sore incision

I am in week 4 after a TAH. The past few days, my incision has been very irritated by rubbing against my panties. There is no discharge so I am not worried about something being wrong. I just wondered if anyone else experienced this and what I might put on it to protect it from getting even more irritated. It is a good idea to cover it with a bandage? I can always use a pad as I have plenty of those left!

Some posts on this site have suggested wearing nothing underneath a robe or dress. You might try that for a day or two to get ahead of the soreness and allow it to heal. Good luck!

I used gauze pads. It kept the area dried and nothing could rub against it.

I actually called my DR just last week in regards to an sore/red incision area. The nurse said to dry the area really good after a bath, shower etc. If need use a hair dryer on cool from a distance to get it dried really good. She said to put corn startch or powder lightly on the area. She said to make sure it is not clumpy on the area! She also said after work to try to go without anything on the area to allow it a chance to get air. The redness and pain went away but today it appears to be coming back it is sore again. She said the best thing is to keep the area dry and allow air to get to it! Good Luck!

I had my surgery about the same time as you. I have been having soreness also in my incision site all of a sudden. Its like a intense burning pulling pain, from the inside. The outside is healed. I will try the powder. I have rubbed my belly with lotions for the last month and it has healed nicely on the outside. Maybe the pains are just all a natural part of the healing. Hope so- Hugs- Cath

Yes, my incision gets irritated from panties, too. Even though they are cotton, anything rubbing there is uncomfortable. Lose the underwear whenever possible. Just a nightgown and robe for a few days does usually help. I also have VERY BIG cotton panties and VERY BIG light weight lounge pants from OLD NAVY so that very little fabric touches. (I wonder what I'll wear when I go back to work in March?? LOL!) A light lotion helps if the skin still feels funny, but only if all your steri strips have come off. I'll do that at bed time once I get back into only a nightgown. Keep the faith, remember we are still healing! Be a cautious Princess and don't over do it! Best to you in your recovery!

My incision stayed sensitive and irritated for weeks. I have a vertical incision and the upper half gave me the problems. Daily I would blow dry it and apply globs of vitamin E ointment. (My doctor suggested vitamin E ointment when I was 2 weeks post-op.) I would then apply a 4X4 piece of soft sterile gauze to the incision and then put on my over-sized panties. I couldn't stand the elastic of anything to touch the top of the incision. I'm 3.5 months out and the irritation is gone but sometimes it gets very itchy. There are some days I forget I have an incision. BTW, I still do my daily routine with the incision. It has become a habit. Oh, my first 3 weeks I went commando because I didn't feel like dealing with undies and my Foley catheter. (I was one of the lucky few who got to bring their catheter home with them). I think my incision got a lot of air back then.

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