Now that you’re done with your surgery, it’s time to gear up and focus on recovery. It’s perfectly natural to be eager to get back to your daily activities and feel normal again. But to do that, you need to take some critical steps to ensure that you heal safely and well. Depending on the specific type of surgery, recovery could take a week of several months, and there’s a possibility that you might experience post-surgery side effects such as reaction to the anesthesia, excessive bleeding, infection, and even an accidental injury. However, the following tips and your doctor’s instructions could help ensure that you have a quick and safe recovery.
Don’t Forget to Take Your Pain Meds
Your physician will prescribe pain meds to help ease your pain as you heal. Note that it’s preventing pain is easier than controlling it tell your doctor right away if you experience any issues about pain control, an experienced director of nursing from one of the most well-known nursing homes in Worcester. Once you give the all-clear to do light physical activity, plan and take your pain meds at least 45 minutes before doing your activity to avoid making your pain worse.
Be on The Lookout for Warning Signs of a Blood Clot
Blood clots are serious, so pay close attention to these warning signs and seek help immediately once you experience them:
- Swelling and/or pain;
- Skin that feels hot to touch;
- Discoloration; and
- Veins that appear bigger than they normally are.
Make Sure to take Great Care of Your Incision
In general, keep the following tips in mind for incision care:
- Keep your incision dry and clean at all times. Don’t shower or bathe for at least 24 hours, and if you have skin tape or stitches, shower instead of bathing. Make sure to pat gently with a towel and not rub when drying your incision.
- If the bandage becomes soaked with blood, replace it with a fresh one immediately and put pressure on your incision to prevent it from bleeding further. Get medical help as soon as possible if the bleeding doesn’t stop.
- Call your doctor if you experience swelling, fever, drainage, or increased pain. Some swelling and redness are perfectly normal, but if it’s significantly spreading, consult your doctor as soon as possible.
Get Ample Rest
You’ll surely feel tired and stressed after your surgery so you should use your recovery time to just rest and tend to your pain and incision. Avoid doing physical activities that might cause your incision to open. Your doctor would give the signal when it’s okay to move around and resume more taxing physical activities.
It’s also important to keep in mind that everybody recovers at a different rate, so don’t compare yourself to others who’ve undergone the same surgical procedure as you. Don’t hesitate to enlist help from your family and friends for things that you can’t attend to while you’re recovering. Get professional post-surgery care if need be. Most importantly, try to remain patient because the things you need to do will still be there after you’ve completely recovered.
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