How to Reduce Swelling after Surgery or Treatment

1. How to Reduce Swelling after Surgery or Treatment – MediAesthetic Self-Help Guide. Are you thinking of visiting an aesthetic clinic in Johor Bahru?If there’s one thing we fear other than the surgery itself –it’s the pain and swelling that follows, and we all want to know how to reduce swelling after surgery or treatment. Unfortunately, that swelling is simply your body’s way of getting what it needs to the affected area to facilitate healing, and that’s pumping lots of body fluids into the cells and setting off an inflammatory reaction. Excessive swelling isn’t only debilitating at worst. It can burst open seams of closed incisions and impairing healing, slowing it down and potentially causing unsightly scars. Not only is this a risk for poor after-surgery healing but also leave wounds open to infection. Fortunately, you’ll be happy to know that there are a few simple steps that you take to deal with the misery, unanimously recommended by surgeons and doctors alike! So when the anaesthetics start to wear off and the pain starts flooding back in, you’ll know what to do! First, we need to establish what the negative effects of what we’re trying to relieve so that we’re on the same page:

2. What is Bruising? When blood vessels rupture underneath the skin blood starts to fill the space in between tissues in the affected area. This appears as patches of purple discolouration on the skin and is sensitive to the touch. Some people who have suffer from poor blood coagulation are more likely to develop bruising. What is Swelling? Swelling is the result of fluids collecting in the tissue as a result of infection, disease or injury. It results in enlargement of the affected body part, accompanied by the symptoms of inflammation; pain, redness, hotness, and numbness. Now that we’re clear on that, let’s move on to the tips! 1. Eat foods rich in anti-inflammatories. The anti-inflammatory diet consists mainly of a balanced diet that anyone would benefit from. Include lots of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and fish or fish oils. Avoid gobbling down too many high-carb, low-fat foods such as sugar and grains. Below is a further breakdown of the nutrients that you should be getting: i) Bromelain Found in abundance in stem of pineapple, bromelain is an enzyme with strong anti-inflammatory properties that’s effective at reducing swelling and pain.

3. Do you like pineapple? ii) Quercetin A plant flavonoid with strong anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. You’ll lots of it in capers, red onion, citrus fruits, leafy green veggies and apples. It’s important to know that bromelain and quercetin should only be taken after surgery as it may cause excessive bleeding and other serious complications.

4. Spinach is a rich source of flavonoid anti-oxidants. 2. Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation (RICE). Probably the most comprehensive, textbook approach on how to reduce swelling after surgery or treatmentis what’s affectionately abbreviated as RICE, or Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Because swelling and its intensity is influenced by how much body fluids and inflammatory components is reaching the affected area, it makes sense that you would want to reduce it. i) Rest. Just as it says, take some time off. Moving around will aggravate the affected area (in this case, where the surgical incision was made). Stop or take a breather from any physical activity, or do something else, preferably something that leaves the affected area out of. So if you’re recovering from a double eyelid surgeryit’s best to keep your daytime expeditions to a minimum to minimize exposure to the sun, airborne germs and nasty people. ii) Ice. Although studies aren’t able to show with definitive proof that ice therapy works as a post- operative treatment (also called cryotherapy for those of you who like big words), they do support the idea that it generally does more good than harm. Here’s the rationale: when ice is applied, the coldness does two things. First, it causes blood vessels to contract, narrowing it and slowing down the flow of fluids. Less fluids means less

5. bloating and less inflammatory elements to aggravate the symptoms. Second, it causes metabolism (in other words, cell activity) in the cells to slow down. As a general rule, apply an icepack to the affected area for about 10 to 20 minutes at a time, three or more times a day. Keep in mind that you should not apply the ice directly onto the skin. You should use an icepack that you can buy or make your own using a plastic bag, water and some rubbing alcohol. A bag of cold peas also works pretty well, which conforms to the shape of the affected area. iii) Compression. This step involves applying pressure to the affected body part through the use of elastic bandages. You’ve probably already noticed the trend: compression helps alleviate swelling by, yup, lightly restricting the flow of fluids to the offending body part. How tight should the bandage be? Not too tight, as this will cause the area below the affected area to swell. Other signs that it’s too tight is when you feel numbness, prickling needles, coolness in addition to the swelling. iv) Elevation. The river runs downstream! Usually they do, it depends on the whims of gravity. With the source of the river (mountain, reservoir, etc.) as an analogy for your heart, make sure that the swelling is kept slightly elevated above the heart. Pillows are a comfortable option, whether it’s your head or your legs/arms, just as long as it’s raised above the level of your heart.