DS1 had a small op on his belly button on friday, to remove some irritated tissues and some stitches that had been put in last year which he turned out to be allergic to.
The wound is closed with paper stitches and doesnt look too bad - looks to be healing up well. As of a couple of days ago he was allowed to get it wet in the bath, which he has done.
My problem is that they have put one of those very stretchy very sticky see through plasters over the whole thing, it is quite big. DS is a VERY nervous patient, he is absolutely terrified of removing this plaster, which doesnt seem to be coming lose in the water of the bath, and i think will eventually need to be peeled off.
Having managed to get hold of a corner of it, much to the distress of ds, I can see that it is not going to peel off very easily, it appears to be very very sticky. He cries, gets very paniky and gets all sweaty and scared when we try to peel it off at all. Im worried that the wound underneath will become infected if the plaster is left on too long, is this likely to be the case? I mean, presumably, plasters cant be left on for ever?!
How do I approach this? Is there anything that we can to to make the plaster come of easier? WE have been trying to get ds used to just having us touch areas of his tummy close to the plaster and him just touching the edges andso on to try and de sensitise him a bit, but at the rate were going, it could take weeks!!!
Help please, any bright ideas gratefully received!!
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Children's health
How do we remove this very very sticky plaster from extreemely terrified ds?
geraldinetheluckygoat · 20/01/2011 14:38
my dds forget anything after a gingerbread man 
if it's going to cause upset just touching the area then getting in and out quickly will reduce the upset
that seems the most sensibe option, Charlotte, but I feel uneasy to do it. I did this on his last op, when we had to take the plaster off that they put the numbing cream on in the anaesthetic room. The plaster was very stretchy though and didnt come off very easily like that, and I think that's one of the things that has made him so paniky. Also we had to hold him down to have blood tests and to get the canula for the aneasthetic in last year. In order to get this plaster off by ripping it off, one of us would have to hold him down while the other does it (hes nearly six). I don't want to make what feels like genuine fear of these situations even worse...I cant see any other way either though. 
I'm a mean mummy too, but the OP's Ds sounds almost traumatised and I think a softly softly approach is better if that's the case. If it was my Dc, I'd yank it off quickly, but they haven't been traumatised by plaster removal, just chickens 
. Actually I've been lucky with Dd so far as she's refused to have a plaster on on the few times she's grazed a knee etc, but Ds was always a big baby, so it was a fast, furious removal for him.
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