Treatment of sutures after surgery at home. Postoperative sutures - healing, treatment, removal: what is better to treat than to smear at home? Ointment, cream, gel, patch, preparations, folk remedies for healing and resorption after surgery

To care for postoperative uninfected patients, you will need various antiseptics: alcohol, iodine, potassium permanganate solution, etc. You can also use hydrogen peroxide, 10% sodium chloride solution or regular brilliant green. We should not forget about the necessary means at hand, such as an adhesive plaster, tweezers, sterile wipes and a bandage. It is important not only the seams, but also how to process them correctly. This largely depends on the nature and complexity of the operation itself. For example, when it comes to caring for sutures after eye surgery, the patient must perform daily careful external treatment under the supervision of a specialist, otherwise it can be fatal.

How to process seams

Postoperative scar care

Sutures are a prerequisite for surgical operations and for deep wounds. Sutures are placed to ensure rapid fusion of tissues, necessary for their further normal functioning and for aesthetic purposes.

Instructions

It is advisable to have the stitches removed by a qualified specialist. If you have undergone a serious operation or have a very deep wound, then a doctor must monitor the fusion of tissues and remove the stitches. You can also go to a paid clinic if you cannot get to your surgeon. They can remove stitches there quickly and for an affordable price.

If the wound was shallow and no problems arose during the healing process, then the stitches can be removed yourself. It is important to know how you can remove them. On average it is 6-9 days. If the wound is on the face or neck, the stitches can be removed after 4-6 days.

Sources:

• how to treat a scar from surgery

Postoperative sutures must be treated daily. If a nurse does this in the hospital, then at home you will have to take care of the treatment yourself. But don’t worry, you will succeed, because it’s not at all difficult to do, and you don’t need to have any special professional skills.

You will need

• - hydrogen peroxide;
• - brilliant green;
• - sterile bandage;
• - cotton wool, cotton swabs or disks.

Instructions

First, go to the pharmacy. Buy hydrogen peroxide and sterile dressings. You also need to purchase sterile cotton wool, but regular cotton pads or swabs can be used. If you have already stopped applying the bandage, you do not need it. The bandage somewhat prolongs healing, since the wound under it. In any case, consult a doctor, but you can be sure that without a bandage the seam will not come apart; it only prevents infection from getting inside.

Then the surgeon quietly pulls out the thread, picking it up with tweezers at the part of the suture that is outside, and again cuts it off near the living tissue. This procedure must be done with all parts of the suture material and at the end the remaining one must be removed.

After the procedure, the threads must be disposed of, and the remaining scar must be treated with an antiseptic such as iodine or a solution of potassium permanganate.

After the sutures are removed, the patient is given a sterile dressing for several days, which must be changed as needed.

Wounds after injuries and operations are closed with sutures. In order for healing to proceed quickly and without complications, it is necessary to follow certain rules for their processing.

Preparations for treating seams

Normal wound healing after suturing will be possible only if it is. In this case, the sutures themselves must be placed in such a way as to exclude the possible formation of a cavity between the edges of the wound. Uninfected sutures are processed daily, but not earlier than one day after their application. Various antiseptics are used for treatment: iodine, brilliant green, potassium permanganate, alcohol, Iodopyron, Fukortsin, Castellani liquid. Healing wounds are treated with an ointment containing panthenol. Sea buckthorn ointment and ointment with. To prevent the formation of keloid scars, you can use Contractubex or silicone ointment.

How to treat stitches on wounds

When processing, it is not recommended to use cotton wool, as its particles can remain on the surface and cause inflammation. It is better to use gauze pads. The sutures are treated once a day for five to six days. The dressing must be changed daily until the threads are removed. In hospitals, dressings are performed in specially designated areas (dressing rooms). Daily dressing procedures contribute to faster healing of the wound, since the air helps the suture dry out.

After applying the suture, you should carefully monitor the condition of the wound. Warning signs include the bandage getting wet with blood, swelling, swelling, and redness around the suture. Discharge from a wound indicates an infection that may spread further. Infected, purulent sutures cannot be treated independently. In these cases, you need to urgently consult a doctor.

Sutures are usually removed within 7-14 days, depending on the location of the wound. The procedure is painless and does not require anesthesia. Before removing the suture, it is drawn; after removing the threads, the suture is not covered with a bandage. After removing the threads, the seam needs to be processed for a few more days. Water treatments after two to three days. When washing, do not rub the seam with a washcloth, so as not to damage the scar. After a shower, you need to blot the seam with a bandage and treat it with hydrogen peroxide, after which you need to apply brilliant green to it. Two to three weeks after removal of the threads, phonophoresis with special absorbable solutions can be used. In this case, the sutures heal faster and the scars become less noticeable.

Instructions

Uninfected surgical sutures should be treated with antiseptic solutions - chlorhexidine, fucorcin, brilliant green, hydrogen peroxide. It is recommended to treat sutures with antiseptics for up to 14 days from the date of surgery. Sometimes this period is less, sometimes more. For example, after a caesarean section, the stitches and bandage are removed within a week.

To disinfect a postoperative suture, apply a small amount of brilliant green or other antiseptic to a cotton swab and carefully treat the sutured wound. It is not recommended to wipe the seam - this slows down the process of tissue regeneration. Surgeons advise treating the suture with antiseptics twice a day. If the seam is large, it is better to treat it not with a cotton swab, but with a cotton pad or a piece of sterile napkin soaked in an antiseptic solution. After disinfection, apply a dry, clean bandage or silicone patch to the seam. If the seam is dry, you don’t have to seal it with anything, so it will heal even faster.

You should ask your doctor upon discharge about how to change the dressing after surgery. He should recommend antiseptic agents that are suitable for treating sutures at home. In a hospital setting, treatment and dressing of wounds is the responsibility of medical personnel. The surgical departments have a dressing room for clean wounds, where healing sutures are treated. They use antiseptic liquids that suppress the growth of pathogenic microflora, sterile wipes and bandages. Special adhesive plasters with antibacterial pads and postoperative dressings can be used as protection.

Purulent dressing rooms are equipped with tools that allow you to clean the wound, make drainage, and treat it with antiseptics. They contain special lamps that inhibit the growth of pathogenic microflora and accelerate healing. Wounds that are festering or oozing ichor are recommended to be treated in a hospital so that the doctor has the opportunity to observe the healing process and, if necessary, can prescribe stronger antibacterial agents.

Dressings after surgery at home are recommended only for clean, well-healing wounds. If it is necessary to treat a poorly healing wound at home, all conditions must be created to improve the patient’s condition and not harm him.

How to prepare for dressing

To do a dressing at home, you need to set up a workplace. A coffee table, stool, or corner of a large table is suitable for manipulation. The selected area is treated with warm water with the addition of chlorine and soap, wiped with a clean towel and wait until the surface dries. Then cover with a clean cotton piece of cloth, ironed with a hot iron. All the tools and materials necessary for the work are laid out on the fabric. They must be clean and sterile. It can be:

All manipulations must be performed in compliance with the rules of asepsis and antisepsis. Asepsis involves preventing the entry of an infectious agent into the wound during dressing, and antiseptics is aimed at destroying pathogenic microflora on the surface of the suture.
Wound healing is affected by the rate of fluid outflow and the scarring process. A wound in a healthy young person with well-functioning internal secretion organs heals faster than in an elderly person with fading functions of the endocrine system. The appearance of wet spots on the bandage means that the vessels of the damaged lymphatic system have not yet healed and the healing of the suture has not begun. A long regeneration process is observed in cancer patients and elderly people.

As long as the dressing is wetted by biological fluids, dressings should be done daily, if necessary several times a day. The bandage should be changed if it becomes loose and does not perform its function. Pain under the bandage is a sign of infection. The appearance of painful sensations requires an urgent examination, treatment with an antiseptic and application of a sterile bandage. A clean bandage is applied every time the wound is examined and any manipulation is performed on it.

Stages of wound treatment, algorithm

Treatment of the surgical wound requires accuracy and caution. A person who decides to independently play the role of a nurse is faced with the task of examining the wound, cleaning it and painlessly changing the bandage. The dressing consists of the following manipulations:

• removing the old bandage;
• skin disinfection;
• performing the necessary manipulations;
• protecting the skin from secretions;
• applying a sterile bandage;
• its strong fixation.

How to remove a bandage that has dried to a wound

If the bandage sticks to the wound, it should not be torn off. Completely dried dressing material is cut with scissors. If only the last layers of gauze are stuck, they need to be soaked with hydrogen peroxide or sodium chloride solution. Then wait a while until the layers of woven material get wet and come off. Adhered strips are removed along the wound. You cannot pull the bandage across a non-healing seam. This causes severe pain and can cause the edges of the wound to open up. When removing the bandage, you should try to keep the scab on the healing suture.

Underneath it tissue restoration occurs. Damage leads to the appearance of blood and a slowdown in all regeneration processes. When removing a bandage or plaster, hold the skin with a spatula, tweezers with a gauze ball, or a gloved hand. Do not allow the skin to pull on the bandage. If capillary bleeding appears when removing the bandage, it should be stopped by pressing the wound with a sterile napkin.

Then they begin to treat the skin around the wound surface. To do this, prepare warm soapy water by adding a little ammonia to it in a ratio of 1:200. Treatment is carried out with wet wipes or cotton balls from the edge of the wound to the periphery. Liquid should not get into the wound.
If the skin is heavily contaminated, cover the wound with a sterile gauze pad and wash everything with soap and a brush. After treatment, the skin is dried and treated with any antiseptic. Clean skin around the wound allows you to avoid the development of opportunistic microflora under the bandage, which can lead to serious skin diseases.

• 10% sodium chloride solution;
• Potassium Permanganate solution;
• hydrogen peroxide solution;
• Diamond Green;
• Chlorhexidine;
• Miramistin.

As an antiseptic at home, the seam is lubricated with alcohol tincture of calendula or Betadine is used.

After treatment, the seam is covered with a sterile cloth soaked in antiseptic and a bandage is applied. If it is difficult to apply bandages, bandage plaster is used to secure the bandage. First, it is applied along the entire length of the napkin in 2 strips, and then strips of the patch are placed across, at a distance of 5 cm, covering up to 10 cm of healthy skin.

Seam care using plasters

At the pharmacy you can purchase various products intended for the care of postoperative wounds. Manufacturers offer a large number of plasters for dressing dressings at home. These are sterile self-adhesive postoperative dressings with various antiseptics that help to properly care for surgical sutures after surgery. They have the ability to absorb fluids, and this allows you to change the dressings less frequently, allowing the suture to scar faster.

The patches do not cause skin irritation, are removed without pain and do not leave any adhesive particles behind after application. They are equipped with special meshes that allow the wound to breathe and the tissue not to stick to the seam:

1. For infected wounds, a colloidal silver patch is recommended.
2. Clean wounds can be covered with adhesive tape without antiseptic additives.
3. For problem skin, perforated film-based patches are recommended.
4. The healing wound can be covered with a light film alcohol bandage with an absorbent pad.

To select a patch, you need to come to the pharmacy and describe to the pharmacist the condition of the wound surface. He will help you choose the appropriate option and advise on this issue.
After finishing the dressing work, the treatment area should be disinfected using products containing chlorine, and the instruments should be boiled. After which it is recommended to keep them in a closed container until next use.

Almost every one of us has encountered medical surgery at least once in our lives. If you yourself have not been exposed to it, then there were probably people around you who had undergone surgery.

Wound care in the postoperative period

At first, when the patient is still in the hospital, there is no need to take care of the postoperative suture yourself. This is done by medical personnel. And few people think about what kind of liquids and drugs nurses use. However, after discharge from the hospital, you have to worry about yourself. How long such a procedure will take depends on the location of the seam. The more serious the operation, the larger the area occupied by the suture and the longer the postoperative period lasts. Anyone can take care of a wound in the postoperative period. You just need to acquire some knowledge and skills in this area so as not to harm the body. First of all, you need to know what items should be in your arsenal for processing seams.

Materials

Necessary medications for treating sutures in the postoperative period:

• sterile bandage;
• antiseptic solution;
• cotton wool, cotton pads and sticks or gauze napkins;
• hydrogen peroxide.

Processing rules

After you have purchased all the necessary medications at the pharmacy, you can begin processing the postoperative sutures. Remember that you need to do this 2 times a day, without missing a single procedure. In some cases, it is recommended to treat the wound more often. This will ensure rapid healing and will prevent the development of complications in the postoperative period. Remember to care for your wound every time you shower. During hygiene procedures, be careful not to damage it.

Before starting the procedure, wash your hands thoroughly with soap, preferably up to the elbows. Hands for processing postoperative sutures must be perfectly clean. In some cases, after discharge, doctors allow the wound not to be bandaged. If, nevertheless, it was recommended to wear the bandage for some more time, then before treating the stitches it must be removed very carefully, since the bandage sometimes sticks to the wound. Then pour hydrogen peroxide over the seam in a thin stream. You will see the reaction of dead tissue to peroxide - it will begin to foam. After the “hissing” stops, blot the wound with sterile cotton wool or a bandage and wait until it dries.

Now you can start treating the seam with an antiseptic solution. Iodine is not recommended, as it can dry out the wound. Doctors sometimes do not advise treating the wound after surgery with brilliant green. The problem is that underneath it you cannot see how the wound is healing and whether any unwanted changes are occurring. It is best to use a solution of fucorcin. Dip a cotton swab into the preparation and gently lubricate the seam itself and the area around it.

In the first days after surgery, it is recommended to apply a bandage with a hypertonic solution to the wound. It is prepared as follows. Dissolve two tablespoons of regular table salt in hot water. Cool the resulting solution slightly, soak a gauze pad in it, apply it to the suture site and bandage it with a bandage.

Itching and inflammation in the suture area

It happens that patients in the postoperative period are bothered by itching in the suture area. This is a fairly common problem, especially in the second week after surgery, when the healing process is active. In this case, the seam can be treated with a cotton pad soaked in a solution of novocaine.

If you notice inflamed areas, they must be treated with alcohol diluted to 40 degrees. The seam is not completely lubricated with alcohol to avoid drying out. If treatment with alcohol does not relieve inflammation and the reddened areas appear again, consult a doctor immediately. He may prescribe additional treatment.

Do not remove the crusts that appear on the surface of the wound. This is the formation of new layers of skin and if they are removed, the scar may remain deep after healing, even if you had a cosmetic suture.

At the end of the procedure, if necessary, apply a sterile bandage. There is no need to bandage it too tightly. Air should get under the bandage. This promotes faster healing.

The suture after surgery must be regularly treated until the wound is completely healed. This should be done even after removing the threads. Carefully monitor the condition of the seam. If there is the slightest change in the appearance of the wound or a feeling of discomfort, contact your doctor, who will prescribe treatment to prevent suppuration. It is possible that in addition to treating the suture externally, you will be prescribed medications to take orally, which will promote more active healing.

Sutures after surgery require careful care. This will significantly speed up wound healing and shorten the rehabilitation period. The method of treating the wound depends on its location. In this article we will tell you how to speed up the healing of sutures after surgery and how to care for them.

Caring for seams in the crotch area

Wounds on the mucous membranes heal the worst. Typically, stitches are placed after an episiotomy or removal of hemorrhoids. If possible, incisions in the perineal area should not be wrapped in dressings. Do not use adhesive tape as it does not allow air to pass through. You need to try to ensure sufficient air circulation. To do this, wear only cotton underwear.

After an episiotomy delivery, try not to wear underwear at night or while resting. Of course, after childbirth, lochia is released, but the use of pads significantly slows down the healing process of tears in the perineal area. Therefore, try to shower and wash your stitches more often. When sleeping, do not wear underwear, but use absorbent diapers.

Some doctors recommend treating sutures in the perineal area with peroxide. Don't rub the wound, just fill a syringe with hydrogen peroxide and squirt it onto the wound. Don't forget to remove the needle from the syringe. If you have sutures on the cervix after childbirth, they do not need to be treated with anything. Douching should not be used. If necessary, your doctor will prescribe suppositories or suppositories.

Scar care after abdominal surgery

If you have undergone abdominal surgery, then most likely you will be in the hospital for 7-10 days. All this time, health workers will care for the wound. When you are discharged, you will have to treat them yourself before the sutures are removed. This can be done using:

• brilliant greens;
• alcohol;
• hydrogen peroxide;
• sodium chloride;
• potassium permanganate.

To treat a wound, you need to take a piece of sterile gauze and dip it in the solution. After this, gently blot the scar. No need to rub the bandage from side to side. If nothing is oozing from the seam, then there is no need to seal it with a bandage or apply a bandage. In the air, postoperative scars heal faster.

Sutures are usually removed 7-14 days after surgery. Until this point, they must be covered with a bandage. It is best to do this in a clinic. After removing the sutures, there is no need to treat the scar with anything. After 2-3 days you can swim and shower.

What to do if blood or pus is oozing from the suture

In this case, you should consult a doctor. This often happens after cesarean or other abdominal surgery. Most likely, ichor is oozing. If swelling and redness appear, you should not self-medicate. Go to the surgeon immediately. To prevent clothes from sticking to the wound, it is necessary to lubricate it with sea buckthorn ointment or sprinkle it with crushed streptocide. It dries the blood perfectly and speeds up wound healing.

Usually, uninfected sutures after surgery do not require any special care. To minimize bleeding, it is necessary to reduce physical activity and avoid lifting heavy objects.

A problem often arises when the seam gets wet after surgery, which many people don’t know how to do. If the inflammatory process begins and symptoms of this kind appear, then it is necessary to take action immediately, since such infections slow down or even stop healing and sometimes cause serious complications.

In addition, this problem not only causes physical inconvenience, but also worsens the mental state. Measures for caring for sutures include not only their treatment with disinfectants, but also diet and proper physical activity. The main goal is to speed up healing and prevent infection. First, let's figure out why the suture suppurates.

Causes of suture inflammation

Inflammation of the sutures after surgery can begin for several reasons:

In addition to the listed reasons, inflammation of the sutures can occur due to unskilled work of surgeons or incorrect actions of the patient himself.

The causative agents are usually Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus. Infection can be direct or indirect. In the first case, microorganisms enter along with tools and materials that have not been sufficiently processed. In the second case, infection occurs from another source of infection, which is carried by blood, for example, from a diseased tooth.

Return to the topicSymptoms and inflammation of the suture

You can see that the suture is inflamed already on the third day after its application. If the stitches become wet after surgery, only a doctor can tell you what to do. In this case the following are indicated:

• skin redness;
• swelling of the tissue around the seam;
• temperature increase;
• suppuration;
• pain in the area of ​​application;
• bleeding.
• general reaction:
• fever;
• chills;
• migraine;
• high heart rate;
• increased blood pressure.

If these symptoms begin to appear, then a diagnosis can be made - inflammation of the sutures. To relieve suppuration, it is necessary to take measures to treat the complication that has arisen.

Return to zmistMechanism of suture healing

Many factors influence the healing process:

Return to zmistIkuvannya inflammation of postoperative sutures

While the patient is in the hospital, a nurse will care for the stitches for the first five days. Care consists of changing the bandage, treating the sutures and, if necessary, installing drainage. After discharge from the hospital, you need to take care of them on your own. For this you need: hydrogen peroxide, brilliant green, sterile bandages, cotton wool, cotton pads and swabs. If the stitches become wet after surgery, we will consider what to do step by step.

Everyone who has encountered this problem is wondering what to do if the seams get wet. If the seam is inflamed, then redness of the application site and irritation are observed. This happens through active healing.

But if there are clear signs of complications, then the first thing to do is go to a doctor who will perform manipulations to stop the development of the infection.

He will select adequate treatment, aimed not only at stopping suppuration, but also at increasing immunity for speedy healing of the wound. If necessary, he will remove the stitches, wash the wound with an antiseptic solution and install drainage so that purulent discharge comes out and the stitch does not become wet in the future. If necessary, the doctor will prescribe antibiotics and immunostimulating drugs, since complications most often occur in people with weakened immune systems. Ointments, solutions, vitamins, anti-inflammatory drugs and even traditional medicine can be used as additional methods.

Return to zmistPhytotherapy in the fight against complications of postoperative sutures

N. I. Pirogov was also involved in studying the benefits of medicinal plants and compiling a collection in a military hospital. Modern medicine has long scientifically confirmed the medicinal effects of traditional recipes. Herbal medicine is best used as an auxiliary treatment, which is carried out in interaction with the main methods. The essence of herbal medicine is to select the optimal combination of medicinal plants, the action of which is aimed at eliminating one symptom. This principle is used to formulate, for example, breast infusions, kidney teas, anti-inflammatory infusions, and so on. Treatment with herbs and herbs is still not a panacea, especially for such inflammatory processes. By itself, this technique is ineffective, but in combination with traditional medicine it can be a good help and speed up recovery. For example, Phytomaz can be used if an old seam suddenly catches fire, which also happens quite often. Plants used as additional medicines for healing sutures have a number of beneficial properties:

• anti-inflammatory;
• pain reliever;
• antimicrobial;
• accelerates regeneration;
• improves liver function.

The method of herbal medicine in this case consists of taking preparations internally (infusions, extracts) and for topical use (ointments).

The goals of this treatment are:

• improving the state of the internal environment of the body and the functioning of the excretory system, reducing intoxication;
• normalization of digestion and prevention of negative effects of medications;
• normalization of immunity;
• processing of postoperative sutures.

A doctor may well prescribe such therapy. If the scar has festered, then the features of the professional selection of such remedies are that the compositions are selected individually, the diagnosis and personal characteristics of the patient are taken into account, the specialist determines the duration of the course, herbal healing is well suited to other methods of treatment and rehabilitation and determines an integrated approach to the patient’s recovery.

You can use it if an old scar is festering, this also happens sometimes. This happens due to decreased immunity or damage to the scar. If old scars itch, you can make applications that will relieve these symptoms.