Sedation for Your Test or Treatment

What is sedation?

Sedation means medicines that make you feel relaxed and may make you sleepy. This can help to make you less worried and can also help you cope with a test or treatment.

Why do I need sedation?

Sometimes you need sedation for a test or treatment at the hospital. This could be because:

• You are worried or distressed about a test or treatment
• A test or treatment is sore or uncomfortable
• We need you to lie very still for a test or treatment.

How will I be given the sedation medicine?

There are different ways sedation medicine can be given:

• A liquid medicine or tablet you can swallow
• A gas (called Entonox) you breathe in through a mouthpiece
• An injection
• Liquid up your nose.

You can sometimes choose how the sedation medicine is given. A doctor will talk to you about this at the hospital. Your wishes are important, and we will work with you to give you the best possible care.

However, sometimes an injection is the only way to give you the sedation medicine. If you need an injection, we can use a cold spray or cream on your skin to numb the area. The cream stays on for 40 minutes to an hour under a clear plaster. The injection involves using a needle to put a small plastic tube into a vein under your skin, usually on the back of your hand or arm. The needle is then taken out, leaving the tube in. The tube does not usually feel sore.

Sometimes the injection is given directly into your arm or leg. If this is the case, cream will be put on the area first so that it does not hurt.

How long do sedatives take to work?

• Liquids and tablets take up to an hour to work
• Gas works straight away
• Injection may make you become sleepy very quickly.

How safe are sedation medicines?

Modern sedation medicines are safe, and complications are rare. The team administering your sedation is trained to look after you if there are any problems during your procedure.

Are there any side effects?

Some young people will feel or be sick. This should only last for a short time. We can give you medicine to help with this. For a young person in good health having a minor test or treatment:

• One in 10 might have a headache, feel sick or dizzy, or be sick
• One in 25 might get so restless that the test or treatment has to be postponed.

What happens if the sedation does not work?

If the sedation medicine does not work, the doctor will either try a different type of sedation or rearrange the test or treatment for another day. The doctor will tell you what will happen next and answer any questions you have.

Pre-admission – when a test or treatment is already planned

Visiting the hospital before the day of the test or treatment
If you would like to, you can visit the hospital before the day of your test or treatment. At this visit you will meet a play specialist, or nurse, who can tell you what will happen on the day of the test or treatment and answer any questions you have.

If you want to come for a pre-admission visit, please call Kingfisher Ward on 01305 254253.

Do I need to tell the hospital anything before I come for my test or treatment?
You should let the hospital know if you have any special needs.

Your parents/carers should phone the hospital if you develop a severe cough or cold OR if you have any contact with infections like chickenpox, measles etc shortly before the day of your test or treatment.

Eating and drinking before the hospital test or treatment
For some tests or treatments for which we need you to have sedation, it is very important that your stomach is as empty as possible. This will mean there is less chance of you being sick during or after sedation. Your doctor will tell you if you need to have an empty stomach. If so, the latest times you can eat or drink are:

Six hours before – you can have a light meal such as cereal, toast, fruit, yoghurt and a glass of milk

Two hours before – you can have a drink of water or diluted juice.

If you take regular medicines, you will be told if you can take these.

If you are already in the hospital

You will usually be involved in making decisions about your test or treatment. We will talk to you about your test or treatment and answer any questions you have.

Eating and drinking before the hospital test or treatment
A doctor or nurse will tell you what you can eat or drink and when you can do this. You must not eat or drink anything else.

At the hospital for a test or treatment

Seeing a doctor or nurse before the test or treatment
A doctor or nurse will talk to you before the test or treatment. They will ask you or your parents/carers such things as:

• Are you well?
• Have you had sedation before?
• Are you taking any medicines?
• Are you allergic to anything?

They will talk about the type of sedation medicine you will be having, and you can ask about any concerns you have – it might help to make a list of questions you want to ask.

Occasionally, the doctor or nurse will learn something about you that means that it would not be safe to carry out the test or treatment that day. This could happen if you have a bad cold or have eaten too recently.

After your sedation medicine

• You might feel sleepy. This means the medicine has worked
• You can do something quiet, like reading or listening to music
• Your parents/carers will be present until the sedation takes effect. They can often stay with you whilst you have your test or treatment.

After the test or treatment

You will usually go to a recovery area or back to your bed in the hospital. A nurse will look after you until you are well enough to go back home

Going home

If you go home on the same day as your test or treatment:

• You might have some pain or be a bit sore. The hospital will advise what medicine you can have at home
• You should eat a light meal or snack and have a drink. Do not have a large amount to eat or drink
• You might feel or be sick after leaving the hospital.

About this leaflet

Author: Hannah Howell, Paediatric Advanced Nurse Practitioner
Written: January 2022
Approved: May 2022
Review date: May 2025
Edition: v1

If you have feedback regarding the accuracy of the information contained in this leaflet, or if you would like a list of references used to develop this leaflet, please email patientinformation.leaflets@dchft.nhs.uk