So you’ve just had a tummy tuck, you’re on the road to recovery and you’re starting to feel better. After finally getting back to your daily routine, you might be tempted to celebrate your slimmer midsection with a drink or two. If your recovery is coinciding with a holiday or a friend’s birthday, that temptation might feel like a necessity, but be careful – drinking alcohol of any kind does not help the recovery process.
Drinking and Prescription Drugs
As you’d expect with any cosmetic surgery procedure, tummy tucks and alcohol don’t mix. While a beer or a glass of wine might not seem like a big deal when your body is recovering, alcohol can slow down the healing process in numerous ways.
First, you need to consider the pain medication you may still be taking. There’s a reason why drinking at the same time as you take other medications is discouraged – it puts too much strain on your body. Your liver is responsible for filtering out chemicals that you take in, and pain medicine as well as alcohol both fit into this category. Combining them creates a lot of stress on the body’s filtration system, and can lead to more serious health problems down the line.
Drying Out
Alcohol also has a dehydrating effect on your body, which not only reduces your skin elasticity and can increase your recovery time, but can also can increase your risk of post-operative infection. For the best tummy tuck results, avoid alcoholic beverages until you’re off your pain medication and your body has had a chance to heal.