Follow This Guidance During Home Health Care Services to Help With Healing
When you return home after surgery, your primary focus should be on healing. Healing effectively is almost like a full-time job, especially if you’re homebound.
You have to ensure you are present for your appointments from your home health care agency, take medications or treatments as prescribed, and even follow the program of a specialist, such as a physical therapist, to encourage the healing process.
It’s also important to take good care of yourself. Among other key actions you should take, such as getting a good night’s rest, nutrition is one of the most important. Proper nutrition will give you an important advantage to experience the quality of life that you deserve. Keep reading to learn four ways to use nutrition to help you heal after your surgery.
Prioritize Protein During Recovery With Home Health Care Services
Protein aids in muscle growth, wound healing, and tissue repair, ensuring that you heal from surgery as quickly as possible. Muscle loss and weakness tends to occur when you’re unable to move certain parts of your body while resting and healing, but protein can help limit the amount of muscle you lose.
Focus on consuming lean proteins:
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Fish
- Eggs
- Yogurt
- Beans
- Nuts and seeds
You may even consider blending protein powder with fruit for a smoothie or, to make protein intake even simpler, purchase a meal replacement drink or bar to supplement meals.
According to the Mayo Clinic, adults require .35 grams of protein per pound of body weight. This means that a 150-pound person would need 52.5 grams of protein in a day to meet their nutritional needs. For reference, one chicken breast and one cup of yogurt fulfill those needs for the day. However, after surgery, your physician may recommend increasing your protein intake to aid in recovery. Your home health care nurse can help you interpret your physician’s orders.
Focus On Your Fiber
Constipation after surgery is a common side effect, even if you’ve rarely experienced constipation before. Pain medications, anesthesia, decreased hydration, and even the sedentary nature of recovery can cause constipation.
Fiber helps keep your intestinal tract’s waste moving along properly. Consider high-fiber foods, including strawberries, pears, avocado, oats, beans, popcorn, and broccoli, or even a fiber supplement that you can mix into water. Tell your home health care nurse if you’re experiencing discomfort related to constipation.
Hydration Matters As You Recover From Surgery With a Home Health Care Provider
The Mayo Clinic recommends 15.5 cups (124 ounces) of fluids for men a day and 11.5 cups (92 ounces) for women. Ensuring you get enough water each day to stay hydrated is an important part of healing after surgery. Here’s why:
- If you’ve undergone anesthesia, water can help flush anesthetic drugs from the body.
- Water carries nutrients to cells, limits constipation, and encourages mobility.
- Staying hydrated may even reduce joint pain by restoring fluid to create less friction between joints.
- Drinking plenty of water can help prevent and relieve urinary tract infection symptoms, especially if you were catheterized during or after surgery.
Selecting the right drinks for hydration. Ideally, drink water or skim milk, or include hydrating foods with your meals, such as soup, watermelon, cucumbers, and other water-heavy fruits and vegetables. You can also refer to these hydration tips for older adults.
Get Your Vitamins
Eating a balanced diet and taking a multivitamin will likely provide your daily need for minerals, vitamins, and other critical nutrients. However, certain vitamins are particularly useful after surgery.
World-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center recommends:
- Magnesium for reducing swelling and inflammation.
- Zinc for healing wounds.
- Vitamin A for skin cell production.
Further, taking vitamin C can boost your immune system, help you fight infection, produce collagen, and contribute to your overall wellness.
You can also include foods that are rich in the vitamins and minerals mentioned above:
- Beef, legumes, and leafy greens are smart choices for zinc intake.
- Eggs, broccoli, fish, carrots, and sweet potatoes are packed with vitamin A.
- Find magnesium in bananas, beans, spinach, and whole grains.
- Citrus fruits, berries, tomatoes, bell peppers, and spinach are all excellent sources of vitamin C.
Talk to your doctor before taking any new supplements, and tell your home health care provider about any over-the-counter vitamins you take when you complete intake with them.
Prioritize Your Recovery With Help From a Home Health Care Agency
Try these nutrition strategies to increase your chances of the best recovery possible. Your home health care provider will support you along the way, offering the individualized care plan you need, based on your physician’s guidance.
The team you choose for home health care near you may even help encourage good nutrition and give you reminders about your dietary needs when they visit.
Home health care services give you the power to heal effectively. However, your recovery is also in your hands. Continue to enhance your knowledge of health and wellness while at home, by reading these additional articles:
