How to Care For Your Sutures After Surgery
We do not normally wish to pay any attention to things that we
count as unimportant. As a result, it is normal for someone to
think that accidents or nasty things happen to others, and not
to himself. While we often hear of accidents involving others,
and even friends and relatives, we do not even pause to think
that accidents can happen to our own selves. We do not spend
time to learn of ways and techniques to provide care for
ourselves, to be able to know how to care for our wounds, or our
injuries.
Some 3 years ago, it struck home...and in a hard way when I
found myself totally unprepared and wanting, because I do not
even know the very basic of how to care for sutures. One fine
day, my son was diagnosed as having a serious blood disorder,
and needing to have a Portman line inserted through the upper
arm into the heart, and there was a wound to take care of. More
recently, a sister have to had a wide incision on the left
breast, and needing care for the wound with the sutures.
So how do we take good care of our sutures after we have a wound
cleaned up or after surgery?
Here are 8 simple ways that we should know in order to be able
to provide the best care for our sutures:
1. The first 24 hours are the most important time period to keep
sutures/staples dry and the bandage intact.
2. After the first 24 hours, you may remove the bandage, and
clean the wound by allowing clean soapy water to run over the
wound. Pat dry gently and DO NOT rub the wound.
3. Having washed the wound, you may dress the wound up with some
antibiotic ointment. It is good to rebandage the wound with a
clean new bandage.
4. Never let the wound soak in water.
5. Never leave any wounds to get dirty and introduce infection.
6. If there is a preference to air the wound, it is allowable to
leave the wound open, but always ensure no dirt get into the
wound or come into contact with the wound.
7. Watch for signs of infection such as swelling, pain, or
drainage. If any of these signs develop, see your doctor.
8. To remove the sutures, follow up with your medical
appointments.
These 8 simple guidelines will go a long way to help you provide
care for anyone with sutures, or even to your own self.
Like in anything that is unpleasant, it may take an accident
where there is injury for you to put your skills and knowledge
to work. But again, it is always important to be prepared before
any untoward incident occurs, necessitating this important care
and knowledge.