Getting a total knee replacement requires major surgery. In the operating room an eight inch incision will be made in your leg so the doctor has room to do his work. Whenever total knee replacement occurs, there is a small risk of infection. Even though the doctors and his assistants take every precaution to prevent infection, you are in a hospital. And hospitals are full of sick people.
It is a normal precaution for knee replacement surgery for the doctor to prescribe antibiotics to be included in your intravenous, both during and after the surgery for a few days. This helps protect you if you have been exposed. But there are things you can do to protect yourself. One of them is to ensure your own immune system is humming along at a high level.
There has been an explosion of books on boosting your immune system. Several that do a good job of explaining how you can ensure your immune system is operating at optimum levels are "The Immune System Cure", published by Kensington (2000), and "The Top 100 Immunity Boosters", published by Duncan Baird (2006). There are numerous others available, check your local book store.
In general terms, you should know that your immune system can be compromised if you are simply suffering from a deficiency in certain vitamins or nutrients. The famous Recommended Dietary Allowance (now called Reference Daily Intake) was developed in the United States during World War II to define the minimum allowance for "energy and eight nutrients" that would meet the requirements of 98% of the population. Note: these values were not the "optimum" levels, simply the amounts that would prevent deficiency diseases from occurring, with some additional safety margin. In most cases, optimum levels have not been determined for most vitamins and minerals.
The typical multi-vitamin has less than your required RDI of each item, frequently as little as 10% or less. It is expected that most of your vitamins and minerals will come form your diet, and this is the preferred source, because fresh foods typically include additional useful components such as flavinoids and other micronutrients. Nonetheless, depending on the freshness of your food, the amount of processing, and the variety of your diet, it is probably a good idea to take two of your usual one-a-day vitamin supplements each day, in the weeks leading up to your hospital stay.
In addition, there are two other products you may want to consider for their immune boosting effect. Echinacea is a well know, easily available, cold and flu relieving product that has proven immune system benefits. White blood cells are important components in your total immune system and Echinacea has been shown to both increase their number and their activity in study subjects. It also helps counteract an enzyme released by bacteria that allows them to penetrate human tissue.
Lomatium dissectum (fernleaf biscuitroot) is a plant with a long traditional of medicinal use by Native Americans. It first came to the attention of western medicine when Ernst Krebs, MD of Carson City noticed, during the great influenza epidemic of 1918 that killed over 20 million people world wide, that the local aboriginal peoples, the Washoe, were recovering more quickly than his other patients. Extracts of this plant are now being used in the treatment of numerous viral diseases, including Hepatitis-C, AIDS and Pneumonia. Since respiratory problems are of particular concern after surgery involving general anesthetic, you might want to consider a regimen of taking this product starting 3 or 4 days before your surgery.
You should always discuss supplementation with your doctor. Your case is different from everybody else's because you are an individual. However, there should be no problem with taking your multi-vitamin supplement. And there is no problem in making an effort to eat a varied diet, rich in fresh vegetables and fruits, with adequate sources of protein, all cooked as little as possible. Steaming, stir frying and roasting or grilling as opposed to deep frying or frying would be the preferred cooking methods.
Support your immune system, before you get into the hospital, so that it will support you while you are there, and after you get out.
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