Talking About Health And Medical Care

Facelifts are fairly substantial surgical procedures that are completed to tighten the skin around the face. While the surgery is considered a major cosmetic one, well over 100,000 facelifts are completed every year. This means that the surgery is a common one that is completed by a variety of different cosmetic and plastic surgeons. It is fairly easy to find a professional who is skilled in completing the operation. Incisions will need to be made in the skin to complete the surgery. While these cuts are typically placed around the ears, hairline, and scalp to reduce the appearance of scars, scars will still be visible. You can make sure that they are not as visible as they could be though by making sure your body gets the nutrients it needs after your operation. Vitamin C is one of these nutrients. 

Why Is Vitamin C Important?

Vitamin C is possibly the most important vitamin that your body needs to heal properly after a facelift. During the initial stages of the healing process, the vitamin helps to make sure that infection does not set in. This minimizes swelling and the possibility of incision sites pulling away from the face. This type of issue can cause large, sunken, and uneven scars. When skin pulls away, the incision will open slightly and scar tissue will need to fill in the gap or opening. 

Vitamin C reduces infection concerns substantially by helping the various cells of the immune system function to their full potential. The t-cells and the phagocyte cells are two vital parts of the immune system that use vitamin C when they are active. Phagocyte cells are the ones that consume harmful substances in the body, like bacteria. The t-cells tell the immune cells where they should go to keep the body healthy. When these cells work together, the phagocytes can be directed to the facial wounds where bacteria may have entered the body, and the microorganisms can be destroyed well before they cause swelling and infection issues around the incision sites.

Vitamin C is also an important vitamin to help scars form quickly. Scars are made up of a material called collagen. Collagen is a fibrous substance that helps to stitch the two sides of a wound together with new tissue material. Your scars will appear relatively smooth and even as long as collagen can form in continuous bands. This means the body needs proper nutrition so that collagen formation is not interrupted during the building process. Protein is required for this, but the body also needs a great deal of vitamin C. The vitamin C helps to synthesize proteins so they can be used to form collagen tissue.

How Much Vitamin C Do You Need?

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin. This means that your body excretes vitamin C daily if it is not used. It is not stored, and this means you need to consume a good deal of the vitamin daily as your facelift wounds and scars heal. Under normal circumstances, your body will need about 65 to 95 milligrams a day. Your body will need much more for healing and scar building purposes after a facelift. You should keep your intake below about 2,000 milligrams though, or you might experience some diarrhea or headaches. 

You will have difficulty eating solid foods after your operation due to the compression bandages and other dressings. It is wise to get your vitamin C by creating a smoothie each day that can be sipped through a straw. To make the smoothie, add fruits like guavas, kiwis, oranges, strawberries, and papayas. Use whole fruits for the drink, because the fiber in the fruit will help you absorb the vitamin C. Add two to three cups of the fruit to the blender. This way, you will be supplying your body with a lot of vitamin C, but you will not come close to an intake of 2,000 milligrams.

For more tips on improving your recovery, contact a local clinic like My Plastic Surgery Group.