There are some things that you should keep in mind after a rhinoplasty so that your recovery is as quick as possible, and one of them is the exposure to the sun. Solar radiation will affect your recovery in two ways: the first one is that it causes heat, and the second is that its UVA rays pigment the skin.

A fair amount of sun is beneficial for our health and improves our mood; it helps us create vitamin D which is basic for the maintenance of our bones, among other things. But after a rhinoplasty, and especially in the cases of people with thick skin (negroid or racially mixed noses) or revision rhinoplasties (more than one previous rhinoplasty), the exposure to the sun is not recommended at least during the first two months after surgery.

I will explain why: the heat causes more blood to get to your nose, therefore it increases the swelling on your nose, especially on the first month, although it will disappear with time. If you expose yourself to the sun during the first 2 months after the surgery the swelling will take longer to come down, which will influence the final aspect of your nose. As a result, more time will be necessary to obtain the results that were planned before the surgery.

The same thing happens with UVA rays, being from the sun or a tanning lamp. If you get a tan while you still have any hematomas in the eyelid area, they will get pigmented, which means that the stain will be more noticeable and you could end up with unpleasant marks around the eyes.

As for the use of sunglasses, I do not recommend it at least on the first 6 weeks. This is because if the nasal bones were fractured during your rhinoplasty, they will need a minimum time to consolidate the use of the eyeglasses that can impede a correct healing of the fractures.

All in all, you should avoid the direct exposure to the sun, use a cap or hat if it is sunny. Strong sun screen will also help you. If you follow these recommendations, you will have a fast recovery and perfect results.

‍