Confusion over best wound treatment
After reading some of your blogs I decided not to delay in getting my doctor’s opinion on my wound when I got my cast off on 5th Aug. I saw him on the 7th and he confirmed my suspision and the wound has a small infection so am on antibiotics and have to dress it myself 3 x daily. I’m so glad I got onto it early. The doc was surprised they didn’t prescribe antibiotics when they first removed the cast. I’ve had conflicting advise on wound treatment though so am a bit confused as to what is thing to do to accelerate healing. The clinic I went to for my post op exam said to keep the wound dry and covered (ie. no exposure to fresh air), yet the nurse at my doctors is telling me it’s ok to shower it and get the wound wet, dry it with a fresh towel or sterile swab and then keep it exposed for 15 minutes in fresh air before re-dressing it. I’ve decided to go with keeping it dry as I don’t want to risk exposing an open wound to water. The last thing I want is to make it worse!!!
August 8th, 2009 at 12:48 am
Hi Bride –
An infection recently got the better of me, and I can understand what you’re going through.
I tended to keep my wound dry, wrapping it with a plastic cast cover at every shower. The wettest I would get it was with a small piece of cotton gauze (1/4 of a square or smaller) soaked in sodium chloride placed over the wound, then a larger square loosely taped down on it to protect as well as to allow some air to it. I noticed that my wound would get irritated if I used 4-sided synthetic bandages because it needed to breathe. I did not use any ointments under the bandages because it tended to over-moisturize it, and the summer’s heat, I imagine, is not being helpful.
I kept my wound dry until it was totally closed and scabbed over. I think your decision to keep it dry is a good one.
Hang in there,
booklady
August 9th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Hi Bride.
Just saw your comments on my scar photo. Definitely would be interesting to compare once you get photos up.
It sounds like you had a tougher time than I have and likely a much larger wound so the healing is bound to be harder. I will say that I think I won the genetic lottery on this as I’ve always healed fairly quickly from cuts & scrapes. On the flip side I am blind as a bat without glasses or contacts.
My wound care technique (mainly inherited from my mother) was as follows.
Got into the boot a week after surgery, but actually decided to continue bagging the foot in the shower for another week to keep it dry.
Contrary to your clinics advice I have always thought airflow was important so I’ve kept the wound uncovered when possible. Even tried to get a small amount of sunlight on it daily (after it completely closed).
Diet wise I have made sure to eat lots of fruit and veg and keep hydrated. Also started taking super strength cod liver oil tablets once daily as soon as I could get hold of some.
Finally a little gentle “massage” a couple of times a day. Basically just moving the skin around without going near the actual incision to promote blood flow and thinking positive thoughts.
Best of luck with your infection, hope it clears quickly.