Are There Specific Steps to Reduce Swelling and Bruising After a Radiesse Injection?

Don't take any blood thinners 2 weeks before and after treatment, such as vitamin E, fish oil, aspirin, Aleve, other nonsteroidals, and any herbal supplements.  Cold packs, keeping your head elevated and arnica tablets and/or cream (we like Trameel cream) can all help.  

Undergoingfiller injections include the risk of running into after effects such asbruising and swelling. These are not life threatening as long as they healwithin a given time. Most often swelling starts to become noticeable within 24hours after injection while bruising may take 1 to 2 days to show up. Thesewill usually heal on their own. Swelling usually subsides within 24 hour theearliest and 2 weeks the latest. Bruising completely goes away in a couple ofweeks. However, there are still methods that you can do to manage these andhasten up healing.
-Elevate your head when sleeping.
- Icethe swollen area to reduce the swelling. Do this 10 to 15 minutes every 3 hourswhen you are awake.
- Avoidvigorous exercises.
-Arnica may also be helpful in reducing swelling.
- Avoidblood thinning medications prior and after treatment.
Ifswelling and bruising lasts more than it should, visit your doctor for a followup checkup so he or she can check if anything is out of the ordinary.

It's important to apply ice packs for the first 48 hours after Radiesse injections to reduce swelling.  Also, I encourage patients to refrain from anti-coagulants, including aspirin, for one week pre- and post-procedure.  Arnica can reduce bruising if taken prior to injection.   Nutritional supplements should be scrutinized for their contents and potential side effects; gingko biloba and St John's wart are just two such supplements which can increase bruising.

Greetings~

The best possible thing to do after your Radiesse injections for bruising and swelling is ICE. 10-15 minutes every 2-3 hours is great for the first 24-48 hours.  Avoid strenuous exercise...raising your heart rate will increase swelling and may worsen bruising early on. Don't massage the treated areas. When you sleep, sleep with your head slightly elevated and try not to sleep on your face.  Our patients have also found oral arnica pellets and topical cream helpful (Boiron arnica or Heel Traumeel).  Hope that helps.

Good luck~

Dr. Grant Stevens

Some swelling is expected after Radiesse injections. Icing the area for 10 minutes every 2-3 hours while awake the first 2 days after injections is helpful.  I would limit physical exertion for the first two days as well.

What is important is the preparation beforehand.  Unless prescribed by a physician, I ask patients to avoid any blood thinners, such as aspirin, other non-tylenol pain medications, vitamin E, fish oil, gingko biloba, for 10 days before injections.  That decreases the risk of bruising.

Making sure that the injections are performed by a board certified dermatologist or plastic surgeon with proper training and experience in doing Radiesse injections.

These are rare after Radiesse but can be quite unsightly.  Ice will help, but don't press too hard on the area.  Arnica works for some people but not for others.  Time will be your best healer as both issues will resolve.  Prior to your treatment try to avoid aspirin or non steroidal anti-inflammatory medications as these may cause you to bruise more.

The swelling can be managed with cold compresses.  We usually recommend 10 minutes of cold every 2-3 hours while awake.

Bruising is best managed with oral or topical Arnica which is available at most pharmacies and health food stores.  There are many different formulations available so be sure to read the package label for directions.  Many patients will use these products prophylactically BEFORE being treated with botox and fillers as a preventive. There is another product called Auriderm Gel which also expedites the resolution of bruises.  You may have to search on line or make some phone calls to find that one.

 

All of the injectable fillers can cause bruising and swelling. Be sure to be off aspirin and aspirin containing products as well as Advil type products. Arnica may help as well as ice.

To reduce swelling and bruising from any filler injections such as Radiesse, there are several things to remember. Medications know to interfere with coagulation should be stopped. These medications include aspirin, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, vitamin E, gingko biloba, ginger, St. John’s wort, ginseng, and fish oil. Icing the area for several hours after treatment will usually help to reduce the swelling and discomfort. I instruct patients not to massage the area. Heavy exercise should be avoided for that day. Bromelain tablets can be taken after your treatment for their anti-bruising and anti-swelling effects. 

Cold packs, cold packs and did I mention cold packs??  Bring some in a cooler and ice off & on on your way home.  Don't work out, mow the lawn or do strenuous housework for at least 24 hours.  If your doctor has a vascular laser, your bruises can be treated the next day which really speeds up the time it takes for them to resolve.  Avoid meds that can increase the risk of bruising at least one week before your treatment.  These include aspirin, ibuprofen, vitamin E, fish oil, the "G" series:  gingko, ginseng, garlic, ginger and several other nutritional supplements.