Lap aftercare/showering?

[becausemanson]

All I've been told when discharged from the hospital is shower after 48 hours, remove dressings and pat area dry. I'm planning on not using soap or anything in the shower and just letting water softly wash the wounds then patting dry with some kitchen roll. I'm just worried about them getting infected

[RedMae84]

Hey , how did everything go, and how are you feeling? That is really strange because I was told not to shower without the dressing on. Water should not touch the wounds so soon. But it might be different I don't know.

I kept my dressing on every time I showered for a week, as was advised. If you are worried talk to the GP but I see no harm in keeping it covered while showering, and then clean the area with a antiseptic after your shower.

x

[becausemanson in reply to RedMae84]

Everything went okay, and just feeling a little exhausted and rough really. Yeah I thought it was strange but literally just told shower as normal after 48 hours, keep it clean, dry, and uncovered. It's my belly button they went through I think, well my belly button is just a pool of hard blood haha. They told me wet dressings would increase the risk of infection, but I'm going to be keeping an eye on it thanks x

[RedMae84 in reply to becausemanson]

Oh glad to hear it went well, just take it easy, hopefully someone is there to just spoil you a bit

I had mine covered with cling film, so the dressing wouldn't get wet, that was suggested by the specialist, but then the nurses all told me different things, it's hard to know.

yeah just keep an eye on it and see how it goes, as long as the area is kept clean. Mine is infected now, i think it didn't heal well after the surgery

Take it easy & feel better soon!

[becausemanson in reply to RedMae84]

Oh sorry to hear that, hopefully it gets better soon

[NW248]

There are various different types of dressings. I had some waterproof dressings. The fabric type bit had a clear waterproof sticky bit. That might explain why different people get different advice, but also different medics seem to think differently about these things.

[Versailles]

Unlikely to get infected. Stop being so worried. I have had 3 laparoscopies and 15! laparotomies. Just use common sense.

[becausemanson in reply to Versailles]

Wow rude.

[discobec]

I was told to leave them uncovered for the shower but to avoid getting my cuts directly into the stream of water. The nurse also suggested drying the cuts with the hairdryer on its lowest setting.

She also said to stick with the shower and avoid baths for a couple of weeks. X