2 days Before Surgery
And so began my dance with the first special pre-surgery shower, featuring the humble surgical scrub kit from the hospital. This wasn't just any kit, oh no! It came with an intriguingly poofy mesh shower sponge and a duo of small bottles filled with a 4% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) soap solution.
Surgery Shower 101
I supposed there was something special about this mesh sponge. The instructions insisted on its exclusiveness over any other shower aid. You know those cheap $2 mesh sponges you can grab on your way out at any local drugstore? It looked just like one of those. Well, I followed the steps as closely as possible: rinse, use as shampoo, lather (they claimed lathering was the sponge's superpower), turn off the water, and massage every nook and cranny of your body. Not once - but twice! Then, rinse, towel dry with a spotless towel, and finally, blow dry your hair.
And there was my long-forgotten shower scrub on a stick languishing in the corner for years. Now its time to shine had finally come, "You shall be used today, my friend."
Some Fumbles
With the excitement and anxiety of this new shower routine, I made a few fumbles. Rinsed between the two body lathers and towel-dried my hair, yes, guilty as charged. Could this hamper my surgery's success rate? I surely hope not.
"Use fresh clothes and sleep in clean linens." Another instruction. Fresh? Absolutely. Clean? Well, considering my cats' tendency to nap on my bed, I hoped the 4-day-old linens would pass the test of 'clean' according to the doctor & hospital.
There were also warnings against the use of any other skin or bath products. No soaps, conditioners, or hairstyling products—got it, loud and clear.
The instructions mention also mention an embargo on supplements. They recommended stopping them a week prior to surgery. At the hospital, the pre-op team seemed to emphasize particularly on avoiding oily supplements. But here's the catch—they had given me documents months ago saying not to take aspirin, NSAIDs, fish oil, ibuprofen, supplemental vitamins, and multivitamins 10 to 14 days before surgery, with the good ol' Tylenol being the only exception. But life happened, work spiraled out of control, and I got so caught up in the whirlwind that I barely glanced over the documents. So, here I was, stopping my usual supplements only today—UC-II collagen, hyaluronic acid, Vitamin D3, magnesium, and fiber… Oops, let's hope this doesn't spell trouble later!
