If you’ve been hurt, whether it’s an injury that was caused by your own miscalculation or something that happened as a result of your body breaking down, arguably your top priority now is to get yourself back to your old, healthy self. But if your injury requires you to have some kind of surgery in order to get better, you might be facing a long road of recovery ahead of you. Luckily, there are plenty of things that you can do to make your recovery faster so you can get back to your normal routines. To show you some ways to help, here are three tips to ensure that you have a safe and speedy recovery after surgery.
Keep An Eye On Your Incision
After many surgeries, you’re likely to have some type of incision where the doctors went into your body. This can be a great place to start when looking to see if your body is healing the way it should be following your procedure. According to Jennifer Whitlock, you should inspect your incision to see if it’s red, swollen, draining fluid, or it appears to be opening. These could all be signs that there’s an infection, which could be cause for concern. Before you inspect your incision, make sure you’ve washed your hands to avoid infecting the area yourself and to help you keep this area clean.
Take It Easy
Once you’ve been through your surgery, your doctor should give you some directions on what to do, if there are exercises or medications you should take, and when to come back for follow up appointments. This advice is going to be vital for your recovery and your safety, so make sure you follow it. And unless your doctor has told you to get moving a certain amount by a certain point in time, Kara Mayer Robinson, a contributor to WebMD.com, suggests that you take it easy. Especially if you were active before your surgery, you might be anxious to get back out there or see what your body can handle. But if you do this too soon, you could be setting yourself back in your recovery time, so make sure you give your body the time it needs to heal.
Spend Some Time In The Sun
In addition to following your doctor’s orders on your recovery plan, something you can add to this regimen, according to Kelsey Kloss, a contributor to Reader’s Digest, is to spend some time in the sun. If you try to recover in a dark room for days at a time, you could be messing with your body’s natural rhythms regarding sleep. And when you’re healing, sleep is vital. So when it’s day time, try to let the light in as much as you can.
If you’re about to have surgery, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you speed through your recovery time.