There are very few people that aren’t afraid of having to have surgery. The after effects can be very painful. You can end up with a painful incision, have to use special bandaging, and avoid getting the area wet. This can all be very overwhelming and extremely frustrating.

The fear of infection is always a major concern and can be a mind boggling prospect. If you know what to look for however, you will be able to prevent huge life altering problems that can be caused from infection.

Infection: This is the biggest worry. Five hundred thousand out of every twenty-seven million surgeries end up having some sort of infection every year. This can end up being an infection at the point of incision or even in your blood. If you find yourself feeling malaise: tired, feeling like there is something wrong and down in the dumps, you may have an infection in your blood.

Whether your infection is at the site of the incision or in your blood you are most likely going to have a fever. Signs that your wound is infected are it having a hot feeling, the draining of fluid suck as pus, becoming red and a build-up of pain that increases with time.

It is imperative that if you notice any of these signs you go immediately to the doctor of an urgent care or emergency room.

Hemorrhage: It’s pretty common to have a little bleeding following a surgery. A lot of bleeding however is never a good thing or common. If your bandage becomes a very bloody, dripping mess you may have a hemorrhage.

If you have the above symptoms you need to get to your doctor’s office of the emergency room immediately. If you don’t, you could likely bleed to death. Be sure to apply constant pressure to the wound on the way to hold back some of the bleeding.

Blood Clots: If you happen to feel a painful sensation in your leg that isn’t normal after surgery you may very likely have a blood clot. If this is the case, these clots can lead to stroke, heart attack, and pulmonary embolism. These are life threatening conditions and you need to immediately get your doctor’s office for treatment.

Nerve Complications: When you have a surgical procedure performed on a limb, you could develop nerve complications. These arise by swelling or a clot that is on the nerve. This is not an emergency situation but it is necessary that you see your doctor for treatment.

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