Are you suffering from a cold and you are about to have surgery in a few days? This is worse. If you talk with your doctor, he will advise you to postpone the surgery. But do you know why you can’t have surgery when you have a cold? There are few reasons and it will complicate your surgery. Read to know more.
Can you have nose surgery with a cold?
Having a cold on the day of surgery is bad. It may cause some other complications. So It is best to avoid surgery when you catch a cold. Even your surgeon advises you to postpone the cold. So talk with your surgeon about this.
Why can’t you have surgery when you have a cold?
Generally, your surgeon asks you to postpone the surgery when you have a cold. But do you know why you cannot have a surgery especially when you have a cold? Let’s see that.
Anesthesia
The first reason to postpone your surgery when you have a cold is because of Anesthesia. If you have a cold, then you may experience some problems due to anesthesia. You should avoid your surgery especially when your surgery needs general or twilight anesthesia. General anesthesia will worsen your cold symptoms. It will heighten the sore and scratchy throat.
When surgery the surgeons will insert the breathing tube or use a certain type of anesthetic gas. This breathing tube and anesthetic gas will make your throat and mouth dry. Apart from this, your surgeons will advise you not to drink any fluids for at least 8 to 12 hours before the surgery.
Don’t think there will be any issues when you don’t have a cold. Even though you don’t have a cold, it will still dry out your mouth and throat. But remember, cold will worsen this condition most.
The initial stage of recovery from Surgery
You already know that anesthesia affects the people who are experiencing the common cold and it heightens the symptoms. But don’t think it only affects at the time of surgery. It still affects you in the initial stage of the recovery process from the surgery.
You may experience some problems while waking up from your surgery. The breathing tube will be removed once the surgery is done. When you wake up after the surgery, you will cough more than before and worsen the cold. Even though it is normal to cough after removing the breathing tube, your cold worsens it and it is not normal anymore.
After the surgery, the cold will tighten your bronchial tubes. These branchial tubes help air to pass into the lungs. Once bronchial tubes are tightened, it will be hard to pass air and it limits the amount of oxygen inhaled and causes spasms.
Post-surgery recovery issues
Even If you go home after the surgery, you will still experience some health issues. Sometimes even after the surgery, you may have a coughing fit. This coughing fit will cause strain on your surgical sutures and it will become loose and open up your incisions. So automatically this can lead to delay the healing process and cause excessive scarring on the incision site.
Apart from this, cold affects your healing process after surgery. When you have a cold, your body’s immune system focuses on fighting off the virus in your body. Your body first tries to recover from the cold. So It automatically delays your healing process on the site of surgical sutures.
Will they postpone the surgery for a cold?
We can’t surely say that your surgeon will. postpone the surgery because of a cold. It depends on the timing and the severity of the cold. So talk with your doctor and they will consider postponing the surgery when your cold is severe. So rescheduling will help you to avoid further complications.
Talk to your doctor
It is important to talk with your doctor when you start to notice the symptoms of a cold. Even If you have other problems like hypertension or diabetes, always talk with your doctor and it will help them to have a clear idea about your medical history and they will treat you according to that.
What to do If you catch a cold before your surgery?
No one ever wants to have a cold, especially before surgery. It is completely out of our control. So the only thing to do when you catch a cold before the surgery is to visit your doctor. Your doctor will prescribe some medications to cure a cold.
How to prevent a cold at the time of Surgery?
To be honest, there is no cure for a cold. It generally goes away within seven to twelve days on its own. However, we can do few things to prevent the cold at the time of surgery.
Once you find the symptoms of a cold, start to drink plenty of water. Without sufficient water, your body will start to dehydrate and it will only worsen your cold.
Taking plenty of rest is essential to fight off the cold. Eat healthy foods and increase the intake of Vitamin D and Zinc. If needed use pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen and also have cold syrups. By doing these things, you can prevent colds.
Tips to stay healthy during Surgery
At the time of surgery, you need to stay strong both physically and mentally. It is important to stay healthy when you are undergoing surgery. Stop drinking any liquids two hours before the surgery. By consuming clear liquids, one can avoid nausea, vomiting, and pain after the surgery. Adding plenty of proteins to your diet will help you to improve your immunity and promote fast healing.
Apart from that make sure to maintain a healthy weight. If you are a person who smokes and consumes alcohol, avoid doing it. So that you can prevent any surgical complications. Take plenty of fruits and veggies and skip sugars.
Finally, the reason why you can’t have surgery during a cold is that it will worsen your condition more than before, especially after using breathing tubes and anesthesia. Even after the surgery, the cold will delay the healing process. So it’s better to avoid surgery during the cold and discuss it with your doctor.