Prior to surgery, people that vape logically want to get their daily dose of nicotine. Vape smoke is better than tobacco, but can still harm the surgery process. Abstain from vaping before, during & after any type of surgery. It might affect your body’s ability to heal, increases the risk of blood clots, and can react with your medication.
According to the American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA), vaping is ‘no better’ than smoking cigarettes when it comes to the need for surgery or anesthetics. Vape liquid contains nicotine, which may significantly increase the risks of surgical complications. E-cigarettes have a range of health risks to them in relation to surgery or anesthetics. There are a number of directly related health risks to nicotine-rich vapes, which are just as serious as regular smoking risks.
Vaping Before Surgery: The Risks
·Risk of forming deadly blood cloths is greatly increased: When any type of nicotine is present in the body, the possibility of blood clots forming during (or after) anesthetics is a lot larger. Chemicals inside the vape smoke will make your blood thicker and more sticky. If a blood cloth forms due to this blood stiffness and travels to either the heart or the lungs, you’re toast. That means you’re going to die in a case like that;
·Healing tissues can starve due to loss of critical blood supply: Nicotine is able to decrease the size of your blood vessels and disrupt the overall circulation of blood. This could cause your skin to develop horrid scarring tissue, or even loss of skin tissue altogether (this is called gangrene). Solving these problems may require an additional surgery, with the risks of nicotine being equally problematic. It is exactly these skin surgeries that will worsen the effect of scarring or further tissue loss. That’s not something you want to experience, trust me;
·Scar tissue heals slower: Surgery scars will heal more irregular and with more scarring, than would otherwise be the case if you were not smoking or vaping;
·Infection risk is greatly increased: Vaping will make your immune system weaker, which allows bacteria and viruses to nest inside your body in places you’d rather not have them house themselves: The location where the surgical incision is made. Infections require additional medication like antibiotics. With the increased proliferation of antibiotic-resistant hospital bacteria, this could also potentially lead to severe sickness or even death;
·Recovering from surgery becomes more painful overall: Using nicotine can decrease the effectiveness of the pain-reducing medication you get after the surgery is done. It can also change the way in which these medications will work on your body, which will make the post-surgical period a lot more painful than needed;
·The sedation process (anesthesia) will be riskier: It can be quite difficult to know how a body under the influence of nicotine will react to anesthetics. In general, the use of medication is greatly altered due to nicotine in the bloodstream. This can stand in the way of the success of performing the surgery.
How Long Should You Avoid Using Nicotine Around Surgery?
As soon as you know you need surgery, you should immediately avoid using nicotine. A minimum period of 6 weeks before the treatment and 6 weeks after treatment is required. Choosing to continue using nicotine within around surgery puts patients at unnecessary risk. A longer nicotine abstinence period is preferred.
Sometimes it’s not possible to stop vaping in time, since the required surgery is very sudden. While it is not impossible to perform serious medical treatments while nicotine is inside your bloodstream, the risk you are exposed to are serious, as explained at the beginning of this article.
One thing everyone cán influence, however, is the need for nicotine-rich vaping (or smoking) after surgery or other serious medical treatment. Choosing to halt your vaping habits during this period of fragile health will improve your chances of a speedy recovery.
Under ‘the use of nicotine’ most people would assume I’m talking about smoking (e-)cigarettes. This is not necessarily the case. If you’re for example trying to quit smoking, you must also abstain from using nicotine plasters, or other (similar) cigarette replacements. Anything that will increase the level of nicotine in your bloodstream should be avoided. Let’s explain why this is also true áfter your surgery has been completed.
Can I Vape After Surgery?
No, vaping after surgery will increase the level of nicotine in your blood again, which will harm the healing process of the body after the completion of surgery. You should wait a minimum of 6 weeks after surgery before vaping is safe again. In the meantime, any nicotine consumption should be avoided.
It can be a good idea to wait even longer, until your scar tissue is completely gone away. That way you can be sure that your skin will not be impacted by the extra use of nicotine. Personally, I’d wait as much as 6 months before even considering vaping again. Treat it like you broke your arm or leg, that way you can be sure that you will not harm your body in the long term.
Switching to nicotine-free vapes isn’t the best idea either, since your lungs need to be at full capacity for your body to recover faster. Vaping impacts the lungs negatively in a direct way, as I explained in a previous article on this blog. While you’re at it, it can be a good idea to read through that article as well, since knowing the risks related to vaping is, in my opinion, one of the basic things you as a vaper should inform yourself about. Without it, making an informed decision can be really hard.
Vaping No Nicotine Before Surgery, Good Or Bad?
Vaping without nicotine before surgery s less harmful than ‘regular’ nicotine-rich vaping. It is specifically the nicotine that can pose major health risks. Choosing no nicotine vapes is not necessarily completely safe. Other substances in vape smoke could be harmful as well: Always use the precautionary principle.
There is no real research done on this topic, and it’s quite obvious that the most harm is done with nicotine-rich vapes. However, making sure your body is primed to have a great surgical result is the main concern here.
Anytime a new product is introduced to the body, there will be some sort of effect. It’s not like inhaling smoke is exactly the most healthy thing, although still better than smoking cigarettes. In my opinion, it is more than worth it to change some habits ahead of time, in order to get a better outcome from surgery.
Can You Vape Before Colonoscopy?
Surgery can use partial sedation, such as during a colonoscopy. You’ll be sedated using medication, with which the chemicals inside vape smoke could interfere. It is therefore not recommended to vape before, during or after a colonoscopy. During the surgery, you are on medication, which nicotine can interfere with.
While I really understand the thought behind this question, since this type of medical treatment is unique (and not exactly a surgery), just go back to that really important principle again that I’ve just mentioned. Taking your precautions is better than harming yourself unintentionally.
I mean sure, you will probably be fine when you vape after your colonoscopy, but what if the specific medication you get post-treatment forms a blood cloth in your butthole that gets transferred to your heart over time? Exactly, you don’t want to die because your vaping clogged up your butthole. That doesn’t really look nice on your gravestone… I’m being a bit macabre here, but that’s one of the few ways I can send across a message. Don’t do anything stupid or risky when it comes to vaping. Because in the end, vapes are drugs, just like weed, alcohol and cigarettes. Be safe out there.
Vaping And Plastic Surgery
When it comes to vaping and plastic surgery, there is really nothing different from regular medical surgeries, as similar anesthetics are used. Plastic surgery is often a lot less demanding for the body, making vaping smoke in the bloodstream potentially less damaging, yet it is not recommended to vape before, during or after a plastic surgery. Just to be on the safe side.
I could really add this to any type of surgery or medical treatment, because all of them are exactly the same. I chose to highlight colonoscopies and plastic surgeries, due to the fact that they’re not a ‘real’ surgery with a medical urgency, or not a real surgery in the sense that you’ll get all the anesthesia you would otherwise receive.
However, some types of plastic surgeries are just as impactful on the body as regular medical surgeries. Thus making the same rules and risks apply in this case. Whatever cosmetic changes you want to add to your body is your choice, but do it safely. No vaping, no smoking, no nicotine. For at least 2 months before ánd after the treatment. Keep that in mind and you’ll be fine.
Vaping Safely, Surgery Or Not
Informing yourself about the health risks of vaping before starting, is the absolute best way of dealing with medical problems. If you’re not sure about vaping and your surgery, simply ask your doctor or medical professional about what exactly you can and cannot do.
After you have made your informed decision, it’s up to you which vape products to choose and when exactly you’re going to use them. If you’ve been healed and you’re six months after your surgery or more, do check out the top-tier vape products list I’ve made specifically for this site. But please use it safely and wisely.