Dressings and bruising

[Steph]

I have removed my dressing because I seemed to have developed an allergic reaction to the sticky stuff that holds it down. They noticed it in hospital initially, and my consultant said to remove the dressing if it continued as the wound is lovely, clean and dry. Yesterday the area surrounding the wound was quite red and sore so I took the dressing off and overnight it has gone quite a bit. Has anyone else had an issue with this? I was a bit worried about the staples catching, but it seems to be OK.

Also I was expecting quite a lot of bruising, but so far all I have is one bruise about 2" in diameter at the bottom of the wound - there are no more anywhere. Is it likely that I will get more bruising in the following days or will this be it? I have hardly any swelling at the moment either which is pretty good.

 

[aussie]

Hi Steph,

I ended up with a couple of blood blister things from the dressing, but no drama they went in good time.

As for the bruising, when I had my hip done, I was in with a lady who had a knee done, after about 3 days she was black from her knee to her toes and a bit above her knee, so I just thought that was what happened. Imagine my surprise when I had my knee done and had hardly any bruising. Guess it's all relative.

 

[Peta]

Hi Steph!
I also had a reaction to the waterproof dressings used initially - my skin blistered badly. But once I stopped using them it all healed fairly quickly.
Im not sure how far post-op you are, but I distinctly remember having initial bruising around the wound, and then being concerned enough to ring my OS about 10 days post-op when more bruising suddenly appeared! He rightly assured me it was nothing to worry about so don't stress if it does happen! :thmb:

 

[Texas]

The part around my scar got red as well so I took mine off and was fine....I took 3 weeks worth of shots for bood thinners so I think anything that bumped it made a lil bruise, but from the surgery I didnt. Sometimes now I might get a lil bruise here or there, nothing to speak about though...good luck sounds like you doing great...

 

[Troweltalk]

Steph,

I also had a bit of irritation from the tape that held the dressing on. We made it a point after that developed to not put the tape back in a different location each time we changed the dressing, that helped.

 

[leosmom]

Hi Steph,
I didn't have problems with the dressing but my bruising showed up at different times in different areas. The first week it was only near the incision area. By the second week it showed up on my inner thighs. By the third week it moved down to my knee and upper calf. I did have a lot of swelling during that time and could not get my leg up to elevate enough (live alone) so I guess that's why it traveled in that pattern. But no lasting complications and it went away very quickly by the end of week 3.

 

[Steph]

Thanks everyone, that all reassuring. Have been quite OK with no dressing on today and redness is going away. I was a bit worried about the staples maybe catching on clothes but that seems unfounded.

Peta, I am only 7 days post op, so still time to get some more bruises then. I won't worry if they appear.

Thanks

 

[Josephine]

I get bad reactions to Steristrips which use the same adhesive. Irony is, it's supposed to be hypoallergenic adhesive! This is what my skin looked like when the dressing and ss came off at 14 days - you can see the reaction to them all the way down the wound but worst at the top where it was very sore.

 

[Steph]

Mistake - I am actually 8 days post op - forgotten how to count since the op :pzld:

 

[Josephine]

Shan't make a scene over one day, Steph!

 

[Steph]

Shan't make a scene over one day, Steph!

But one day is such a milestone in my life Jo :D

 

[Steph]

I get bad reactions to Steristrips which use the same adhesive. Irony is, it's supposed to be hypoallergenic adhesive! This is what my skin looked like when the dressing and ss came off at 14 days - you can see the reaction to them all the way down the wound but worst at the top where it was very sore.

That is almost what my hip looked like last night. At the top there were small blisters that semed to be weeping - and were very sore.

 

[Josephine]

Yep - sounds just the same. But, it's only very superficial and is no danger to your hip. Only thing (for me) was that they took ages to heal. And I still have bright red spots where they were 10 weeks later! The scar, however, is coming along just fine!

 

[Steph]

Thats looking good Jo. Neat and tidy.

I am quite impressed with my incision - very neat and tidy with 22 small staples. Not looking forward to having then out - I bet it will sting a bit.

 

[DianeC]

Steph,

I had my staples removed yesterday; It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, especially after my son was telling me how it felt to have staples removed from his head. It felt like I was getting poked a bit, but I was able to carry on a conversation with the physician's assistant while she was doing it.

Diane

 

[Peta]

That is almost what my hip looked like last night. At the top there were small blisters that semed to be weeping - and were very sore.

That sounds EXACTLY like the reaction I had Steph! Makes me go "ouch" looking at them again...........!:shk:

Wow - 8 days post-op! You sound like you're doing wonderfully well! That's great to hear.......!:thmb:

 

[Steph]

Thanks Peta, I am feeling really good apart from the tight muscles and slightly sore wound, but I am sure that once the staples are out that will feel much better.

 

[Peta]

When do you get the staples out Steph? I had dissolvable stitches so I've no idea how long staples have to stay in for??:sct:

 

[Steph]

I am having them out on Monday, which is 13 days after the op

 

[Scott]

I had mine in for two weeks, also. Kind of has a tickle feel when they come out.