Surgery is a complex of effects on tissues and human organs performed by a doctor for the diagnosis, treatment or correction of bodily functions. Depending on the urgency, these are: urgent (in case of urgent need in the name of saving the patient's life), urgent (requiring intervention within 48 hours), planned. By nature: radical, palliative, symptomatic.
The purpose of the first two types of surgery is to completely or partially eliminate the cause of the pathological process, and the third is to alleviate the patient's condition.
Can I drink alcohol 10 days after the operation? Should I refrain from drinking alcohol before surgery? How does alcohol affect anesthesia? Let's take a closer look.
Dangers of alcohol in the postoperative period
Ethyl alcohol weakens the human immune system, which negatively affects the effectiveness of the surgeon's intervention. In addition, most surgeries, including laparoscopy, are performed under anesthesia, which, along with alcohol, increases the burden on the heart and blood vessels, which can be fatal.
Patients are often prescribed antibiotic therapy (for prophylactic purposes) to exclude the possibility of alcohol consumption to prevent inflammation and infection in tissues damaged by a scalpel. Beer is also on the list of banned drinks because it causes fermentation, which slows down the healing of wounds and tissues.
Immune status decreases after surgery, which can lead to exacerbation of chronic diseases, leading to the appearance of hidden pathologies.
After surgery, alcohol disrupts blood clotting, resulting in an increased risk of uncontrolled internal bleeding, which can be life-threatening.
Remember that no matter how much alcohol a patient consumes after anesthesia, depressive processes in the central nervous system are always triggered, which can lead to confusion, shortness of breath, and hallucinations.
Alcohol thins the walls of blood vessels, destroys liver cells, irritates the mucous membranes of the digestive system, overloads the heart.
How much to drink?
The minimum period limiting the consumption of ethyl alcohol is 30 days after surgery.
Give up alcohol before surgery
As before and after surgery, alcohol is prohibited. A characteristic feature of the preoperative period is the passage of the necessary laboratory diagnostics, including the study of urine, ECG and blood of the patient. In the case of drinking ethyl cocktails, the results are unreliable, which distorts the real clinical picture and can lead to fatal errors in the diagnosis and decision to operate.
In addition, serious operations on the myocardium and blood vessels are performed only under anesthesia. If a patient has been abusing alcohol for several days before anesthesia, the effects of the drug may be unexpected. For example, a standard dose of anesthesia is not enough, as a result of which a person can recover before the operation, while others, on the contrary, take an overdose, which occurs in an overdose, which leads to the inhibition of anesthesia. respiratory or cardiovascular system.
To prevent the development of the above complications, you should refrain from drinking alcohol for at least a week before surgery.
Alcohol and anesthesia
Anesthesia is the short-term loss of tissue sensitivity under the influence of anesthetics. Such drugs block the transmission of nerve impulses, so the signals do not reach the brain, which indicates that the body does not respond to irritants in the form of pain.
Local anesthesia lasts another 2. 5 hours after surgery. However, when taking alcohol, the anesthetic effect of the drug immediately disappears, an acute pain attack develops, and it can not be silenced even with painkillers.
When it is necessary to protect the body from shock and pain, the situation is more complicated with general anesthesia used for abdominal surgery.
The following complications may occur after recovery from anesthesia:
- headaches;
- nausea;
- muscle weakness or tension;
- discomfort in the throat;
- blurring of consciousness;
- decrease in blood pressure;
- hallucinogenic delusion.
Why can't you drink alcohol after anesthesia?
Such a combination can lead to critical conditions such as anaphylactic shock and nervous disorders. The duration of withdrawal of anesthetic drugs depends on the type of drug, dose and health of the patient. As a rule, the main part leaves the body one day after surgery, and the rest within 2-3 days.
Rehabilitation after surgery
Any surgical intervention weakens the body's protective functions. Rehabilitation time will be more difficult for people who abuse alcohol in their daily lives than for patients who lead a healthy lifestyle, because "alcoholic" tissues take longer to heal.
Postoperative recommendations:
- You should not eat for the first 2-3 days after abdominal surgery. You can get up in a day, gradually increase the load and walk more. This will speed up the body's return to normal. Alcohol should not be drunk for another month.
- Eliminate bad habits after coronary artery bypass surgery (CBG), measure blood pressure regularly, count pulse, determine the presence of edema, do not burden the heart (do not go to the sauna, do not plan long walks, give up strenuous physical activity). CABG does not cure coronary heart disease, it only serves as a symptomatic treatment. The bypass patient should follow a lifelong diet that restricts the intake of salt, animal fats, alcohol and carbohydrates. At the same time, nutrition focuses on proteins and plant foods.
- The patient is given intravenous fluids, antibiotics and painkillers to maintain water-salt balance after surgery on the shoulder joint, which involves the complete replacement of cartilage and bones with artificial material. Alcohol is prohibited to prevent adverse reactions in the body. After endoprosthesis, physiotherapy exercises are prescribed to exclude overload of the operated leg and arm.
- It is forbidden to drink alcohol for the rest of your life after the removal of the gallbladder.
- Alcohol should not be taken for at least 3 months after eye surgery to remove cataracts. During rehabilitation, patients are prescribed non-alcoholic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).
- After spinal surgery, the patient is prescribed painkillers, NSAIDs, which increase the risk of gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers when in contact with ethanol. In addition, alcohol reduces the effect of drugs that improve microcirculation, overloads the liver, which leads to disruption of metabolic processes in the body, which is fraught with dystrophic, degenerative changes in the intervertebral discs.
The man should lie down for the first day after varicocele surgery. You can start moving on the second day. Walking increases blood flow and prevents constipation. A cold compress is applied to the painful area for 15 minutes to relieve the pain.
Speech
Surgical intervention on any tissue or organ always causes the appearance of postoperative edema. Alcohol is prohibited during this period. The fact is that alcohol accelerates blood circulation, which can increase swelling and worsen the condition of new sutures. In addition, ethyl alcohol reacts negatively with anesthetics, analgesics, anti-inflammatory non-steroidal drugs. As a result, the body can behave in an unusual way.
The period of abstinence from alcohol before surgery is at least 10 days, and after - from 1 to 6 months. At the same time, in some cases (when the gallbladder is removed), the consumption of strong drinks is prohibited for life.