What are the side effects associated with Spinal or Epidural Blocks?
Common side effects of epidurals are usually mild and can be minimized or avoided with careful monitoring and special precautions. It is not unusual for a patient’s blood pressure to drop slightly following an epidural. Some patients shiver while in labor or following an epidural. Although the reasons are unknown, this is usually brief and will go away without treatment. After the epidural catheter is removed, many women can feel with their hands the little spot where the epidural needle was inserted. Although the skin heals very quickly, the ligaments under the skin can take up to two months to heal. I have a tattoo on my lower back. Can I still get a spinal or epidural? Assuming that they are healthy otherwise, women with tattoos can still get a regional anesthetic. The concern, in theory, is that the needle tip could carry ink from the tattoo into the epidural or spinal space and cause a reaction. However, tattoo ink is hypoallergenic and is permanently fixed into the skin cells, so
