Heat vs. Cold

Which is better to put on your incision? Heating pad or cold pack. I have both. Do you have a bandage on the incision? Do I need to get some or what do I need to keep that area clean?

Autumnsummer

Autumnsummer, For me all i have been using since my surgery is a hot pack , when in the castle i suggested to use a cold pack the nurse looked at me like i was crazy , and replied with , "no dear but i will go get you a hot pack" i am not too sure why and i didnt ask, perhaps another sister could shed some more light for you. As for the bandage my was taken off 2 days after surgery and it stayed off , i was told that i did not need to keep it covered , and my staples came out befor i left the castle on day 4. Hope that helps. Bye Bye

i had a bandage on until the day after surgery,after that it was just keeping it clean.l was told not to put heat on the incision because it was numb(and still is)therefore i wasnt able to feel if the heat was too hot..cold packs were advised for me but ask your doc about that..hope it helps

Thanks for your input.

I LOVED my ice packs. I think that is what got me through. Even now sometimes at night I will use one. For the first 3 weeks I even slept with an ice pack.
Hugs and good luck

i was told hot. and i had gauze over my staples. and a abdominal wrap which i loved..and i still love my heating pad at the end of the day its great!

I found the best thing to put on it was air. I didn't want to risk infection by touching it with anything that wasn't sterile. I had no trouble with mine.