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The great concern of women when they discover pregnancy is in relation to childbirth. Some go through 9 months of total anxiety, fear and total insecurity of the unknown and try to imagine what this moment will be like. Others already safe and decided of what they want, do not even think about it at the moment, leaving it to live only when the time comes. However, if the woman has knowledge on the subject and in relation to some care during cesarean section , for example, many discomforts can be avoided, such as post-spinal headache.
Post-spinal headache or post-spinal anesthesia headache as it is also called by doctors occurs in some cases after the performance of cesarean section due to the lower internal pressure of the skull , gaining the name of CSF hypotension. As the spinal cord is an anesthesia used to perform cesarean delivery, as well as in other surgeries such as curettage , vascular, urological and other gynecological surgeries, it should be noted that some symptoms are present, which are considered normal after a few hours of the procedure .
Many people believe they have acquired the problem of headaches and severe migraines after performing some surgery where spinal anesthesia was used, but studies have already shown that post-spinal headache pain is totally different from the common headaches that humans suffers throughout his life. And the big difference can be seen even in posture, as the post-spinal headache disappears completely as soon as the woman lies down and returns instantly as soon as she sits or gets up, unlike conventional headaches that even lying still latent. The pain usually points to the front of the head and the back as a strong pressure.
Why does it occur and what is the treatment for post-spinal headache?
During the application of spinal anesthesia, a needle is inserted into the meninges where an analgesic is inserted into the subarachnoid space, being injected directly into the cerebrospinal fluid. Instantly causing the blockage of the nervous system and loss of movement and sensitivity of the lower body, causing the navel downwards to feel absolutely nothing. Studies indicate that the major cause of post-spinal headaches is linked to the thickness or gauge of the needle used to perform anesthesia and the age of the woman undergoing the procedure. Higher are the rates in younger women and also in the experience of the anesthesiologist to be applied.
If you are already with the surgical procedure or scheduled cesarean delivery, be sure to make an appointment with the anesthetist and clarify all your doubts regarding before and after, to prepare for the post-procedure symptoms. This will give you peace of mind and knowledge about care, risks and how they can be avoided. It is worth remembering that the risks of intoxication due to the use of the spinal cord are almost zero, but may present a slight difficulty in breathing after the application, which is easily remedied by the medical team.
After the end of the surgery, some precautions are recommended precisely to reduce the risks of post-spinal headache or even so that other discomforts and complications do not arise. The doctor himself will ask you not to try to get up or move around and lift your head for a few hours , where the patient will be in a recovery room being watched until the anesthesia starts to wear off and her sensitivity starts to return. Some women during recovery feel a strong urge to urinate and as they cannot get up, they have the problem remedied through a small tube that will painlessly empty their bladder and believe it brings great relief.
Treatment for post-spinal headache is simple and depends only on the patient. In addition to the use of common pain relief medications such as paracetamol, rest is essential . The patient should take absolute rest and avoid getting up, stretching and moving around too much and the ingestion of too much liquid will help in the recovery and improvement of the condition. In 98% of cases, this treatment is fully effective. If the condition continues, the doctor should be consulted for analysis and indication of an alternative treatment. In some cases, epidural blood may be requested, where blood is removed from the arm and placed at the location where the spinal was applied, filling the space left by the anesthesia. The procedure takes about 20 to 30 minutes and resolves the problem promptly.
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See also: Spinal Anesthesia – Clarifying Myths
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
