Rhinoplasty recovery question. Is it acceptable to do light housework?

Question

I am 5 days post op Rhinoplasty and Chin Implant. most of the swelling and bruising are down. Is it acceptable to do light housework? Also, I attempted to clean my right nostril with hydrogen peroxide, very gently on the inside, not deep at all, nor close to the tip. I also applied a good amount of Neosporine. A few seconds later I got a tingling sensation in the nostril. Is there a possibility that I damaged stitches and it may impair my healing process and ultimate results...

Babak Azizzadeh, MD, FACS · Answer

Great question. It sounds like it’s too soon for you to be doing housework, even if it is “light”. You just had surgery 5 days ago, so it’s important to allow your body to rest. It needs to be able to allocate any extra energy it has for healing your nose. While light housework might not seem strenuous to you, it can potentially still raise your blood pressure which promotes swelling. After surgery, I recommend that my patients rest and avoid any physical activity for 3 weeks after their rhinoplasty procedure. This helps to ensure that their nose has had time to begin healing, before putting any other strain on their body.

Sam Rizk, MD · Answer

At this stage of your rhinoplasty recovery, it
is still early to be resuming physical activity. I typically recommend that my
patients refrain from exercising and lifting heavy items for at least three
weeks to a month from the date of their surgery. Though “light housework” may
seem easy for you to do even 5 days post-op, I would advise that you try to
take it easy during this time, resting as much as possible to give your body
time to heal properly and to ensure the best results for your rhinoplasty.

Oakley Smith, MD, FRCSC · Answer

This is a question everyone asks. After rhinoplasty there is one goal: to have the swelling resolve as fast as possible. Straining and a rapid heart rate both hinder resolution. Straining retards the blood drainage while a fast heart beat increases the blood flow. Both bad. So the answer to everyone question is don't do activities which result in either of these issues. A weightlifter obviously can easily lift things which a couch potato  would have to strain and a marathon runner's heart rate wont rise as much as someone who drives to work. So it's common sense. As a rule of thumb, no strenuous physical activity for a month.

Sirius K. Yoo, MD · Answer

Thank you for your question.  You should follow your surgeon's post operative care instructions, but generally, light housework should be fine as soon as you are up to it.  Just don't do anything that causes exertion or lift anything heavier than about 10 pounds.  You don't want to raise your blood pressure and risk getting a nose bleed or increase swelling.  As far as the tingling sensation, that was likely the effervescence from the hydrogen peroxide.  It would be difficult to accidentally damage anything by gentle cleaning with a q-tip.  If you are still concerned, obviously check with your surgeon and keep him in the loop.  All the best!

William Portuese, MD · Answer

It's important to not get your heart rate  and blood pressure elevated for 2 weeks after the rhinoplasty procedure, to prevent a nose bleed. What constitutes light housework is quite variable when talking to patient's. As long as the housework  is not consider exercise, it's probably acceptable to do normal chores. In our practice, we do not recommend Neosporin placed inside the nose  diue to many patients being allergic to it

Steven Wallach, MD · Answer

I usually have my patients avoid any exertion for at least 3-4 weeks after surgery.  Best to discuss this with your surgeon.

Brian Windle, MD (retired) · Answer

What the recovery process from a rhinoplasty is like, is a
common question.  There are likely as
many answers as there are surgeons.  I
prefer to follow the literature and the latest recommendations and science that
can be found there.

First, there is no need for packing and the splint is really
there to prevent blood collection under your skin for the first day or
two.  Therefore, I usually remove the splint
at about day 2 or 3 as there is no reason to keep it on after that.  It may protect the bones from accidental
bumps but the bones are generally fixed into positon by then according to the
craniofacial bone literature.

As far as activity, we are generally trying to reduce the
risk of a postoperative nose bleed by restricting activity but the literature
suggests that this is very rare unless the patient has a bleeding problem.  I generally allow a return to light exercise
as soon as you feel comfortable with that. 
This could be as soon as the splint is removed.  The intensity of the activity can be
increased as you feel comfortable.

I have added a video for you that talks about rhinoplasty
recovery.

I hope that helps.

Robert E. Zaworski, MD (retired) · Answer

Light housework to some people is heavy housework to others.  Follow your Plastic Surgeon's post op instructions.  I would limit bending over and lifting heavy objects.   It would be difficult to accidentally damage anything by gentle cleaning with a Q-tip.  The hydrogen peroxide may have caused the tingling sensation.  Best to you!

Rhinoplasty recovery question. Is it acceptable to do light housework?

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