Do you feel self-conscious about the way your nose looks? Do you have trouble breathing? If so, you may be a good candidate for Rhinoplasty Mcallen TX, also known as a nose job. At Rios Center for Plastic Surgery in Edinburg, TX, we offer this procedure to help our clients improve their quality of life. Today, we’re looking at what you should avoid following this procedure to ensure the smoothest, quickest recovery possible.
What Should You Avoid Rhinoplasty Mcallen TX?
Sleeping On Your Stomach or Side
One of the most important things you should avoid after your nose job is sleeping on your side or stomach. If you sleep on your side or stomach, too much pressure will be applied to your nose. The more pressure that is applied to your nose, the longer your recovery will take. If too much pressure is applied to your nose for too long, your results can even be affected.
If you’re not used to sleeping on your back, practice sleeping on your back for a couple of weeks prior to your procedure. If you’re not comfortable, it may be because your spine is improperly supported or aligned. To give your spine more support, get a mattress pad that makes your mattress medium or medium-firm. To improve the alignment of your spine, put a pillow under your knees.
Staying Up Too Late
Getting enough sleep is crucial for a rapid recovery. You should be prepared to spend at least 9.5 hours in bed each night. You need to get at least nine hours of sleep nightly, and this sleep should be consecutive. Also of note, you should nap during the day if you feel particularly tired. It is not uncommon to feel unusually tired during the first 24 to 72 hours following your Rhinoplasty Mcallen TX depending on the type of anesthesia used.
To ensure that you get plenty of quality sleep, minimize your exposure to blue light two to three hours before bedtime. This means that you should minimize the amount of time you spend looking at a screen, like a computer monitor, television, phone, or tablet. To help you wind down before bed, you may want to work on putting together a puzzle, read a book in a dimly lit room, or listen to an audiobook.
Drinking Alcohol
It is also important that you avoid drinking alcohol for the first couple of weeks of your recovery period. Alcohol is a diuretic, meaning drinking alcohol will flush crucial water out of your system. Unfortunately, proper hydration is crucial for your recovery. If you are dehydrated, it will take you longer to recover. Note, alcohol doesn’t just cause your body to flush out crucial hydration. It also causes your body to flush out essential micronutrients.
Alcohol also increases your blood pressure, and it is of the utmost importance that your blood pressure is normal during your recovery period. Notably, alcohol actually decreases your blood pressure when consumed in small doses. However, you cannot even drink a little alcohol during your recovery because even a little alcohol will dehydrate you and may cause malnourishment.
Consuming Nicotine
You should also refrain from consuming nicotine for two weeks following your procedure. Like alcohol, nicotine constricts your blood pressure and will slow your recovery down significantly. However, nicotine isn’t just bad for your blood pressure and vein health. It is also terrible for your collagen, the most abundant protein in your body. It is important to maintain the health of your collagen during your recovery because it is essential for your skin healing itself.
Nicotine is harmful to your existing collagen because collagen is mesh-like. The nicotine molecules get caught in the mesh-like structure of the protein and cause the protein to sag. Nicotine also slows down your skin’s ability to produce more collagen.
Lifting Heavy Weights
You should also avoid lifting heavy weights and participating in other forms of vigorous physical activity during your recovery period. Specifically, you should not lift more than 10 pounds for the first couple of weeks following your procedure. You should also do your best to not lift your arms over your head for the first week or two after your procedure. As much as possible, wear button-up shirts or dresses.
Approximately one to two weeks following your nose job, you will start to feel like your old self again. When you feel ready to increase the intensity of your exercise, let us know. Typically, vigorous physical activity, including resistance exercises, should be avoided for six weeks. However, you may be able to resume physical activity in just four weeks.
Being Sedentary
While it is important to avoid vigorous physical activity, it is also important to avoid being sedentary during your recovery period. At the very least, you should get and move around a little every 60 minutes during the day. However, it is ideal to get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise daily. If possible, walk for an hour every day. Just don’t wear yourself out.
Forgetting Your Protein
Nutrition is always an important part of health, but it is particularly important when recovering from a nose job. In order for your existing collagen to remain strong and healthy, you need to ensure that you eat enough protein every day. The average sedentary woman needs 46 grams of protein daily, and the average sedentary man needs 56 grams of protein daily.
To ensure that you get enough protein in your diet, follow the rule of thumb that you should eat 0.36 grams of protein per pound of your bodyweight. While you should be getting in some exercise during your recovery period, you shouldn’t be exercising hard enough to need extra protein to build more muscle with.
Forgetting Your Fruits and Vegetables
For the fastest, smoothest recovery period, you should make sure you’re eating fruits and vegetables with every meal. It is important that you focus on eating nutritious foods and getting your recommended daily allowance of all micronutrients. Do not take a multivitamin if you’re having trouble getting your RDA of certain micronutrients. Multivitamins have high levels of vitamin E, and vitamin E thins your blood.
To ensure that you get all of the micronutrients you need, try to eat produce with a variety of colors. For instance, you should eat green, red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, blackberries, blueberries, and grapes. Also, when making your meal plan, make sure you’re getting lots of vitamin C.
Taking Blood-Thinners
It is crucial that you do not take any blood-thinning drugs or supplements, including vitamin E supplements, MAOIs, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Your recovery can be affected if you take blood-thinners during the first several days of your recovery.
Blowing Your Nose
You also need to avoid blowing your nose during the first couple of weeks following your Rhinoplasty Mcallen TX. To mitigate the risk that your sinuses feel itchy, make sure your home is clean before you come in for your operation, and change your air filters. If you still feel your nasal passages tickling during the early days of your recovery, spray a sterile saline solution into your nasal passages.
Wearing Glasses
If you usually wear glasses, speak to your eye doctor about getting a prescription for contacts. During the first week or two of your recovery period, you will be wearing a splint to protect your nose. Therefore, wearing glasses won’t affect your results. However, it is advisable to minimize the amount of pressure your nose is put under during the early stages of your recovery.
If you feel uncomfortable wearing contacts or can’t get an appointment with your eye doctor, strongly consider looking into glasses with lighter frames. If you don’t want to buy new frames, only wear your glasses only when you absolutely must. For instance, if you need to wear your glasses to read, listen to an audiobook instead of reading a book. If you need to wear your glasses to watch television, keep yourself entertained by playing an instrument or coloring.
Schedule Your Initial Evaluation Now
Rhinoplasty Mcallen TX can help you improve the quality of your breathing and sleep. It can also improve your self-confidence. However, there are several things you must avoid during your recovery period to ensure ideal results and a swift recovery. Contact us today at Rios Center for Plastic Surgery in Edinburg, TX to schedule your initial consultation and learn more about what you can expect after your procedure and find out whether it is right for you.
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