how to handle home care nursing staff

Recovering from any kind of surgery is tough, especially because you can't stay in the hospital during your entire recovery. Coming home to an empty house and taking care of yourself may be more difficult than you think, even if your upcoming surgical procedure is minor. If you think you're going to find yourself in this situation, it's a good idea to hire someone to come care for you while you recover. Here are three good reasons why.

Wound Care

When you come home from the hospital, you're going to be expected to take care of your incisions. This means keeping them clean, removing any ooze or fluid that escapes, and regularly changing the dressings over them. This type of care may seem easy enough if you're looking after someone else, but when you're the one recovering, any kind of activity can be exhausting. Unfortunately, putting off your wound care can leave you susceptible to infection, inflammation, and a longer recovery time.

Cleanliness

Keeping clean is an absolute must after you've had surgery, but it's also extremely difficult. Regardless of where surgery was performed on your body, you're going to be physically weak, sore, and in pain after your procedure. Taking a shower will be extremely difficult for you while it's hard to move, and unfortunately, the risk of falling in the tub is increased considerably while you're in this state. Skipping keeping clean is dangerous for all the same reasons as neglecting your incisions, though, so you need to find a way to stay tidy while you're in the early stages of recovery.

Help with Chores

Finally, consider what you're going to do to take care of yourself around the house. Hopping in the car and doing simple chores, like grocery shopping or picking up necessary items like toilet paper may be extremely difficult while you're recovering. If you've been sent home on narcotic pain relievers, you shouldn't get behind the wheel at all. But even without getting into your car, looking after things at home can be difficult.

For all of these situations, an in-home nursing assistant can be hugely useful. These trained professionals can be hired for a short period of time, so you don't have to feel as though you're going to rely on them forever. Talk to your surgeon to find out how long you can expect to be recovering after you're sent home, and make arrangements to have a nurse available during that time. Your body will recover faster without being pushed too hard and you won't run the risk of undoing your recovery by hurting yourself.