At some point in our lives, many of us will have to have some kind of surgery – and as troubling as this might be at the time.
It can be made a lot easier with the right know-how and understanding of proper healing methods, wound care, and lifestyle choices.
This differs depending on each instance, and as such there are numerous things you can do to improve your recovery.
However, there are some things that are just standards within recovery, proving beneficial towards numerous kinds of injuries.
But this begs the question: what exactly are the best ways to quickly heal post-surgery wounds?
Aiding Post-Surgery Recovery
While there are many things you can do to enable proper healing after a surgery, there are some that are more likely to increase the speed of general recovery far more efficiently than others.
1. Good Wound Care
First and foremost, the best way to speed up your post-surgery recovery is to take care of your wound in the right way.
This means ensuring cleanliness of the wound, regularly changing the dressings properly, and being careful not to interfere with the stitches or any scabbing that might form on the operated area.
Perhaps the most important element of this whole thing is cleanliness, and ensuring that you are regularly washing the wound with clean water (or saline if you have access to it), using unscented gentle soap to remove bacteria, and using antibacterial ointments to avoid infection and aid recovery.
2. Inspecting The Incision
You also need to keep a good eye on the incision itself, and learn the warning signs of an infection.
This will ensure you stand a better chance at healing quickly and properly, and that you can get medical attention more promptly should infection strike.
The signs of an infected incision can include:
- Fever
- Malaise (weakness, sluggishness)
- Hot incision area (to the touch)
- Unnatural amounts of pain
- Swollen, hard skin around incision
- Redness
- Pus
- Raised skin
Checking for these symptoms, and knowing what to look out for in the first place, stands you in greater stead for getting timely medical treatment, fighting the infection, and getting back on the road to recovery.
3. Good nutrition
Keeping nutritionally balanced is another handy method of improving and expediting post-surgery recovery, and this means consuming beneficial, healthy food, and avoiding things like processed, fast food, alcohol, and other harmful substances like tobacco.
These substances have been shown to actively hinder the recovery process, dampening the very bodily functions needed to heal wounds and trauma.
However, by consuming foods that are high in protein, healthy fats, nutrients, and vitamins, you too can improve your overall health, encourage healing, and speed up your post-surgery recovery.
4. Cough/Sneeze Carefully
Whenever you have any kind of surgery – be it invasive or non-invasive – it is important not to burst your stitches.
This means that you need to be incredibly careful when coughing or sneezing – both of which have been shown to burst stitches, especially when they are on the abdomen.
This means trying to minimize risk of illness, avoiding excessive dust and aerosols, and taking allergy medicine if you are prone to things like hayfever.
5. Manage Pain
With any injury – even that which has been repaired with surgery – it is important to properly manage pain when you feel it.
Luckily, there are all manner of over the counter pain medications that can be taken safely at semi-regular intervals throughout the day.
This can be a good way of making you feel more relaxed, comfortable, and less likely to experience stress caused by pain.
With pain relief, you will also probably stand a better chance of sleeping through the night – something that is also beneficial for all round health and wellbeing.
6. Avoid Strenuous Activity
Lastly, it is also important to avoid strenuous activity – especially if it means further injuring the specific area that was operated on.
This means that heavy lifting at the gym is off limits – as is strenuous, contact sports, or those that can cause pulls and tears to the stitches and the still healing wound, such as running and athletics.
If you are exercise minded, then you could always ask your doctor for some recommended exercises you can do at home – exercises that will help ease you back into fitness without compromising your recovery.
Another healthy and largely beneficial form of exercise is walking – and this is something that most people can safely do without causing themselves undue damage or stress (unless the wound is on the legs or feet).
This can be a great way of raising your heart rate, exercising your legs and joints, and taking beneficial exercise that can aid recovery.
Final Thoughts
And there we have it, everything you need to know about post-surgery healing, and the best methods to ensure a speedy recovery back to normal.
It’s true that, at some point in our lives, most of us will encounter the need for some kind of surgery, and while this can be daunting, it can be made a lot easier with the proper know-how and lifestyle skills.
So if you want to learn how to improve more quickly after surgery, then be sure to give these handy methods a try!
