A surgical operation is a complex of effects on tissues, human organs, performed by a physician to diagnose, treat, or correct body functions. Depending on the urgency, they are: emergency (in case of urgent need in the name of saving the patient's life), urgent (requiring intervention within 48 hours), scheduled. By nature: radical, palliative, symptomatic.
The purpose of surgical intervention of the first two types is the complete or partial elimination of the cause of the pathological process and the third is the alleviation of the patient's condition.
Can I drink alcohol 10 days after surgery? Should I abstain from drinking alcohol before surgery? How does alcohol affect anesthesia? Let's examine in more detail.
Risk 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, in combination with alcohol, increases the load on the heart and blood vessels, which can lead to death.
Often, to prevent the appearance of inflammation and infections in the tissues damaged by a scalpel, patients are prescribed (for prophylactic purposes) antibiotic therapy, which excludes the possibility of drinking alcohol. Beer is also on the list of forbidden drinks, as it causes fermentation, which slows down the healing of wounds and tissues.
After surgical interventions, the immune status decreases, which can provoke a worsening of chronic diseases, cause the emergence of hidden pathologies.
Alcohol after surgery disrupts blood clotting, resulting in an increased risk of uncontrolled internal bleeding that is life-threatening for the patient.
Remember, no matter how much alcohol the patient receives after anesthesia, the central nervous system depressive processes are always triggered, which can lead to confusion, respiratory failure, and hallucinations.
Alcohol thins the walls of blood vessels, destroys liver cells, irritates the mucosa of the digestive tract, overloads the heart.
How much can you drink?
The minimum period limiting the consumption of ethyl alcohol is 30 days after surgical treatment.
Abstinence from alcohol before surgery
As in the case after surgery, and before it, alcohol is prohibited. A characteristic feature of the preoperative period is the passage of the necessary laboratory diagnosis, including the study of the patient's urine, ECG, and blood. In the case of drinking ethyl cocktails, the results become unreliable, which distorts the real clinical picture, can lead to fatal errors in the diagnosis and decision of surgical intervention.
Moreover, serious serious operations on the myocardium, veins are performed exclusively under anesthesia. If a patient has seriously abused alcohol a few days before the introduction of anesthesia, the effect of the drug may become unpredictable. For example, a standard dose of anesthesia is not enough, as a result, one person can recover before the operation is completed, while others, on the contrary, take too much of it, an overdose occurs, which leads to inhibition of the respiratory systemor cardiovascular.
To avoid the development of the above complications, you should refrain from drinking alcohol for at least a week before surgical treatment.
Alcohol and anesthesia
Anesthesia is the loss of tissue sensitivity for a short period of time under the influence of anesthetic agents. Such drugs block the transmission of nerve impulses, due to which the signals do not reach the brain, which means that the body's response to irritation in the form of pain is also lacking.
Local anesthesia lasts another 2. 5 hours after surgery. However, when you drink alcohol, the anesthetic effect of the drug disappears immediately, an acute attack of pain develops, which can not be suffocated even with sedatives.
The situation is much more complicated with the general anesthesia used for abdominal surgery, when the body needs to be protected from shock and pain.
After recovery from anesthesia, the following complications may occur:
- headache;
- nausea;
- muscle weakness or tension;
- sore throat;
- turbulence in consciousness;
- drop in blood pressure;
- hallucinogenic delusions.
Why can not you drink alcohol after anesthesia?
Such a combination can lead to the emergence of critical conditions like anaphylactic shock, nervous disorders. The withdrawal period of anesthetic drugs depends on the type of drug, its dose and the patient's health. As a rule, the main part is removed from the body within a day after surgery, and the remaining part within 2-3 days.
Rehabilitation after surgical procedures
Any surgical intervention leads to a weakening of the body's protective functions. The rehabilitation period for people who abuse alcohol in daily life will be more difficult than for patients who adhere to a healthy lifestyle, as the healing of "alcoholic" tissues takes longer.
Postoperative recommendations:
- After abdominal surgery, you should not eat the first 2-3 days. You can get up within a day, gradually increasing the load, walking more. This will speed up the body's return to its normal environment. Alcohol should not be drunk for another month.
- After coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG) surgery, eliminate bad habits, regularly measure blood pressure, count pulse, determine the presence of edema, do not create a load on the heart (do not go to the sauna, do not plan long walks, removehand from intense physical exertion). CABG does not cure people from coronary heart disease, it only serves as symptomatic therapy. The bypass patient is required to follow a lifelong diet that limits the intake of salt, animal fats, alcohol and carbohydrates. At the same time, the emphasis in nutrition is on protein, plant foods.
- After surgery on the shoulder joint, the hip joint, which involves the complete replacement of diseased cartilage and bone with artificial material, the patient is given intravenous solutions, antibiotics to maintain water-salt balance, and painkillers. To avoid a negative reaction of the body, alcoholic beverages are prohibited. After endoprosthetics, physiotherapy exercises are prescribed, which exclude overload of the operated leg and arm.
- After removal of the gallbladder, alcohol is forbidden to drink for the rest of life.
- After eye surgery, cataract removal, alcohol should not be drunk for at least 3 months. During the rehabilitation period, patients are prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) that are incompatible with alcohol.
- After spinal surgery, the patient is prescribed painkillers, NSAIDs, which, when interacting with ethanol, increase the risk of developing gastrointestinal bleeding and ulcers. 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.
After varicocele surgery, a man should lie down the first day. On the second day, you can start moving. Walking increases blood circulation and prevents constipation. To relieve the pain, a cold compress is applied to the sore spot for 15 minutes.
Produce
Surgical intervention in any tissue and organ always leads to the appearance of postoperative edema. Alcoholic beverages are prohibited during this period. The fact is that alcohol speeds up blood circulation, which can increase swelling, worsen the condition of fresh sutures. In addition, ethyl alcohol gives a negative reaction with anesthetic, analgesic, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory. As a result, the body may behave in an unusual way.
The period of abstinence from drinking 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), a life ban on taking strong drinks is imposed.