What are the side effects of epidurals and spinals?
• Complications of spinal and epidural anesthesia include neurologic changes, headache, backache, and unexplained cardiac arrest. Backache associated with these techniques is usually transient in nature, but may occur in up to 20% of cases. Epidurals also carry risk associated with the fact that more medication has to be given for the epidural. If this medication is given into a blood vessel or into the spinal fluid, seizures or temporary paralysis may occur. In an effort to prevent these complications, the anesthesiologist may administer a small “test dose” of medication and then gives epidural medications in small, repeated increments rather than in one large dose.
