There are very few people that aren’t afraid of having to have surgery. The after effects can be very painful. You can end up with a painful incision, have to use special bandaging, and avoid getting the area wet. This can all be very overwhelming and extremely frustrating.
The fear of infection is always a major concern and can be a mind boggling prospect. If you know what to look for however, you will be able to prevent huge life altering problems that can be caused from infection.
Infection: This is what people fear the most. Infections that occur after surgeries happen at the rate of five hundred thousand per year out of twenty-seven million. These after surgery infections can either be at the place of the incision itself or even in your blood. When you have an infection in your blood you will feel malaise; tired, down and feeling like there has got to be something wrong.
Whether your infection is at the site of the incision or in your blood you are most likely going to have a fever. Signs that your wound is infected are it having a hot feeling, the draining of fluid suck as pus, becoming red and a build-up of pain that increases with time.
In the event that you find yourself with these symptoms immediately go see your doctor or go to the emergency room or an urgent care facility to be treated.
Hemorrhage: Bleeding a little after a surgery is in most cases to be expected. However, if you find that you bandage is very bloody and even dripping with blood you may very likely be dealing with a hemorrhage.
If this is the case you need to see your doctor or get to the emergency room immediately. If you don’t do this chances are good that you could bleed to death. It is very important that on the way to the emergency room you apply constant pressure to the wound to slow the bleeding.
Blood Clots: If you notice that you have an abnormal pain in your leg after a surgery you may have a clot. Blood clots that turn up after surgeries can lead to heart attacks, strokes, and pulmonary embolism. Each of these conditions can be life threatening. See you doctor immediately is this is the sensation that you are experiencing.
Nerve Complications: Sometimes when the is a surgical procedure performed on a limb the problem of nerve complications will arise. These are caused by swelling or a clot that has formed on the nerve. While this is not an emergency situation it is necessary however that you be seen by your doctor to treat the problem.
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