Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Soy in Anesthesia!

Many are unaware of the fact that Propofol, used for anesthesia, contains 10% soybean oil, and 1.2% purified egg phospholipid (emulsifier). This is vital information for those who have allergies to these foods! Be sure to inform your anesthesiologist of your food allergies, and they may suggest alternative options.



Anaphylaxis during general (asleep) anesthesia presents in a similar way but there are three unique features. First, the patient who is asleep cannot tell us about light-headedness or breathlessness which might be early warning symptoms. Second, during a typical general anesthetic, many drugs are given, and it is hardly ever clear which of these drugs have caused the reaction. Third, during anesthesia there are many other potential causes for the blood pressure to be dropping or the air passages to be closing off. A diagnosis of anaphylaxis is therefore not always easy to establish. "

-http://www.netwellness.org/question.cfm/8842.htm

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I just had surgary this week (June 2012) and the anesthesiologist laughed when I insisted that there was soy in some anesthesias. He had a recent graduate there administering the IV and even he was certain there was no soy in any medications. When we pressed and started taking names of the nurses present, he went an dlooked it up. He had to admit that yes Propofol did have soy in it. I told them both- Live a Day learn a Fact. They are not that aware of te soy connection.

Unknown said...

Hello! Thank you for sharing you story. That is crazy they did not know--it can be such a small fact to remember throughout all of med school, but one that can save a life! I'm glad you were very persistent. We can all take your brave actions to heart, and hopefully that empowers someone else to stay strong when they know what may be a threat to their health.

Thanks,
Andrea Garza
FoodAllergyTalk.com