Why use ketamine?
Many medical clinics and physicians will use ketamine as a medication for their patients to induce loss of consciousness. The effects of ketamine include reduced sensation of pain, and sedation. Ketamine is used for therapeutic uses which often include: • Inducing general anesthesia Physicians use ketamine to induce general anesthetics either by itself or with other general anesthetics. It is often used in emergency department settings to provide a short-term sedation when necessary. • Treating pain Practitioners will use low doses which do not produce dissociation to relieve their patient’s severe pain from the following: • Trauma • Fractures • Abdominal pain • Arm or leg pain • Lower back pain • Treating status epilepticus Status epilepticus is when an individual has a seizure and it lasts for longer than 5 minutes or the individual has more than one seizure within the 5-minute timeframe. • Treating depression Physicians will often use ketamine as a substance to quickly relieve depression in their patients who are not responding well to other treatment methods. • Treating anxiety While it has been noted that ketamine has often made significant effects on reducing anxiety in patients when using it for depression, it is encouraged as a treatment for anxiety.