What are the side effects of local anesthesia?
Side effects of regional or local anesthetics vary depending on the type of anesthetic used and the way it is administered. Anyone who has unusual symptoms following the use of an anesthetic should get in touch with his or her doctor immediately. Paralysis after regional anesthesia, for example an epidural or spinal block, is extremely rare, but can occur. Paralysis reportedly occurs even less frequently than deaths due to general anesthesia. There is a small risk of developing a severe headache called a spinal headache following a spinal or epidural block. This headache is severe when the patient is upright and hardly felt when the patient lies down. Though rare, it can occur and can be treated by performing a blood patch, in which a small amount of the patient’s own blood is injected into the area in the back where the anesthetic was injected. The blood clots and closes up any area that may have been leaking spinal fluid. Relief is almost immediate. Finally, blood clots or abscess ca
