Post Operative Care After your Liposuction
When you have your Liposuction done you will want to make sure that you know how to take good care of yourself so that you will know that you will be promoting a quick and easy recovery for yourself. The following will help to guide you through the after care instructions that you should follow to make sure that you will have an easier recovery, as well as a faster recovery.
The first thing that you will want to do is to make sure that you have someone to drive you home, you won't want to drive yourself home from your Liposuction procedure. Not only will you still be sore and tender, but you may not be clear enough in the head yet to drive a vehicle right after you have just had your Liposuction procedure. When you get home it is recommended that you rest for at least the first few hours after you get home. You won't want to run errands, make any important decisions, or do any type of physical activity for the first day or two after you have had your Liposuction done.
Once you return home you will want to take it easy when it comes to your diet fro about 48 hours after the procedure. You won't want to drink any alcoholic beverages. You will want to make sure that you drink plenty of water, juices, and other soft beverages to help you to stay hydrated. You can begin eating right away, but you will want to try to choose foods which are going to be gentle on your stomach. You should also begin by eating smaller portions and work your way up to larger meals over the course of a day or two.
When it comes to exercise, you will want to put it off completely for the first couple of days following the procedure. After about 2 to 4 days after the Liposuction procedure you will be able to begin reintroducing your workout program. However, you will only want to do 25 percent of your normal workout. You can slowly add more exercise in to your workout as time goes on. It's important that you don't push yourself too fast or too hard.
You may have been given a garment to wear after your Liposuction, if this is the case then you will want to make sure that you wear the garment how you were instructed to. These garments are designed to help you during the recovery process, they have absorbent pads that will help you with the drainage that you will experience after the procedure. It is important that you continue to wear the garments for the amount of time that you were instructed to. If you stop using them too soon it can result in prolonged drainage.
A lot of patients will experience some dizziness after the procedure, this can be quite common the morning after the procedure when they take off the garments in order to take a shower. The amount of light headed feeling that you may feel will be similar to the feeling that you get when you happen to stand up too fast. If you happen to find yourself feeling lightheaded or dizzy, then you will want to make sure that you sit down right away and wait for it to pass.
One thing that you will want to expect so that you aren't shocked, is a large amount of blood tinged drainage. While the pads will help a lot with the drainage, you will want to be prepared to use terry cloths if the pads aren't enough. When you are in bed you may want to protect your mattress with the use of a plastic lining under your sheet.
You will want to make sure that you keep the incision areas clean. You will want to make sure that you shower at least once a day, if not twice. Wash the incision area with soap and water, then pat it dry with a clean towel.
You will also want to make sure that you take any antibiotics that have been prescribed to you until they are finished. Never stop taking the antibiotics before you are instructed to by your physician. Do not put any heat or ice packs on the incision areas. Also, do not put peroxide or anything else on it. Benadryl can help you with any itching, don't scratch the areas as this can lead to possible infection.
A good rule of thumb to follow is to make sure that if you are doing anything that causes you discomfort, then try to avoid doing it until you can do it without it causing you any pain or discomfort. You will want to realize that you will need to take it easy on yourself and give your body some time to heal. Make sure that you don't miss your post-op check ups and to call your doctor if anything seems out of the ordinary. It is always better for you to take precautions and to be careful.
