Tips to Minimize Bruising
Bromelain Supplement (pineapple extract) is available at drug and health food stores and greatly reduces bruising and swelling. Take 500 mg twice daily for one week prior to surgery and for two weeks after surgery.
The following should be avoided for two weeks before surgery and two weeks after surgery but you should check with your physician before stopping any of these medications:
- Aspirin
- Coumadin (Warfarin)
- Plavix
- Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
- Naprosyn/Naproxen (Aleve)
Herbs and supplements
Avoid the following herbs and supplements for two weeks before your surgery and for two weeks after your surgery.
- Bilberry
- Cayenne
(red pepper)
- Dong Quai
- Echinacea
- Feverfew i
- Fish oil caps
- Garlic
- St. John’s Wort
- Ginkgo
- Ginger
- Ginseng
- Ginger
- Guarana
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- Hawthorne
- Kava Kava
- Licorice root
- Ma Huang
- Meadowsweet
- Melatonin
- Niacin
- Red clover
- Tumeric
- Valerian
- Vitamin E
- White Willow
- Yorhimbe
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Foods
The following foods contain aspirin properties and you should decrease your intake before and after surgery.
- Avocados
- Apples
- Apricots
- Blackberries
- Cherries
- Currants
- Cucumbers
- Dewberries
- Fish (all types)
- Garlic
- Gooseberries
- Grapefruit
- Grapes
- Lemons
- Melons
- Nectarines
- Oranges
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- Onions
- Peaches
- Plums
- Peppers (bell/green)
- Potatoes
- Prunes
- Raisins
- Raspberries
- Rootbeer
- Shellfish (all types)
- Spicy foods
- Strawberries
- Sunflower seeds
- Soybeans
- Sweet potatoes
- Tomatoes
- Wheat Germ Oil
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