In this week's video I'm going to tell you five easy tips that should help your wound recover faster after surgery
now generally speaking wounds recover much
better in a moist closed environment now this is usually maintained by having
regular dressing changes wound cleaning and special dressings but before we go
too much into this this is something that your doctor or nurse will advise
you on as part of your post-surgery aftercare now what I am going to give
you is nutritional and lifestyle advice which is often overlooked by many
patients and it can actually delay inhibit and even complicate wound
healing so without further ado let's begin
tip 1 hydration now I know it may sound simple but remember this dehydrated skin
is less elasticated more fragile and more susceptible to breakdown
dehydration also reduces the efficiency of our blood circulation so less oxygen
and nutrients are able to get to the wound which desperately needs them so to
avoid dehydration it's pretty simple aim for six to eight glasses of water a day
unless you recommended otherwise by your healthcare professional tip number two
protein now if you're not getting enough protein it can actually impair the
remodeling and rebuilding stage of the wound healing process it can also impair
collagen production which will mean that the wound will be weaker and can also
increase the risk of an infection now protein rich foods include meats poultry
tofu beans and many more but don't worry I'm gonna keep running through all the
tips and tell you everything you need to know but at the end of the video I'm
gonna leave a really really useful link in the description below which explains
how much to eat what to eat and various different other information for the
healthy diet tip three energy now your main source of energy is from carbohydrates
and fats but collagen production takes a lot of energy now depending on the
complexity and the size of your wound you may actually need to increase your
calorie intake but your doctor will inform you of this and if it's needed
they'll involve a dietitian in your care now the reason you need the carbohydrates
and energy available is that if you don't your body's going to use those precious
proteins we mentioned earlier for energy and we don't want that you also need the
fats available so your body can make cell membranes fats are also useful
again because they're going to prevent your body from using protein for energy
tip number four vitamins and minerals now eating a balanced and varied diet
should get you all of these now for chronic wound healing
sometimes supplementation is required which a dietitian will initiate now the
main vitamins for wound healing are vitamin A vitamin B and the most
important one vitamin C, vitamin C is actually needed for collagen production
cross-linking and even the formation of new blood vessels at the site of the
wound and vitamin C can be found in a variety of different foods just oranges
broccoli strawberries Kiwis actually what I'll do is I'll leave a list in the
description below of the foods that these vitamins are found in I think that will
be more useful now in terms of minerals zinc copper and iron and the main ones
that are involved in wound healing now you should be able to get all these in a
varied and balanced diet quite easily now if you're wondering which foods are
found in I'm gonna leave a full list in the description below for you now in terms of
what they do zinc plays a key role in protein and
collagen production in tissue growth and wound healing and iron is part of the
system that provides oxygen to the site of the wound tip number five smoking if
you do smoke please try to quit or stop entirely it's probably best if you try
and quit before the surgery smoking actually delays the wound healing it
actually reduces the amount of oxygen that gets to the wound it increases your blood
sugar and even has been shown to increase the pain at the site of the
wound and nobody wants that now please remember if you are ever worried about a
wound or you just want to get checked out to make sure it's okay
it's always best to check with the nurse doctor or pharmacist so they can advise
appropriately I'll leave more information in the description below
which should be quite helpful and that's the end of this week's video now I know
it can be quite difficult to follow these tips especially when you're not
feeling your best but please try your best and you should
hopefully be on your road to recovery see you next week
but your doctor will
inform you of this and they will usually... I forgot the word (LAUGH) I really don't know why
I'm doing this but I thought it would look a bit different (LAUGH) tip three collagen no...
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