Wound Care - Help Please!

[ineffably_yb 8]

I'm 16 days out of surgery and my incisions continue to leak. I've been told to not cover them so they can air out & dry but it hasn't worked at all. I've bandaged them a couple of times when going out but when removing the dressings the wounds pull off my skin and look worse. I can't wear a black shirt every single day (any other color weeps through) so what can I do to cover each wound but still help it heal? How long does it take for the incisions to heal fully? Please help

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[shanirish33 20]

I would definitely try and keep them uncovered but if you must make sure your using non stick gauze pads so it wont pull off the scab where it has clotted

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[Pazza 199]

Does the dr office have any advice?? Didn't have the sleeve but know wound care can be tricky!

[chuswysly 122]

I would absolutely contact my surgeon and find out if they have any recommendations.

I found a Bandade product specifically for wounds that need to breath and stay dry....I think it was a 2"x3" super absorbent pad that actually breaths and won't stick. I taped it lightly with breathable paper tape. In addition I pulled the incisions together with small butterfly closures. It really helped.

Good luck :-)

[PorkChopExpress 821]

Get some gauze from Walgreens and tape over it. The meshy kind of gauze you get at the hospital is going to stick to the wound, it heals into the mesh. You want something more like a pad, with some absorbency but so that it won't stick.

Now, if you are seeing halos of yellow/greenish color on the bandages and see anything yellowish if you press on the areas around the wound, or notice that there's a lot of redness around the wounds, you have infections and that is why you're not healing. Surgeons don't like to report infections in incisions because it's technically a complication, and it has to be reported. Nobody wants it on their record. So you may want to see your primary care physician about it, to get satisfaction...but I'd go have them looked at, ASAP. You should be scabbed over by now, as long as your Protein intake has been up to snuff.

[ineffably_yb 8]

They did scab over with some slight leakage but now one of the large incisions is about to lose it's scab and is leaking more. No pain or infection, but just a bit weepy. I just wish this would heal already; it's really depressing. Doctor keeps saying this is normal but it just doesn't seem so :\

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