Hello ladies.
I had my lap two days ago. The surgeon and the nurse didn't give me any advices to take care of the scars. Did you take the bandages off the first day ? Did you change them ? One of them is bleeding a bit, I don't really know how normal it is.
What about showers, I went for the option of buying waterproof bandages but still worried about submerging them into water. Any advices ?
Thank you so much
Emma
Hi, I got told that I could shower straight away if I wanted to. My plasters were clear plastic with a white square in the middle. One of them had blood in but had stopped bleeding when I took them off after 4 days. I kept my scars covered for the first couple of weeks as they catch on my clothes but I then got an allergic reaction to the sensitive plasters I was using so the nurse told me to leave them uncovered. I'm now 3 weeks post op and still have scars that are catching on my clothes but not much I can do about it.
Waterproof dressings can be showered but not submerged.
If the bleeding is only slight then that should be OK, but any more or if it doesn't stop in a couple of days then go to the doctors (only need to see the nurse).
After a few days you should be able to put vitamin E skin cream on which will help the healing process. If you've stitches in I'd leave that about a week.
It might be worth phoning your doctors and asking if one of the nurses can phone you back for advice.
I was allergic to the adhesive in bandaids so I ended up with thickened scars. So in retrospect, my dermatologist recommended some special bandages (i don't remember the name) said to keep it moist with antibacterial cream, and then as soon as they are closed and there's no chance of infection, wear silicone pads for several weeks. You can get silicone scar pads on Amazon.
I had straightforward stitches and took my dressings off after 4 days on gp advice. I kept mine dry for well over a week by having v awkward showers, but in retrospect this is probably what meant my stitches did not dissolve in the expected time. So I think I didn't need to be so careful!
Thanks ! I was quite worried because the surgeon told me the nurse would explain me everything and the nurse told me it was the role of the surgeon. Therefore no information !
Not great! I'm sure the nurse should have been able to explain basic wound care!
Nhs direct (on the phone) are sometimes a good source of info too x
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