Incision Healing

I read on a recent post that someone said their C-section incision took about 3 weeks to close and heal. Wow! That seems like a long time but I have no idea. How long did yours take to heal? What were you able to do before it healed completely?

Thanks,
Lanie

 

I can't really remember! I had a hard time seeing it, as my belly wasn't flat before I got pg & then the 'twin skin'......plus, it kinda grossed me out to look. My mom stayed with us for about 4 weeks, and she was really good about having me lie down & clean it, etc every day. I think she just put hydrogen peroxide on it & then she'd put the blow dryer on a very low setting & make sure it was really dry. I think that helped a lot to keep it from getting infected.

I just was really sore & had a hard time getting in and out of bed, etc for about a week. I think by the time I was done taking the pain killers, I was mostly healed. I know they took the staples out before I left the hospital.

 

My incision took four weeks to finally close. My staples came out and a section in the middle did not close. DH had to clean and pack the incision every day for me. It had closed at two weeks and I did too much, so it reopened a couple days later. My staples caused me a lot of issues-getting up hurt because the staples were poking into me and it was really painful and a few fell out. The nurses and docs were deaf to that complaint. I felt much better when they were removed and I just had the steri-strips left. If we have another child and I have to have a c-section, I will demand stitches instead of the staples.

Ange

 

Yes, my doctor did stitches & the butterfly clips (cloth sticky). No staples here! Mine oozed a while and was still a bit moist at my 8 week appt. But, got better fast! Now it just looks like a stretch mark if I look at it.

 

Mine was pretty much healed at 2 weeks, but had some slight drainage at nearly 3 weeks.

 

QUOTE(KYsweetheart @ Oct 13 2007, 03:53 PM) [snapback]448994[/snapback]
Mine was pretty much healed at 2 weeks, but had some slight drainage at nearly 3 weeks.

This was pretty true for both of my c-sections. I had stitches and steri-strips, not staples, so it did seep for a while. I just had to keep it really clean with peroxide and make sure it was completely dry after a shower. Like the pp, I used a hair dryer on low until it was completely healed.

 

I don't remember exactly, but by the time I was home from the hospital (I was re-admitted for PP Pre-E, so about a week after the boys were born) I think it was good and closed. I had steri-strips and I remember being REALLY cautious with it for a good while, but there was no leaking, no extra care needed. The nurses just said to wash over it gently and pat lightly to dry it. Didn't have any problems. I think my strips were just starting to come off at my 6 week PP visit, so that took awhile...

 

I don't really remember...It got infected from the inside about a week or two after, so I'm sure that made it take a little longer. I would just put tons of peroxide on it every time I went to the bathroom and kept it dry, so maybe 4 or 5 weeks for me due to that.

Oh, I had stitches, not staples and I really have to look for the scar to see it. I remember all of the nurses telling me that my OB was the best when it came to suturing up the incisions and that in about a year I would never even see it. They were right.

alexis

 

I'm 3 weeks out from my c-section and it is still healing. I'm just now starting to feel better, but that's because about a week after my c-section it started seeping. I went to the doctor and I had develped hematomas (blood clots) under the incision. They had to break them up so I had to go to the doctor every day for over week. Then the doctor showed my husband how to do what she was doing. It's kind of gross so I won't say what the dr and my husband have been doing. My doctor says it will take a few more weeks for the hole that opened up to close. Oh and I had stitches not staples. My first c-section healed much quicker as I didn't have any of these complications. I'm hoping the scar looks as good as it did the first time, but I don't think it will.

 

My incision was glued shut (on the outside - I think on the inside they used those dissolving stitches). I never had any bleeding or drainage from it. After about 1.5 wks I didn't need any pain meds, even ibuprofen. For the first couple weeks pp I avoided heavy lifting, but did plenty of walking. After that, I got the go-ahead for low-impact exercise like swimming. I really had very few restrictions and a very easy recovery - what a stroke of luck!

HTH.

 

I had 13 staples that they removed at 4 days because I developed a rash - I had a inch sized place that did not heal
until they restitched it at 3 months. it was wierd because it did not hurt - I went on with life as normal. they kept trying to pack it with silver nitrate (which stings) and get it to heal by making it scar over but it did not heal until they stitched it back. My incision actually stings every now and then even now - it's not bad just strange!

my best advice would just be to stay ontop of your pain meds - take them every 4-6hrs
no matter what!

 

I would say about 2 weeks. I just made sure to wash with Dial soap and to use a blow dryer after my shower to make sure it was dry. I had the dissovling stitches.

 

I had stitches. I was off pain meds by day 6. The incision was dry, closed and not as tender by week two. However, I still have a bruise above my incision that feels tender, tingly, bruised etc. What I want to know is when my uterus shrinks back to it's normal size? I can't tell what of this bloating is fat and what is swelling. It seems like swelling to me but I can't tell.