Anesthetics are used to help prevent pain during surgical procedures. Common anesthetics are divided in two categories: local and general. Local anesthetics act by blocking certain nerve impulses to the brain that cause pain in a certain area of the body, but does not render the patient unconscious. Local anesthetics are used for dental procedures and other minor operations that typically do not involve major incisions. General anesthetics render the person unconscious. This type of anesthetic is used for more complicated procedures such as heart surgery and appendectomies.
Lidocaine
Lidocaine, a generic drug, is marketed within the United States under the brand names Xylocaine and Lignocaine. This medication is a commonly known local anesthetic used to relieve pain as well as burning and itching of the skin. Patients apply it as a transdermal patch, particularly to help relieve post-herpetic neuralgia, a condition associated with shingles. It also is used in dentistry or in minor surgery. As a patch, lidocaine may induce such common side effects as swelling, burning, redness or discomfort in the area where it is applied, the National Institute of Health states.
Procaine
Procaine is the generic name of another local anesthetic known most commonly as Novocain. Dentists use it to mask the pain of filling or extracting teeth or of other pain-causing procedures. Surgeons use it for minor operations and it may be used to decrease the swelling at penicillin antibiotic injection sites. Common side effects of procaine include a reduced heart rate, nausea, seizures and anxiety, Drugs.com reports.
Nitrous Oxide
This general anesthetic is inhaled and is used in both dentistry and surgery. It is known as "laughing gas" due to the euphoria that the person inhaling it experiences. This led to laughing gas parties in the late 18th century. Today, it is used primarily by dentists, especially for extractions, but also may be used mixed with oxygen for greater anesthetic value. The most serious potential side effect of nitrous oxide is hypoxia or a decrease in the amount of oxygen reaching the brain, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
Propofol
Propofol is a commonly used intravenously administered general anesthetic used in the induction and maintenance of unconsciousness for surgical procedures, Drugs.com reports. It is used also in veterinary medicine, in various human procedures and for the maintenance of patients who are under the effects of mechanical ventilation. Common, nonserious side effects of this medication include dizziness and injection-site pain.
Diethyl Ether
This commonly known anesthetic most often is referred to simply as ether. It was one of the first general anesthetics used in modern medicine. It is used in surgery through inhalation to cause unconsciousness in the patient.
