Why we need to fast for general anaesthesia

So whichever anesthetic technique will be chosen for your surgery, whether it's a general anesthetic, sedation, injection in your lower back, you'll be asked to be fasted for six hours for solid food and two hours for clear fluids. So by clear fluids we mean you can have a black coffee, a black tea, water, glucose aid. And we do encourage patients to have fluid up to two hours before the surgery, because we do recognise now that it's better to not be completely with an empty stomach. So we know that now it's important to have had fluid, clear fluid, up to two hours before the surgery, and we do encourage our patients to drink up to that time. After the surgery, depending on which surgery you have, you will probably be allowed to have a few sips of water after the procedure, so in recovery generally, and depending on the surgery and if the surgeon allows you to eat, you'll be able to have a light meal about one or two hours after the surgery.