“Can anesthesia cause diarrhea?”
After general anesthesia I have diarrhea. Is it okay? Should I see a doctor?
2 Answers
Generally speaking, general anesthesia is not associated with diarrhea following a surgical procedure. As a matter of fact, the medications associated with general anesthesia (particularly narcotics used for pain control during and after surgery) are much more commonly associated with constipation. Because of this problem with constipation, many patients are placed on a stool softener (e.g., "Colace") after surgery. If a patient is sensitive to a stool softener, they may develop diarrhea.
There can be exceptions, but they are uncommon. Other factors may also be associated with postoperative diarrhea, including the surgery site (e.g., surgery on the stomach/intestines may cause postoperative diarrhea) and antibiotics used to prevent surgical wound infections (may cause an unusual bacterial overgrowth in the large intestine known as pseudomembranous colitis). If your diarrhea persists more than a day after surgery, or if you have fever/chills or blood in your diarrhea, you should contact your surgeon, primary care physician, or anesthesiologist.
There can be exceptions, but they are uncommon. Other factors may also be associated with postoperative diarrhea, including the surgery site (e.g., surgery on the stomach/intestines may cause postoperative diarrhea) and antibiotics used to prevent surgical wound infections (may cause an unusual bacterial overgrowth in the large intestine known as pseudomembranous colitis). If your diarrhea persists more than a day after surgery, or if you have fever/chills or blood in your diarrhea, you should contact your surgeon, primary care physician, or anesthesiologist.
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