3 Tips For Recovering From Skin Cancer Surgery
If you have been diagnosed with skin cancer, one form of treatment is going to involve removing the portions of your skin where the cancer is located. If the entire portion of cancerous skin is removed, then the success rate for removing your cancer is going to be high. The procedure itself won't take more than a day, but you are going to need to schedule some downtime afterwards so that you have time to heal and otherwise recover. In order to make your recovery process as quick and smooth as possible, there are certain things that you can do. This article is going to discuss 3 tips for recovering from skin cancer surgery.
Clean The Site With Hydrogen Peroxide
Once your initial bandage has been removed, one or two days after your surgery, you are going to want to make sure that you keep the incision site clean and free of infection. A great way to do this is to clean the incision with hydrogen peroxide. This is going to remove bacteria and decrease the risk of infection each time that you use it. If you do this morning and night, then cover your incision with a bandage and healing ointment, you are not only going to help it heal, but you will also likely decrease the appearance of the scar.
Avoid The Sun
After skin cancer surgery, you are going to want to avoid the sun for two main reasons. One reason is that the sun can irritate your wound, and the second reason is that it was likely unprotected exposure to the sun that caused you to develop cancer in the first place. If you do have to be in the sun, then you are going to want to make sure that your wounds are carefully covered, you have on clothes and accessories that cover the majority of your skin, and that you have applied sun screen to all of the exposed areas of your body. Practicing these habits even after your wounds have healed is also a great idea.
Do Not Smoke
Another tip for recovering from skin cancer surgery is to avoid smoking or otherwise using nicotine. When you smoke, you are decreasing oxygen to the rest of your body. This is going to include the wound where your skin cancer was removed. With decreased oxygen, it is going to take your wound longer to heal because it isn't being given the blood flow that it needs to heal.
