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I've been trying to post these entries for a while but various things have made that impossible. You're going to get a bumper crop over the next few days - don't think it's always going to be like this because it won't! 
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Apologies for what follows but you’re probably used to my graphic rambling by now...
Anaesthetics is a sweaty business. At least, it is for me. At the moment, I’m finding that there’s usually at least one case per day that really makes me sweat and I’m not just referring to those patients where things suddenly go awry – the physical nature and concentration required for some of the stuff we do makes me, erm, damp. : S
It’s a bloody good thing I wear a t-shirt under my scrubs top because I’d have been the talk of theatre after my last central line placement! I was absolutely soaked and, once I’d cooled down a bit, more than a little uncomfortable. It doesn’t help that central line insertion is an aseptic affair and requires that you wear gown, gloves, mask and hat (yes, and the rest of the clothes you were wearing beforehand – how old
are you?
) but the biggest reason for the level of perspiration is the simple fact that it’s ridiculously easy to screw up the procedure and cause quite major damage to the patient. Put simply, it’s scary stuff! The thought of inadvertently cannulating the artery or causing a pneumothorax means that I’m also very slow – the consultants can have an internal jugular line in at such a pace that you can blink and miss it whereas it takes me a good 15 – 20 minutes to achieve the same. I make a lot more mess doing it too...
It’s not just lines that make me sweat – on the scary occasions when I’m politely informed that I’ll be the one doing the rapid sequence induction (RSI needs to be quick – the longer it takes to get the tube past the cords and the cuff inflated, the greater the risk of a catastrophic aspiration of gastric contents) I get a bit hot under the collar. There’s always a terrifying moment when we seem to be hours into the procedure (in reality, it’s generally at 5 or 6 seconds after the reflexes are abolished) and I can’t see a bloody thing – the stage where it’s make or break. I’ve stepped away once but now I usually sweat my way through and get the tube in place through dumb luck (or judicious use of a bougie). My arms generally hurt for much of the rest of the day and it does take a while for my heart rate to settle but, bloody hell, it feels good!