Topics: Health, Sex and Relationships, Real Life, Life, UK News
There’s a very off-putting reason that you can’t have sex or self-pleasure straight after surgery - and trust us, you’ll want to listen.
After you’ve just been wheeled out of the operating room, fresh after an important surgery, it’s unlikely that the first thing on your mind will be sex.
But, on the off chance that it is, a recent story has reminded people how important it is to listen to healthcare professionals, especially if you’re advised to avoid anything intimate post-op.
If you don’t know what we’re talking about, a British influencer has shared the details of a horrifying ordeal he underwent back in 2022.
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Ruben Owen, 22, travelled abroad to Turkey to get a hair transplant done as he had concerns surrounding his hairline.
The procedure all went to plan and he left happy with the results - however, what he failed to do was listen to all of the aftercare instructions.
While there’s varying advice depending on how serious your surgery is, hair transplant surgeons generally recommend abstaining from sexual activity for at least seven days post-procedure.
Ruben admitted he ‘didn’t quite listen’ to this part of the advice and delved straight back into it soon after touching down in the UK again.
However, he was faced with a horrifying situation when he woke up the morning after to find that the left side of his head had swollen up and made it look like he had been ‘stung by 100 bees’.
The influencer initially thought it could be an STI and began to panic, however, he quickly clocked on that it was due to the transplant combined with the sex.
Although he’s all good now, it took one whole week for the facial swelling to go down.
Ruben said: "Turns out it was just my own fault for going too hard too soon - definitely learned my lesson the weird way."
He added: "The left hand side was bigger than anything to the point it didn't even look like I had been punched - it genuinely looked like my face was going to explode.”
But now, the question on everyone’s minds is why can’t you have sex after surgery?
Well, when it comes to a hair transplant, it’s because increased heart rate and blood pressure can reopen healing incisions, and sweating can irritate the transplant area and increase the risk of infection.
Sex or masturbation causes your heart rate and blood pressure to increase and while your hair grafts are still healing, it can cause the wounds to rupture and bleed.
Some experts say it can even compromise the success of the hair transplant altogether as it’s really easy for the grafts to be moved or dislodged.
However, the time frame involved can be from any time between from a week to months depending on the type of surgery and how serious it was.
Open heart surgery for example, will have a different waiting time to a simple mole removal.
Remaining sexually inactive for a period of time makes sure you heal fully and without issues - no one wants an infection or for their stitches to come undone.
The best thing to do if you find yourself in this situation is simply to get the advice of your doctor - they definitely hear it all the time, so need not be embarrassed!
It’s better to find out all of the facts when it comes to your health and make sure you’re sticking to the rules so you don’t end up with complications down the line.
