THR I have a cold, my mother has her THR today<

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Hi @Josephine

Around 5 days ago, mom accidentally poured extremely hot water from the shower jet onto her "good" leg's thigh portion for a second and burnt herself, and inspite of applying some cream called burnol, her wound looks like this now, and I'm really worried. Didn't really think it was anything major at the time.

The dark skin tear spot in the center just appeared today she says. And it's itchy.

Should we take her to a doctor? Any dangers to the artificial hip because of this? I'm reading on the internet about burns being infected etc. Please suggest to me what to do. Thanks a ton.
 

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So sorry this happened to your mother. I hope she'll be more careful in the future!

The area you call a "tear" appears to be a blister that has opened and drained. The rest of the area looks like a burn would look. I don't see anything that looks like infection. But you need to watch for that and, should you notice new redness or oozing, I suggest you take her to have her regular doctor have a look. Keep the area clean and dry and don't pop any blisters that may appear. Of course she should not scratch any of the areas that are burned. This should not be a problem for her hip. I suggest that you not overdo your time researching on the internet too....there's a lot of scary stuff out there that won't apply here.
 
Thanks @Jamie .. It's strange if it's an opened up blister because she says she never noticed any closed blister before.

I've asked her to keep an eye on it for any redness/oozing. Just a couple of questions if you don't mind..

- Should I bandage it and/use some antibacterial as I read that open blisters can easily be infected if not bandaged?

- Can she continue applying that cream called Burnol? I see that that cream is an antiseptic itself too to prevent infections. But again it's not exactly an antibiotic.

- You said it needs to stay dry. Does that mean it can't get wet at all and she should cover it in the shower?

Tysm.
 
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If that open area is raw where the skin has peeled back, I would not put anything on it. If it's oozing, a bandage would be a good idea. But if not, it will actually heal faster in the open air. I would not get it wet in the shower until a scab has formed over the area. It would be okay to put a bandage over it to shower. Even though the bandage would get wet, that would not hurt the area if it's removed immediately after showering. Then gently pat the area dry again.

From the photo, it does not appear that the burned area is very deep and that would be good. As such, it should heal fairly easily on its own. It's just going to take some time for the new skin to generate underneath the burned area.
 
Thanks @Jamie .. This is how it looks right now.. Any thoughts?
 

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I'd say it looks fine and like it's healing. Burns heal slowly, so expect it to take at least several weeks to disappear. Does any part of the area hurt to the touch?
 
I'd say it looks fine and like it's healing. Burns heal slowly, so expect it to take at least several weeks to disappear. Does any part of the area hurt to the touch?

Nope.. It doesn't hurt.. I'm annoyed and not talking to her since yesterday though as she climbed around 20 steps up and down in a hurry without a crutch while I was gone. She doesn't understand that it takes one second of negligence to dislocate and ruin everything.
 
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At this point in recovery, your mother should be starting to resume most normal activities. That includes going up and down stairs independently, if she feels comfortable with that. Walking on stairs is not an activity that would put her at increased risk of dislocating her hip.
 
@Jamie Just to update Jamie, the wound looks like this now.. The skin around the blister is turning white..
 

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Nothing bad in the photo. It's totally normal healing and that's why it itches. Everything is fine. The white you see around the blister is just the new skin. It will naturally be lighter than the skin that was burned.

Alex is right....your mom needs to carefully get back to normal activity now. She should use the hand rail for a while on stairs and not hurry, but there is no problem at all with her going up and down as long as she's comfortable with it.
 
Hi @Jamie 7 weeks now and she has stubbornly started walking without the walker in the house a lot.. and without the walker, she's always limping... is it okay to walk without the walker like that?
 
If she is still limping, she should use a cane or stick to help her walk more smoothly. The cane or stick goes in the hand opposite her new hip.

There is no reason for her to use a walker this far out from surgery, unless her surgeon has said she must. Most people only use a walker for a few weeks, at most. After my THR, I used a walker for just one day. It has nothing to do with being "stubborn", as you say. It is just that we, like your mother, no longer need a walker. Gaining independence and mobility is actually one of the goals of this surgery, right?
 
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We had her 8 week follow up this week, and the doctor said she doesn't need the 20-21 inch height to sit anywhere now. He asked her to use a cane as she is limping quite a bit without it. But she runs around the house all day without the cane. She is lazy and won't listen to me no matter what. I'm curious to know what are the risks of not using the cane (besides falling ofcourse)?

Also, she's babysitting my niece all the time and flexes her hip too much, like in the below pictures. Are these positions dangerous? Pls suggest.

@Jamie @Josephine @alexthecat
 

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There is no danger associated with not using the cane. I only used one for two weeks after THR and then decided I didn't want to anymore. I think you should leave her alone about it. If she's bothered by her limp, she can use a cane. If she doesn't mind limping, that's her choice.

It's sweet of you to be so concerned about your mother, but she's a rational adult and it's okay for her to make her own decisions about her health. You may find that, if you stop talking to her about it, she'll decide for herself to use the cane.

I also would suggest not worrying about her hip flexion when sitting. She is more than six weeks post-op, so she does not need to follow hip precautions anymore. That's why the surgeon told her that she no longer needs to sit on a raised chair. If her surgeon isn't worried about hip flexion, you don't need to be either.
 
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The photos tell me she's okay with her bending, so don't worry about that. Besides which she is 9 weeks now. Time to let'er rip!
 
Mom has been complaining that the stitches portion is pinching/pricking/stretching/feeling tight, etc. Is this normal?
 
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