General anesthesia is a standard combination of various drugs, which makes the patient unconsciousness, stops the sensitivity towards pain and paralyzes the muscles of the body for the surgeon to perform the surgical procedures easily. If the patient regains consciousness during the surgery, then he/she may be able to hear the conversation, feel, touch and become aware of their surrounding. But, they can not express themselves (unable to speak) or even cry for help as their muscle cells are paralyzed. Depending upon the degree of awareness, Anesthesia awareness could be horrible and troublesome experience. Some people may develop post traumatic stress disorder, which needs to be treated well.

But, nowadays, modern computerized equipments are used to monitor and detect the awareness during general anesthesia. Anesthesiologist also takes all the essential and required measures to prevent anesthesia awareness and continuously check for the signs of possible awareness during the surgery.

But, every person responds differently to anesthesia. Some people require mild dose whereas some require heavy dose of anesthesia to become unconsciousness. Some person' s health situation allows them to have a low dose of anesthesia only. So, if you feel that you may have awareness problem or have had some past experiences of awareness, discuss it with your doctor in advance to prevent problems.