Article: You should not take any blood thinning medications for at least a few days following your vasectomy. Be sure to ask your doctor for specific advice on this if you are taking blood-thinning medications. This is because taking blood-thinning medications may increase your risk of post-operative bleeding. Know that the duration of time to be off your blood-thinning medications varies from person to person (depending on the reason you are taking them in the first place). Ask your doctor when you can resume your normal medications. One of the most important components of recovering from your vasectomy is rest. You may need to take a few days off of work or cut back on your usual activities to facilitate healing. Unless your work is strenuous or requires heavy lifting, you should be able to go back quite quickly, such as within two to three days. If your job requires heavy lifting, talk to your doctor about when it will be safe for you to return.  Try not to do too much for the first two to three days following the procedure, and don't be afraid to ask others to help you out so that you can relax and recover. Keep your activity level to a minimum after your vasectomy. It is advisable to limit physical activities for about five days post-surgery, and to refrain from heavy lifting for at least a week.   Heavy lifting strains the area and therefore interferes with healing. After five days, you may resume exercise, starting out easy and getting back to your normal routine after a couple of weeks. Ejaculation can be painful and sometimes lead to bleeding in the initial stages after your vasectomy. Therefore, you will not be able to engage in any sexual activity about seven days after your vasectomy.  When you do choose to resume sexual activity (after a week has passed and you feel comfortable enough to do so), remember that you will need to use birth control until you have had follow-up tests with your doctor confirming that your sperm count is zero. It usually takes 20 ejaculations after the surgery for residual sperm to be fully cleared. Overall a vasectomy results in no changes to a man's sexual function. Many men are concerned it could affect desire, erections, and/or the sensation of orgasm; however, studies have been done to confirm that none of these are negatively affected by the procedure. Studies have shown that women's sexual satisfaction has increased after their partner has had a vasectomy. This may be due to greater confidence that there will not be an unwanted pregnancy. Note that there is also a very small risk (0.1% per year) of becoming pregnant even after you have had a vasectomy.  This is because, even though the two ends of the vas deferens have been "disconnected" from one another, there is still a tiny chance that sperm could pass through and result in pregnancy. The chance is so low, however, that a vasectomy (or a "tubal ligation," which is the comparable procedure in women) is still considered the most effective form of birth control for those couples who have decided they do not want to have any more children. Depending on the technique that your doctor used, you may have stitches in your scrotum. To prevent an infection from developing, it is best to keep the stitches dry by not bathing or swimming for the first couple of days. Ask your doctor when it is okay to start bathing and/or swimming again.

What is a summary?
Avoid taking blood-thinning medications for a few days. Get plenty of rest. Refrain from all types of sexual activity for seven days. Do not swim or bathe for 24 to 48 hours after your vasectomy.