How to relieve swelling after facial surgery

Perhaps everyone is familiar with the situation when puffiness occurs on the face. The reasons for this can be both diseases of the internal organs, and a banal excess of water drunk the day before. And almost always there is swelling on the face after surgery . It looks, of course, not aesthetically pleasing, worsens both the mood and the appearance of a person, but, fortunately, getting rid of edema is quite easy.

Reasons for the appearance

Any edema is an accumulation in the tissues of the body of an excessive volume of fluid. By creating increased pressure on the vessels and capillaries, the liquid penetrates through their walls into tissues and muscles, impregnating them, resulting in puffiness.

There are two main causes of edema:

• accumulation of lymph in the area of ​​tissues affected by the operation;
• postoperative inflammation.

In the first case, swelling is due to natural causes: surgical intervention in the work of the body always leads to an increased load on the immune system, which seeks to ensure the normalization of the body's work and triggers an increased formation of lymph. Accumulating in the place of tissues damaged during the operation, lymph causes swelling.

In the second case, the cause of edema is an infectious or inflammatory process. An exacerbation of a chronic disease caused by the operation, a cold, non-compliance with the doctor's recommendations in the postoperative period can cause swelling of the face after the operation. Often this is accompanied by hyperemia (redness) and fever.

Although postoperative swelling on the face almost always occurs, it can have a different severity. The degree of swelling depends on the following factors:

• the general state of the immune system (the stronger the immunity, the weaker the signs of edema will be, and the faster it will subside);
• individual characteristics of the patient's health (whether there are chronic diseases, a tendency to edema, hypertension, etc.);
• proper adherence to the recommendations of the doctor, compliance with restrictions and precautions;
• lifestyle (the presence of bad habits, addiction to alcohol, etc.).

As a rule, edema does not occur immediately after the operation, but on the second or third day, but it will subside, depending on the efforts made, after a few days, less often a week. If the postoperative edema persists in the second week, or fever, chills, and intoxication phenomena are added to it, a visit to the doctor should not be postponed. In this case, at least antibiotic therapy is necessary.

How to get rid of edema: general recommendations

If there is no inflammation, swelling on the face after surgery disappears by the second week. If desired, by following a number of simple recommendations of a general nature, the patient can speed up the recovery process.

Effective and simple methods of getting rid of edema include the following:

• Peace. At least a few days you should not go in for sports and physical exercises, limit mimic loads, have more rest. At this time, it is also worth dosing work at the computer, watching TV programs, reading. During rest and night sleep, it is good to put extra pillows (so that the head is raised).
• Limit the intake of salty, spicy foods that provoke puffiness and high blood pressure. It is advisable to exclude salt from the diet altogether, at least for two or three days. You also can't drink alcohol.
• Do not overheat in the sun, take only a warm or contrast shower, categorically refuse to visit the solarium, sauna, work in the garden, in hot air, etc. Do not wash your face with hot water.
• Reduce the amount of water you drink for a few days. Drink in small portions.

A good way to relieve swelling after facial surgery will be cold compresses (cool a damp cloth, apply to the face or part of the face). You can do a compress every 3-4 hours.

The listed methods are simple, but effective, but it should be remembered that stress, both physical and psychological, can reduce all efforts to zero. Therefore, after the operation, you should try to protect yourself from any unrest and devote time to the effective restoration of health.

Medical methods of treatment

If the swelling does not go away on its own within a few days, or signs of inflammation join it, you should consult a doctor. In some cases, additional procedures are required: massage, special exercises.

Infectious processes are dealt with with the help of antibiotics (injections, drip administration), in rare cases, hormone therapy.

But most often, doctors, solving the problem of postoperative swelling of the face and how to eliminate it, resort to the appointment of diuretics. Normalizing the balance of acids and alkalis in the body, such drugs quickly remove excess stagnant fluid from the tissues, helping to relieve swelling.

Diuretic drugs that can be used as decongestants for the face after surgery , there are enough. The main task of the doctor is to choose the one that will not harm the patient, taking into account the diseases and contraindications that he has.

One of the old, proven remedies is Furosemide. It is characterized by strong and fast action. Usually, a single dose at the dosage prescribed by the doctor is enough to relieve swelling. The action of the tablet begins after 20 minutes and lasts up to several hours.

Furosemide is well suited for patients with hypertension, but has a number of contraindications for use (renal failure, hypoglycemia, etc.). A milder effect and a moderate list of contraindications has an analogue of Furosemide - Torasemide.

Spironolactone is well tolerated by patients. It acts in a gentle way, compared to Furosemide, has relatively few contraindications. Spironolactone can be taken even by pregnant women, people with heart disease, kidney pathology.

The list of decongestant diuretic drugs is very extensive, but the choice and prescription of them should be left to the doctor. In order not to provoke complications in the postoperative period, it is impossible to self-medicate.

Folk ways to get rid of swelling of the face

If after the operation there is no temperature and inflammation, you can cope with moderate swelling with the help of folk remedies. Proven for decades, methods of symptomatic treatment are quite effective in reducing edema, improving overall well-being and, importantly, are easy to perform.

To the simplest folk recommendations, how to relieve swelling after facial surgery is ice. Ice cubes are repeatedly rubbed on the skin of the face during the day. It is good to use decoctions of herbs that have an anti-inflammatory effect instead of ordinary water (chamomile, plantain, etc.).

A salt water compress quickly relieves swelling due to the fact that salt binds and removes excess fluid from facial tissues. For a compress, moisten a towel in warm salt water (1-2 tablespoons of salt are taken per liter of water), apply to the face, cover with a dry towel on top. Hold for 15-20 minutes, repeat the procedure up to three times, pat the skin dry and apply a moisturizer.

Diuretic teas and herbs can replace taking diuretic pills, but it is wise to drink them only on the advice of a doctor. Tinctures and decoctions of birch buds, lingonberry leaves, horsetail, etc. remove excess water from the body. Tea collection with a decongestant effect can be made from bearberry, rosehip, plantain leaves and nettle. All components are mixed in equal proportions, brewed in a tablespoon in half a liter of water, like tea. Drink no more than 2-3 glasses a day.

Facial masks made from mashed boiled potatoes, parsley gruel, green or black tea lotions (freshly brewed, skin-friendly temperature) have a mild anti-edematous and anti-inflammatory effect.

When deciding how to remove swelling from the face after surgery , the patient needs to assess his condition and well-being. If the edema is moderate, temperature and pain are not disturbed, alternative methods can be used, otherwise, only a doctor should prescribe drugs, taking into account comorbidities, age, and condition of the patient.