Why You Need to Avoid Alcohol Before & After Cosmetic Surgery
After a long, stressful day, happy hour cocktails are alluring you. Those sweet and savoury weekend brunches with mimosa are calling your name. But if you have surgery on the calendar, it’s vital to abstain from alcohol both before and after the procedure. Even though you’ll be eager to go out and want to celebrate your post-op glow, trust me, alcohol can be a serious roadblock on the path to a smooth recovery.
Impacts Anaesthesia
Alcohol can cause complications with anaesthesia used during operations. Anaesthesia drugs put you in a medically induced state of unconsciousness, so you don’t feel pain during surgery. Consuming alcohol can create major challenges for the anesthesiologist since it makes it difficult to properly estimate the anaesthesia dose needed to put you to sleep. Alcohol decreases the potency of the medications used for anaesthesia. If the anesthesiologist suspects you have been drinking before surgery, they may decide to cancel your procedure that day due to the risks caused by the alcohol.
Increased Bleeding Risks
Alcohol thins the blood and can inhibit clotting and platelets function in your body. Any invasive cosmetic surgery, whether a tummy tuck or breast reduction surgery, will involve some degree of blood loss since an incision is made. Most cosmetic surgeons will not perform surgery on a patient who has recently consumed alcohol because the thinned blood makes it more difficult to stop unexpected heavy bleeding during the operation. Since safety is the top priority, a surgeon will not risk a patient’s health by operating on them if there is alcohol present in their system. The risks from potential excessive bleeding are too high.
Slows the Recovery Process
Alcohol dehydrates the body and provides no nutritional value. After surgery, patients need to focus on rehydration and proper nutrition to heal quickly. Drinking alcohol postpones recovery by irritating tissues, interfering with medication absorption, and depleting energy needed for the healing process. It may also worsen pain after surgery.
Interfere With Medications
Combining alcohol with prescribed pain medications, antibiotics, and other drugs after surgery can be hazardous. Alcohol makes the sedative effects of many post-op drugs even stronger, which may increase drowsiness and other side effects. It also stresses your immune system and liver, which need to be strong for surgical recovery.
Increased Health Complications
Consuming alcohol after an operation raises your risk for additional health issues. Impaired immunity makes you more susceptible to infections around surgical incisions or breast implant sites. Drinking can also worsen medical conditions you may already have, like diabetes, high blood pressure, and osteoporosis – making recovery more difficult.
Increase the Risk of Swelling
Consuming alcoholic beverages can widen your blood vessels and lead to swelling, potentially causing further issues. This is especially concerning with rhinoplasty (nose job) procedures since the nose is highly vulnerable to alcohol-related inflammation. If your nose swells after drinking, it will likely be uncomfortable or painful and delay your final results and recovery.
Last Word
While it may be tempting to have an alcoholic drink to relax before or after surgery, it is truly best avoided. Follow your surgeon’s advice and avoid drinking for at least 1-2 weeks post-op. This allows incisions to close and swelling to subside, which helps in the recovery process. Once your doctor gives the go-ahead, you can slowly resume moderate alcohol consumption. Taking it easy now means you’ll regain your body faster – and be able to fully enjoy your results!