Dr. Smiriti

You probably think that things can go wrong during a surgery only and not to post surgery. However, you are wrong! The chances of infection after a surgery are very high and it used to be the highest cause of unsuccessful surgeries in the past, before it was known just how deadly an infection could be. A doctor, however, cannot monitor everything afterwards. Therefore, it is crucial you know and take care of yourself after the surgery.

Here are some ways in which you can do so:

1. Keep it dry: It is crucial that you keep the incision dry for whatever period of time the doctor tells you as otherwise the chances of infection increase dramatically. Some of the things you should do to keep it dry is to not take a bath, scrub the incisions or put lotions on it. In fact, you should also not expose it to sunlight.
2. Keep the incisions: You must trust your doctor as the doctor is trained and usually knows things better than you. Therefore, if the doctor tells you to keep the incisions, then keep them. Do not scrub, rub or put powder on them either.
3. Check for signs of infection: This may be the easiest thing to do as there are many symptoms of an infection. These include a change in the color, size, or odor of the incision, fever, redness, hardening or heating of the surrounding area or in extreme cases more bleeding and pain than usual.
4. Changing a dressing: This is a major cause of infections among surgery patients and the only way to prevent it is to follow the doctor's instructions. Once again, trust your doctor and remember to wash your hands and put on medical gloves. Do not put alcohol, iodine or hydrogen peroxide either. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a General Surgeon.

Heart attack or myocardial infarction mostly occurs when the flow of blood to the heart is blocked due to one or more reasons. The most prominent reason could be high fat or cholesterol that results in plaque build up in the coronary artery. The restricted blood flow has the potential to damage or even destroy the heart muscle. Some of the symptoms that can be helpful when it comes to the identification of a heart attack are listed below.

1. Discomfort in the Chest - Your chest may feel tight and pressured when you are about to be hit by a heart attack. Pain or discomfort in the chest is usually central typically felt behind the sternum, the central bone of chest. It may not be pain, it may be only discomfort, it may only be in upper part of tummy, very commonly confused with a gas problem. It is often accompanied by a painful sensation in the chest or arms. If a chest pain lasts more than 15-20 min it can be assumed to be a heart attack. This aching sensation may even spread to your back, neck or jaw.

2. Feeling of inconvenience - Often before the heart attack, the person may have feelings of nausea, ingestion, abdominal pain or a heartburn.

3. Breathing problems - Another prominent symptom of heart attack is shortness of breath which is accompanied by cold sweat and fatigue.

Emergency Measure:

If you think you are getting a heart attack, you should immediately take one tablet of Aspirin, 4 tablets of a drug called Clopidogrel, and one tablet of Atorvastatin 80 mg and rush to the nearest possible medical facility as time is very important in the treatment of an acute heart attack.

'Consult'.

Related Tip: Heart Attack - Is the Damage Reversible?