There are several precautions to take when preparing for surgery. One includes not eating or drinking anything the night before, but what’s the big deal?

»RELATED: 5 cosmetic procedures you can get done in Atlanta on your lunch break

Doctors advise this in order to minimize the risk of aspiration pneumonia, which can be caused by vomiting.

When a patient vomits after going under the knife, the food or acidic contents can come back up an enter into the lungs. That could be catastrophic.

If a patient does happen to consume food, an anesthesiologist will remove anything in the stomach.

Take a look at Business Insider's video below for the full explanation.

Featured

A migrant farmworker harvests Vidalia onions at a farm in Collins, in 2011. A coalition of farmworkers, including one based in Georgia, filed suit last month in federal court arguing that cuts to H-2A wages will trigger a cut in the pay and standard of living of U.S. agricultural workers. (Bita Honarvar/AJC)

Credit: Bita Honarvar