After you’ve undergone breast surgery, practicing proper self-care and hygiene is essential. Following your procedure, your chest and drain pockets are all at a higher risk of developing an infection. Infections will not only interfere with your recovery, but they can also seriously harm your health. In this blog, we’ll discuss how to prevent infections after breast surgery to ensure that you have the healthiest recovery possible.
Know the Signs of Infection
According to Jean Campbell, MS, a breast cancer survivor and founding director of the American Cancer Society Patient Navigator Program, there are several symptoms that your body can experience if it develops an infection post-surgery. These include:
- Redness or swelling that spreads from the surgical site
- Foul-smelling pus
- Significant pain
- Fever
- Drainage from the incision site
If you develop any of these symptoms, contact your medical care provider immediately.
Practice Proper Post-Surgical Hygiene
The American Society of Breast Surgeons Foundation advises that patients avoid showers for 48 hours after surgery while incisions close. According to the American Society of Breast Surgeons Foundation, wetting the skin close to your surgical site or getting stitches wet could reopen incisions before they heal and leave the body vulnerable to infection.
While it may be tempting to shower once you return home from your procedure, you’ll ultimately expose open wounds to bacteria, affecting your immune system’s health.
Solutions To Bathing After Surgery
According to Campbell, bathing yourself from the waist up is one-way doctors suggest patients practice safe hygiene after surgery. When you opt for a sponge bath or use a shower head to clean yourself, you have more precision to wipe away sweat or bacteria while avoiding sensitive surgical sites.
Wearing a front-closure compression bra will also help you bathe effectively after surgery because the front access design of these bras makes them easy to manage. These bras also often use antibacterial material, which wicks away sweat and moisture and helps you feel more comfortable while waiting to shower safely.
These bras also have built-in breast pockets that help post-surgical drains sit comfortably while you bathe yourself from the waist up. Breast pockets are vital for preventing infection because they help prevent your drains from dislodging.
Remember to give your body time to heal as you perform self-care after surgery. Review these tips to prevent infections after breast surgery, and speak with your doctor about any post-surgical concerns.
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