system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Eli5. Why do we need to have an empty stomach for anaesthetic or surgery?

So, I've had a few surgeries in my time, and also a few minor procedures that just require a small bit of anaesthetic, and every time, I have to not eat for X amount of hour before hand. Why so?
I imagine if people are routinely being asked to do this, there must be a reason.
Does food in the stomach decrease the affects of the anaesthetic or something?
gpt
When you're intubated, the airway tools can hit your gag reflex and you can vomit. With the paralysers in your larynx, the mechanisms to stop things going in your airway aren't working properly, so that vomit can go into your lungs. You can't suction lungs properly, so the patient can end up with pneumonia and other serious lung infections.