Cold/ sore throat before general aneasthetic?

[Hayls]

Can anybody advise? I've ben waiting for an op for ages and is due tot ake place on WEdnesday. The letter says I should contac them if I have an acute illness, cold or sore throat as they may have to postpone it. THis mornign I have woken up with a sore throat- feel fine but throat is a bit sore.
ANy advice on what I should do or what is likely to happen? I really don't want it to be cancelled!!

BUMp, sorry!

Maybe see how you feel tomorrow?

Is the op one with GA? I think the issue with sore throats may be that it would make intubating you more painful? Not sure.

It is a GA, NQC. I@ve already had to cancel it becuase I found out I was pg (then had mc though [sad) and I really don't want to cancel it again. I cant find any useful information on the internet at all. I feel OK, just a slight sore throat that isn't as bad as it was this morning- think I slept with my mouth open all night but when I had a drink it improved...just tickles a bit now (looks a bit pink too)
Just wondering how serious it is if I am 'ill' during a GA!

It can be very serious. I would call the hospital tomorrow and find out. Better safe etc etc. I know you don't want to postpone it, but if things go wrong with a GA, they can go very wrong.

Yep, I am going to phone them in the morning and find out what the situation is. There's no way I want to go ahead if it's risky and if they have notice then I guess someone else can have my slot if i can't have the op, much as it kills me to say it! Hopefully I'll feel fine in the morning and it can go ahead. I just wondered what others' experiences, if any, were so I knew how likely it was to be cancelled.

I do know that while you are under your body does not fight any infection and so you can be very, very porrly afterwards as your immune system is unable to act while all the nasty germs are attacking you while under.

My ex-step-FiL had a chesty cough before an op and he was very, very ill with a severe chest infection afterwards which he ended up being kept in for.

The anaesthatist will make the descision. general bloods are normally taken,you wont have to make the descsion. Hope it goes ok.

Hayls - this happened to me recently. I was due to have my tonsils out (2nd appt as blood count was too low the first time) but I had to call the hospital on Saturday before the Monday i was due in (appt was 7am)and they told me to come in immediately as my throat was really painful. I waited 1.5 hours, the oncall doc took one look down my throat and said she would cancel my op as i had an infection.

I was told to take ibuprofen every 4 hours until my next op and given antibiotics (on standby) incase i felt bad before the next op, which i did have to take. I wasn't feeling on top of the world on the day of my op, but provided you are not really sickly, in my experience, they usually do the op. Obviously every surgeon and every patient is different, but as Eviematildasmum said, it will be upto the anaesthatist.

I hope you're feeling better by Wednesday and that your op goes ahead - i know what it's like to wait and work yourself up for nothing. Arranging my ds was the hardest and most stressful thing i think. I did however get a post op infection 3 days later and felt like death warmed up, but am back to work tomorrow and feeling ok. Good luck. x

Thanks again. Chocol8, hope you are Ok now!
I rang pre admission this morning to ask for soem advice- throat still looks a bit red but isn't sore and I feel a bit tired and pre-cold symptoms iyswim. She said not to worry but to phone tomorrow afternoon if I feel any worse.
Keeping fingers crossed that I get better and the op can go ahead...

Hayls, my ds is going in for an op tomorrow and he developed a cough on Friday,he only seems to cough 1st thing in the morning so i rang general admissions this morning and they said as long as he doesn't have a chest infection or a temp he should be fine but they will make a decision tomorrow, so hopefully the same applys to you. Hope the op goes ok.xx

Hi. Could I ask what happened as im in the same situation now!

it depends very much on what operation it is/how urgent it is/when it is/how unwell you are/what your general health is like/is there an alternative to GA. Best bet is to contact pre-assessment ahead of the date if there's time. If there's no time (ie the surgery is on Monday morning) and you feel generally well then probably go in, but understanding that they may postpone. If you're generally unwell (fevers/off food/myalgic) they're more likely to think postponing is safer, but it depends on all the details. Might be worth thinking about getting a covid/flu test if either seem like possibilities.