Any kind of surgery can leave you unable to do normal activities for a few days, weeks or months. There are a few things that you can do after your procedure so that you heal properly and as soon as physically possible.

The first thing that you want to do is follow all of the doctor’s instructions. He won’t tell you not to do something if it wasn’t for your best interest. There’s a reason why you shouldn’t lift heavy objects after having major surgery. It could cause more damage along the incision or inside the body that would need to be repaired. This could mean that you are recovering for a longer period of time.

You will likely have a few appointments after your surgery. Bay Surgical Specialists and other offices will often send reminders for follow-up appointments. It’s important that you keep these as the doctor will look at the incision to make sure it’s healing properly. He will likely want to look at the area of the body that was operated on to be sure the problem has been solved. If there is an infection developing or there are abnormal pains, then the doctor can treat these concerns before they become severe.

Preventing an infection is often easy to do if your make sure you wash your hands and keep any dressings that you have changed. Look at the incision to see if there is any kind of drainage. If you see anything abnormal, you need to contact your doctor. You also want to monitor the color as it should be a soft pink instead of red. Pay attention to any staples or stitches to make sure they don’t come out. This is important to do the first few days after surgery as this is when an infection is likely to set up in the body.

Even though you might feel nauseous, it’s important that you drink and eat to keep the body hydrated. This can help in the recovery process as food will give you energy to do any kind of rehab that might be needed. Make sure you eat healthy foods with high vitamin and mineral contents instead of junk food that might make you feel like you don’t have any energy.