At some point in your life, there’s a good chance that you’ll have to have some kind of surgery. Even with the safest of surgeries come with their fair share of risks for complications. But with the right preparation and after-care plans, you can reduce your chances of experiencing complications that can make your surgery more dangerous.
To show you how this can be done, here are three ways to prevent complications following surgery.
Prepare For Recovery Before Your Surgery
While you can’t necessarily prepare for complications that could take place while you’re having your surgery, you can prepare for addressing any complications that may happen while you recover.
To help with this, Carissa Stephens, a contributor to Healthline.com, recommends that you prepare for your recovery as best you can by asking your doctor any relevant questions about your surgery or about your post-operative care. Some of the questions you might want to ask could include what supplies or medications you’ll need during recovery, what side effects you should expect, and what are some common complications you’ll need to look out for.
With all of this information, you should be able to be prepared for both the best and worst-case scenarios that could take place during your surgery and recovery period.
Pay Attention To Your Body
Once your surgery has been completed and you’re at home recovering, you can continue to avoid complications by paying attention to your body and how you seem to be recovering.
According to Carol DerSarkissian, a contributor to WebMD.com, you should try to really connect with how your body is feeling and recognize if anything seems different than you expected or if you’re feeling “off” in any way. If you do start to feel like something’s wrong or that you’re not recovering as you should be, make sure to call your doctor as soon as possible so that, in the event that something is wrong, you can get it taken care of before it becomes a bigger complication than it already is.
Keep Things As Clean As You Can
One of the biggest reasons why people develop complications at home following a surgical procedure is due to not keeping things as clean as they should be. If your incisions become infected, you can develop major complications as a result of that.
To combat this, Jennifer Whitlock, a contributor to Very Well Health, advises that you wash your hands often, keep your incision clean and dry, and use antibacterial hand sanitizer if you have to leave your home. Taking these measures will help you decrease your chances of developing an infection as you recover.
If you’re going to be having surgery soon, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you avoid complications as you recover.
