How do I clean my belly button incision???

[PaigieSnows]

Hiya Everyone.

I am 3 days out of having laparoscopic surgery done on my abdomen. I am still very sore, swollen and bloated. Also I have a very sore throat from having a tube down my throat.

They have made two incisions 1 on my left hand side of my abdomen and 1 inside my belly button.

I took off my surgical plasters yesterday. 1) because it was really itchy. 2) I was told by my nurse that it would be ok to take my plasters off on day 2.

She also told me that if either of my incisions look gunky or pusey to cover them up and keep them dry but otherwise I should be OK without them covered.

I had a shower yesterday and noticed that I have quite a bit of dried blood and my belly button looks moist. But I don't know if this is normal or not.

Also how do I go about cleaning my incisions inside my belly button???

Because I don't want to use a cotton bud inside of my belly button (just in case I disturb the stitches and make it worse. So I used the shower head to squirt some water in there to try to clean it but it didn't work.

Can sometimes please give me some advice on how to clean my belly button incision. Thank you in advance.

Paige. Xxx

[princessk09]

Hey, I just used to wash my hands with antibacterial soap and get some lukewarm water and just gently cleaned my bellybutton. Make sure you pat dry with a soft towel as well. (It’s kind of like cleaning a tattoo)

My nurse told me not to put another bandage on and just let it heal but everyone’s advice is different.

Dried blood is normal but try not to pick it or anything as it could put on the stitches.

[Thecraftyadder]

I had to keep dressings on longer than you but was told to change then if my wounds had bleed or weeped on the dressing. I mostly just used the shower head to wash. You must not scrub or be rough with the area as it needs to scab over to heal. If its really sore you could make a salt water solution using boiled water that's cooled down. I gently patted the area with a cotton wool pad soaked in it, then patted dry. But its early days for you so the most important thing is to keep them as dry as possible to aid healing. 2 of mine looked moist for nearly 2 wks after and the belly button one bleed a bit for several days. I had to keep dressings on for 14 days.

[wanwood]

Did it look moist before you got in the shower or only after?

I probably wouldn't do anything at this stage other than to gently let water wash over it, and then to pat it completely dry as soon as you get out of the shower with a clean soft towel or cloth. xx

[Zuzu7]

Hi PaigieSnows,

Try to go to the pharmacy and get this liquid which is sold in satches to help to clean out your wounds as a pose to using soaps just incase it reacts badly. Use it with some cotton buds and avoid letting the belly button get wet and leaving it to dry just incase of infection. So try some waterproof plasters if your still having problems with smell etc colour etc..

Additonally, with regards to your soreness try to drink some peppermint tea throughout the day, try to walk around and lastly avoid sitting upwards on your bed so nothing less than the 45 degree angle of sitting as this can allow your stomach to get a lot of pressure and become even more inflated.

Hope this helps and good luck. Hope you get better xx

[Amber83]

I put some salt in boiled water, had my shower then cleaned over the incisions with the salt water and left uncovered to dry. My incisions healed really quick x

[LittleG22 in reply to Amber83]

I did this as well. Works really well as salt promotes healing in the skin and boiled (then cooled!) water is sterile. They used to treat the skin of burnt pilots with salt baths in the second world war.

I used a cotton bud in the belly button with the salt water. Just be gentle.

[Vicky2708]

Like others have said, I used salt water and cotton pads to clean my incisions.

I got some gauze for covering them in case I felt the need to.

Hope yours heal quickly x