Smoking, Drinking, and Drugs: How They Affect Your Hair Transplant!
I know the title of this article sounds like a Dr. Phil or Maury Povich episode, but in all seriousness, these things can all have an adverse effect on your hair transplant results.
Smoking, alcohol, recreational drugs, prescription drugs, and even certain vitamins will all have a certain effect on your hair transplant results. The biggest concern is the potential of excessive bleeding during the surgery and oozing afterwards.
Here is a list of possible harmful items. It is best to ask your doctor before the procedure whether anything might conflict with the hair transplant.
Smoking
Smoking tobacco has many negative impacts on our bodies. The obvious ones are lung cancer and heart disease. In a hair transplant, the vascular restrictive properties of tobacco as well as many other ingredients in cigarettes can lead to blood flow issues that can cause a diminished supply of blood to the newly transplanted grafts. Hair follicles need good blood flow to grow new hairs.
It is best to quit smoking entirely . . . for many reasons. But if possible, it is very important to not smoke for at least a few days before surgery as well as the first two weeks after a hair transplant. This will give the grafts enough time to heal properly. It is also important for the patient to be aware of the possible risks associated with smoking and the possibility of less than ideal results for a hair transplant.
Alcohol
It’s no secret that drinking alcohol will thin your blood. The ethanol that is found in beer, wine, and hard liquor is a well-known associated risk of excessive bleeding. It can also have an effect on blood clotting.
If a patient is just a casual drinker, it is best to just not consume alcohol for the week leading up to the surgery as well as the week afterwards. Doing this will lower the chances of excessive bleeding during and after the surgery.
Cocaine
This drug can have certain interactions with medications that can lead to unforeseen complications and side effects. The biggest concern is that when cocaine and lidocaine mix in our systems, the results can be very dangerous because of the ability of cocaine to raise the effects of this local anaesthetic to extremely high levels.
Prescription Medication
Vitamins And Herbal Products
Vitamin E, fish oil, and diet pills will all cause heavy bleeding during the procedure. It is best to stop using them for at least a week prior to surgery.
Many other natural products can have a cross reaction with other prescribed drugs. Even certain natural supplements that are taken to decrease hair loss such as saw palmetto are not to be used before a hair transplant.
