Scared to shower

I am on day four post op DAV. I know I need to shower but I am in pain and a little shaky. I also am not sure about how to care for the incision sites, there are five which are covered with tape. They did explain all of this to me at the hospital but I was so medicated that I don't really remember what was said. Does anyone have any advise on this subject for me? I feel a little silly that I haven't gotten cleaned up yet but I really didn't expect all of the swelling, dizziness, pain and feeling so winded so easily. I'm not usually one that can't take care of myself under any circumstance. I guess I'm felling a little like a baby at this point. Any tips or your own experiences some of you might have to share would be greatly appreciated!!

Aww I did the same thing. I haven't had nearly as many showers since being home as I would have normally.. Its hard to give yourself permission to not worry so much about it.. But really it's ok. 17 days in I'm still shaky in there. I make sure I'm not alone.. I had the same 5 holes and was told to just let soapy water run over them. Pat dry.. The Dr took those strips off me today and all looks good.. Take every thing slow and best wishes to you..

Hey there! I had my davinci on the 24th so hopefully I can help.

Please don't be afraid to shower...for safety you could try putting a plastic lawn chair with a towel on it to sit on or have someone monitor you...if you have a significant other that could shower with you that works great. By now you are absolutely fine to remove the tapes or bandaids from your incisions and letting soapy water run over them is just fine. There is no need to perform any special incision care and they can be left open to air now...just change your clothing daily and keep an eye on them for signs of redness, pus or other drainage, swelling, or dihescence (pulling apart).

I shower and use an antibacterial soap and just let the suds fall over insision.Then I rinse and pat dry with a paper towel. Then I stand in the sun and give it 5 mins in the sun to really dry.

I use a hand held shower head and sit on the floor of my tub but I was cleared to bathe/shower normally just not supposed to scrub the steri-strips and pat dry.

It has helped me to make sure that the water temp is not too warm. Otherwise I get dizzy. If its just lukewarm then it's fine. Good luck.

You could take french baths until you feel less shaky, just put warm water in the sink and soap and rinse off

Thank you all so much! I normally consider myself to be a pretty independent woman but this is something I do not want to go through alone. It is so comforting to have this site & all of you as as a support system! Thank you for all of your kind advice.

I was worried about water hitting the incisions, so I held a washcloth over them. Also, for about a month and a half I backed into the water spray, so as not to have it hit right on the belly.

I am 14 days post-op and tire very easily from a shower. I find it helps to keep my back to the water and not my belly. The warm running over it feels a bit soothing. I do have hubby in bathroom with me. I hope things get better for you soon