Just had surgery? The success of an operation can be greatly affected by the actions during recovery. Here are just a few mistakes to avoid while recovering from an operation.
Ignoring your doctor’s advice
After an operation, you’ll usually be given advice by your doctor as to what you should and shouldn’t do during your recovery. It’s essential that you listen to this advice. While it may be an inconvenience not being able to drive or lift heavy objects, it could be essential for preventing your wound from reopening. You don’t want to end up back in surgery a couple weeks later and having to wait longer to recover. Recovery instructions will usually be quite straightforward – in rare cases where they may be complex, you may want to ask your doctor to write them down.
Not addressing complications
All kinds of complications can occur after surgery from infections to nausea. It’s important to notify your doctor if you notice any unusual or alarming symptoms. Ignoring these complications could result in the problem getting worse. Such complications could be the result of not following post-operation instructions or they could be the result of blunders during surgery. If the latter turns out to be the case, be wary that you may be able to seek legal compensation with the help of a law firm such as Clark Love and Hutson. This could help to pay for any corrective treatment.
Neglecting wound care
Looking after your incision wound will ensure that it heals properly and could prevent infections from occurring. Exactly how you should care for your wound is likely to depend on the type of operation. In all cases, you’ll need to keep the wound clean and change its dressing regularly. You should use mild soap when cleaning your wound and should ideally use gloves when changing the dressing. You want to avoid any kind of irritation to your wound, which means no scrubbing when cleaning.
Drinking too little fluids
After surgery, it’s important to stay hydrated. This will help the healing process and get your blood levels back to normal. It may also help to prevent common side effects of pain medication such as constipation and urinary retention. Aim to drink 8 glasses of water per day. On top of drinking lots of fluids, make sure that you’re also eating enough food. Try to incorporate foods that are high in vitamins and protein to help you heal.
Being physically inactive
You’ll usually be advised to get rest after surgery. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should spend all day in bed. In the case of most surgeries, it’s usually beneficial to do some physical activity, even if it’s just going for a small walk. Physical activity can prevent complications such as venous thromboembolism. Obviously, you don’t want to do anything too vigorous that could cause your wounds to open up. Low impact exercises are usually the best option (talk to your doctor about what kinds of physical activity they recommend).
