Stitches - getting sore now, what to do?

[wickedfairy]

Hi there,

Gave birth to DD 8 days ago and now my stitches are really starting to hurt (episiotomy)! Not sure if things are just healing up and things are tightening with the scar tissue or if it is something else....

Have been taking Arnica pillules and bathing/washing regularly as well as changing my pad frequently (lochia is tailing off now). There is a slight smell (sorry if tmi) but it doesn't smell "bad" iykwim, I think it may just be the blood/pad.

The pain feels quite tight and "pulling" - is this normal?

Thanks in advance!

hmm i don't remember mine doing that, tho it was 5 yrs ago!
i would give your midwife a ring and see if she can come and check them for you

i remember mine doing this, sometime the stitches can be a be tight and pull and 'pinch' not pleasant and they will sometimes take the stitches out if you are healed ok, tho they are meant to sort of dissolve on their own, they dont always.

i would get your midwife to take a look and check all is ok and she may be able to remove the offending stitches. but it should be ok in a few days anyway.

the smell is worrying and is worth checking out to see if there is no infection.

to ease the soreness i thoroughly recommend getting femme pad or any other perineum cool gel pad, this was the only thing that eased the horrible soreness i got from my stitches. oh, and if you do buy this, the covers are really expensive if you buy the special ones but you can go to any pharmacy and buy a thing called 'tubifast' which is practically the same thing you just have to cut the lengths yourself.

also if you're having difficult sitting down, then try sitting in a rubber ring/swimming ring or just lay some towels into a ring shape and sit in that.

hope you feel better soon.

get them checked BUT they are painful for alot longer than you expect too. I remember being in tears about it

get some strong painkillers, even if you are BF you can have them

hang on in there

yep mine were the same pain got worse not better, its the wound healing and tightning, i was constantly sticking my bum in the shower lol, slight smell could be start of womb infection tho so ask midwife to check

Mine were exactly the same around the same time past delivery .. got myself in a right state. I think I had been walking around too much as well, so put my feet up good and proper for two days and that did the trick. Also had slight smell, not bad but apparentlty quite normal. MW recommeded a daily bath with lavender and teatree oil in it.

Yes, according to my obs last time, the 7/8 day mark is when the stitches start to tighten. I think the 10ish day mark is a real turning point.
Rest up, keep the area clean and it will feel better. I found this biit worse than the actual birth.

Thank you for all the advice - midwife coming round today, so will get her to check them out for me!

This is the advice I was given. I laughed when told but it worked for me... I was advised to use a hairdryer on the cool setting and blow the stiches gently. Just check with your midwife that its okay but def worth a try.

Hope this helps

Me too! And I didn't have a hairdryer so we had to borrow my mother-in-law's. We were very careful to imply it was for drying (head) hair, but eventually I let it slip and she said 'Yes, I thought that's what you needed it for.' Argh.

It helps keep the stitches dry so that they heal better. I think if they're damp from washing or going to the toilet they are more prone to infection. But I do know mums who've had stitch infections, so def worth getting them checked out.

Midwife has been and my stiches in one area have fallen out. She removed some others and left some in. The sore area is where the stitches have disappeared/fallen out and although she said there was no infection at that moment, she said it looked like it was about to turn.

She phoned Dr who gave me a prescription for anitbiotics, so am taking them now. They are leaving the wound (quote "with a bit of a gape!") and not restitching - she said she had seen worse that had healed up on it's own.

One thing though, my blood loss was tailing off and was brownish coloured - now it is bright red blood again - is this normal? It still hurts as well, although taking a bath gives a bit of relief. She is coming back Friday to see how/if things have improved.

Anyone got any experience of this? Slightly worried about the red blood, but I supoose if I have an open wound, it is to be expected, no?