Quit Smoking
One of the most important things a person can do to prevent a hernia or help treat it once it occurs is to stop smoking. Smoking has been a risk factor for hernia and can worsen the condition once it develops. The nicotine in cigarettes is a vasoconstrictor, which causes blood vessels to narrow.
When the blood vessels in the abdomen are constricted, they have trouble delivering oxygen and nutrients throughout the body as efficiently as they otherwise would; this results in slower healing from any injury, including surgery on the abdominal muscles.
Additionally, smoking increases the risk of sheath problems developing after surgery (such as when an incision site becomes infected). In addition to its effects on hernia patients’ recovery times post-surgery, smoking also leads directly to other health problems like cancer or heart disease, which might require additional surgery.
