We all expect the surgery to be successful, however, some patients develop infections after surgery. Once a surgical infection occurs, it often requires a second or even multiple surgeries, greatly increasing your pain and expense, leading to adverse consequences such as chronic pain and, most seriously, disability and life-threatening conditions. You must be wondering why surgical site infections can occur when the operating room is so clean. The reasons are many and complex, but the following reasons should especially draw our attention: i. Bacteria on the skin: Normally, our skin surface is not sterile: bacteria are always present in the hair follicles of the skin, and even if the skin is strictly disinfected, the bacteria in the deep skin follicles will slowly emerge and enter the incision as the surgery proceeds. At this time, if you have folliculitis, boils and other infected foci on your own skin, it will greatly increase the amount of bacteria entering the incision and the possibility of infection increases thousands of times at once. In addition to the skin of the surgical area, bacteria within the foci of infection in other parts of the body may enter the surgical incision with the blood flow, leading to infection, commonly seen in facial acne, foot disease, and so on. Second, urinary tract infections and other system organ infections: urinary tract infections, upper respiratory tract infections, abdominal infections, etc., bacteria can flow with the blood to the surgical site, causing infection. The most common is urinary tract infection caused by Escherichia coli or Klebsiella pneumoniae. Third, the ability to kill bacteria: It is what we often call resistance. For patients with high resistance, the small amount of bacteria that enter the incision will be destroyed by the body’s immune system and will not allow them to continue to multiply and cause infection. Patients with poor resistance have difficulty removing the bacteria, which can lead to surgical site infections. Common causes of poor resistance include diabetes, smoking, weight loss, or obesity. So what can be done to minimize the possibility of post-operative infection? We have sorted out the self-examination points for you, and by following the points below to do self-examination and preparation in advance, you can minimize the possibility of post-operative infection. Skin condition: As a direct factor affecting the surgical incision, you need to check the skin condition first, please check yourself in the following two aspects: ① Skin of the surgical area: For spinal surgery, please make sure that the skin of the lower back/neck is free of rashes, scabies, wounds, etc. healed wounds, etc. Parents are required to assist in the examination of minor patients, including the private parts of the perineum. If any of the above skin problems are found, please visit the dermatology department of your local hospital for consultation and treatment, and consider surgery after healing. Second, underlying diseases: ① Diabetes: poorly controlled diabetes can lead to a decrease in body resistance, increasing the risk of incisional infection and even serious conditions such as ketoacidosis and coma after surgery. It is recommended to control blood sugar at <7.0mmol/L fasting and <11.1mmol/L after meal. ②Respiratory system infection: If you have cough, coughing sputum (especially yellow pus sputum), sore throat and fever, it may indicate respiratory tract infection and you need to go to the respiratory medicine department for consultation. ③Gastrointestinal system infection: If you have abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting, fever and other symptoms, it may indicate gastrointestinal infection, and you need to go to the gastroenterology department for consultation. ④Urinary system infection: If you have symptoms such as frequent urination, urgent urination, painful urination, hematuria, fever, etc., it may indicate urinary tract infection, and you need to go to the urology department for consultation. III. Living habits/physical condition: Bad living habits and physical condition will lower the body immunity and increase the chance of incision infection. You need to pay attention to the following matters before surgery: ① Smoking: If you have been smoking for a long time, please quit smoking as soon as possible. After quitting smoking for 4-8 weeks, you can greatly reduce the risk of surgical infection ② Drinking alcohol: Please stop drinking 1 month before surgery, otherwise it will affect the use of antibiotics and other medications ③ Exercise and weight control: Starting to exercise more now and eating a high quality protein diet, even if the time of exercise is short from the surgery date, is very beneficial to the surgery. Weight control, too thin or too fat is very bad for the recovery of surgery. It is recommended to control BMI at 18-24. (BMI=weight(kg)/height2(m2)) ④ Oral medication: If you take certain medications orally, it is just as likely to have an adverse effect on the body's resistance, such as immunosuppressants. You need to consult your doctor and stop the medication before you are hospitalized for surgery.