days, depending on the complexity of the operation, the speed of recovery of the body and the absence of other side effects.

Fast recovery after anesthesia

After the anesthetic ceases to act, the body gradually begins to return to its normal rhythm of work. At this time, it is important not to disrupt this process, but rather to help improve the functioning of systems. Therefore, when you can eat after general anesthesia, it is better not only to ask your doctor, but also yourself.

It is advisable to assess your well-being. If it is good enough, and the person is energetic within a few hours after the operation, then strict diets may not be necessary. In other cases, it is worth paying more attention to what a person eats. If you do not follow certain rules, you can provoke a slowdown in the healing process and other complications.

A person’s positive attitude, desire and adherence to the recommendations of specialists will help to quickly recover from anesthesia. It is also very important, in addition to proper nutrition, to observe a calm regimen after the operation for at least a week. In some cases, you will need to do special exercises, so you should be extremely careful with what you can eat after anesthesia.

Solid food after anesthesia

There may be quite a lot of controversial points among specialists regarding how long it takes to eat any solid food after anesthesia. It is introduced into the patient's diet in the first days after anesthesia, but gradually and not in large portions. Be sure to take into account the individual characteristics of a person, if after eating such food he becomes worse, then it is advisable to abandon it for a while.

When the first week after the operation comes to an end, you can start adding solid foods to your food in small quantities. In the first days, do not exceed the norm of 30-50 g of such food.

What applies to solid food after surgery:

• Meat (it is desirable to use white meat, it is easier to digest by the body);
• Mushrooms (experts recommend using not very slimy mushrooms and without third-party impurities, they should be boiled, not fried);
• Fish (any white fish without adding a lot of salt);
• Vegetables and fruits (introduced no earlier than 4-5 days after the operation).

How soon can you eat these foods after anesthesia? You can eat meat no earlier than 2 days after surgery, start with very small portions. It is advisable to eat mushrooms already a week after the operation, and fish can be eaten for 3-4 days, also in small portions. Slowly increase the amount of food every day.

What to do if the patient begins vomiting, nausea or dizziness? If this happens at home, then you must first put the person on a soft surface, then give him some water. If there is a suspicion of problems with the stomach (at the same time, an operation was not performed on it), then you can dilute half a bag of smecta in warm water and give the patient a little drink. After that, contact your doctor and consult.

It is not advisable to induce vomiting on your own, the condition can only worsen. How soon after anesthesia can you eat, given such reactions of the body? Everything depends only on individual abilities, then if a similar situation arose, then it is necessary to transfer the person again only to liquid nutrition - light liquid soups or liquid rice porridge on the water.

The main thing after any operation is proper nutrition. It should be balanced, you need to eat in small portions and often enough. How long after anesthesia you can eat regular food depends only on the speed of the person's rehabilitation process. Someone may need 10-15 days, and some 15-20.