infected staples?

I WAS WONDERING IF ANYONE HAS HAD THEIR STAPLES TO GET INFECTED?

I HAD A TAH/BSO 8 DAYS AGO ......STAPLES DON'T COME OUT UNTIL MONDAY......THEY HAVE BEEN FINE UNTIL TODAY.

THEY STARTED FEELING ICKY......SO WHEN I CHECKED.....THEY WERE RED AROUND THEM AND SORE.......I HAVE BEEN SO CAREFUL!

MY DR. WAS OUT TODAY SO I CALLED THE ER......THEY SAID WHAT MY DR ALWAYS SAYS IN THIS CASE IS TO USE PEROXIDE OR ALCOHOL.

DOES ANY ONE HAVE ANY IDEAS....I'M AFRAID BY MONDAY THEY REALLY BE HURTING. WILL THEY TAKE THEM OUT IF THERE IS SOME INFECTION?

Wow, that's actually a long time to have those staples in. I had mine removed at 6 days post-op. Mine were sore and getting quite red and irritated. When my doc took them out, he used hydrogen peroxide on them. He said they weren't infected, and that since the surgical steel staples are a very foreign item in our bodies that the redness and soreness are merely reactions to the steel. He said it is all very normal, just like regular stitches get tight and sore and kinda itchy. Once he took the staples out, though, I felt sooooo much better, I mean, instantly better. The doc put steri-strips on and told me the longer the steri-strips stay on the smaller my scar will be. He even gave me extra steri-strips to put on if any of these fall off before the end of my 3rd week.

Try not to worry about that awful redness and soreness. Go ahead and wipe them with peroxide if you want to, but my doctor said that if there was any infection it would show up as a moist, yellowish, sticky residue.

Best wishes for a quick and comfy recovery to all of us!

I had about 45 staples-they took out every other one two days after surgery right before I went home and put steri strips in their place. Then told me to have my regular physician take out the rest of them at 8 days post op.(It was 120 miles one way to the surgeons's office) But they got red, hot, and sticky with pus oozing out of some areas.

So they had me come in at 6 days post op and took out the rest of the staples, and all of the visible stitches. Then cultured and gave me antibiotics. The office nurse put one long steri strip up the vertical incision, and within two more days that was really icky, sticky, red and hot. So they told me to take that steri strip off and clean the area with hydrogen peroxide, and use antibiotic soap in the shower. And they changed my antibiotics to a stronger one.

Taking the staples out and then getting the steri strips off really helped me. I think I was having some kind of reaction to the steri strips too-I had them on part of the drains, and that area was oozing too.

If you get a fever, or the area feels hot and starts to ooze, then it is really time for your doc to take a look.

Some people will say not to use peroxide, or antibiotic soap, and i asked the doc about it. He said it was the right thing to do in my case, it was what he told me to do, and it worked for me

So follow your doctor's advice, but call if it gets worse.

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THANKS FOR ANSWERING MY QUESTION.......I THOUGHT IT WAS A LONG TIME TO LEAVE THEM.

THE DAY I CAME HOME MY REGULAR SURGEON WAS OUT OF TOWN.......SO I SAW ANOTHER SURGEON ....HE RELEASED ME AND THAT WAS ON A SUNDAY.......HE TOLD ME TO CALL MY SURGEONS OFFICE ON MONDAY TO SEE WHEN HE WANTED THE STAPLES TO COME OUT.

WHEN I CALLED HE WAS IN SURGERY SO I TOLD THE RECEP. WHAT I NEEDED. SHE SAID SHE THOUGHT 5 DAYS.....SHE THEN ASKED TO NURSES ONE SAID 5 AND THE OTHER SAID 10.

10 DAYS WOULD HAVE PUT IT ON THE WEEKEND SO THEY TOLD ME TO COME IN ON MONDAY WHICH MAKES IT 11 DAYS.

THE FEEL A LITTLE BETTER TODAY.

BUT ONE OF THEM LOOKS LIKE ITS ALMOST OUT BY ITSELF.
THEY ARE NOT RUNNING OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.