How long do tears/stitches take to heal?

[bessie26]

I had a couple of small tears which were stitched after DD2 was born. The MW did tell me how long it would take before the stitches would dissolve but I have forgotten (why do they bother telling you stuff after you've given birth & your brain is so addled?)

Presumably once the stitches have gone I should be fairly well healed? But how long should you wait before having sex again? After DD1 I told DH that I wasn't even considering it until I'd stopped bleeding, but DD2 was 3.5lb bigger than DD1, so I'm thinking it might take a bit longer to recover this time?!!

Probably won't take any longer to heal. I think my stitches came out after 4-5 weeks, and itched like crazy! If you feel healed, you're probably fine to have sex whenever you want, especially if you only had small tears. good luck!

With my first I had my stitches (second degree) removed on the midwife's suggestion on day 8 as they were pulling and the skin underneath was healing nicely. With my second I asked to have the stitches removed on day 10 as I was healing well and the stitches were incredibly uncomfortable. After removal I felt better almost immediately- no dragging or itchy feeling and I could sit without fear! The doctor said that having stitches lodged in healing skin and in such a sensitive place were only making things more uncomfortable.

Disclaimer: I had the second lot removed by a doctor who checked my scar and was happy to remove the stitches. Embarrassing though!

Re: sex. first time it was day 10 (very gently) and with the second three weeks I think. Bleeding was almost gone and I had no pain in the scar at all.

Thanks for info guys, am going to try to work up the courage to have a look later!

can i ask then how painful the removal of the stiches were? i dont think it could be more painful than the pain i'm in now but just want to know.

Lulu if you have pain from the area around the stitches, please ask your midwife / GP to have a look. I had an episiotomy when I had DS, and the area got more and more painful. I couldn't sit, stand or walk without discomfort. Turned out that the stitched area had become infected. I had a look with a mirror and it wasn't a pretty sight. A week of antibiotics sorted it out though.
I had 2 different types of stitches - 1 type dissolved away by a couple of weeks if I remember rightly. There were still remnants of the other type of suture material at my 6 week GP check up, and my GP removed them (don't recall it hurt having them removed).

eaglebird thanks for your reply i know this is someone elses thread but i am at my wits end. like you say i cant sit,bend down, get in/out of car without severe discomfort and pain. i'm feeling guilty too because i cant even bend to stroke the dog and just feel all hot and bothered,weepy and in pain. my mw looked the other day and told me it looked 'perfect' even though the pain and discomfort were so bad inearly went to hospital.
am i just a wimp? i may get a second opinion on whats going on down there, i just dont know how much longer i can cope with a newborn/everyday life when im in agony like this. i just dont know what to do for the best, they say recovery from an episiotomy takes longer so i dont want to intefere with the speed of my recovery. how long did it take you to fully recover down there?

Lulu I felt loads better after a day or 2, when the antibiotics started to take effect. The pain & throbbing went,and I was able to move and sit without pain. (Prior to that, it was like sitting on a crown of thorns, and when I walked it felt like my insides were going to drop out).

My MW also told me to run a warm bath twice a day, and put a few drops of tea tree oil in, then sit in the bath for a while. It was very soothing.
She also told me to use thick maternity / maxi pads, and not the Always ultra wing towels I was using. I can't remember why, but think it was because the ultra absorbent pads have some sort of gel crystals inside which wick fluids into the pad, but they also wick away moisture from around the stitches. I got some Tesco maxi pads, and they were great - like sitting on a big padded cushion!

I can't remember exactly how long it took to get back to normal down there. The area healed up nicely, but it remained a little bit tender for a few weeks afterwards.
Do please make an appointment to see your GP tomorrow.
Have you had a look at the area? Does it look like it may be infected, or is there an unpleasant smell? With me, there was a bit of pus oozing out, and I was aware of a smell (sorry if TMI) so I knew I had an infection.
Hope you feel better soon.

eagle I read somewhere on MN that part of the reason you should use maternity pads rather than sanitary towels was to do with the fabric they are made from getting caught on your stitches

I still haven't had a look, but saw my HV who said they should have dissolved within 2-3 weeks

lulu hope you feel better soon

mine disolved after 2 weeks. I only know as I felt around the area at that time as had no problems so was curiouse as to how extensive they were but they had gone lready.

if painfull get them looked at.

Lulu - I feel your pain! I had my baby nearly 8 weeks ago and my episiotomy started to get really painful around week 5, after I'd been signed off by midwife and just when I was hoping to get back to normal. I had a look with a mirror and it was bright red and swollen plus it seemed to be weeping (sorry if TMI!) and went to the Nurse at my GPs, who swabbed it and confirmed I had an infection. A week of antibiotics made a small difference, then it got worse again over the next week or so... In the end I went to A&E, who gave me antibiotics intended for surgery wounds. I've been on them for a few days and the shooting pain your describing has gone - like you I couldn't sit, walk or lay down without it hurting SO MUCH and I was getting seriously depressed! It's still very tender to the touch and the Nurse looked at it yesterday and said it's still quite red, but hopefully by the end of the course (Monday) any infection should have cleared up. If it's really hurting you go to your GP; sod the midwife, if it doesn't feel 'perfect' to you then you need to get it sorted out. Good luck X

Lulu, if the question about having them out was to me then it was like having them put in again. A sort of stinging pain that lasted about 5 seconds per stitch. They cut the stitch and then pull it through the skin. I only had five so I clenched my teeth and focused on baby DS. But the relief when I got up from the couch was amazing. Mine were pulling constantly, it was uncomfortable to sit, stand, walk, lie down and pulling myself along the bed to get out past Ds's moses basket was something I had to psych myself up to do as they twisted and pulled. Once they were out I literally skipped home -got some funny looks!

If you go to the doctor to have them checked out because of the pain and they say there is nothing wrong with your scar/healing nicely- you could ask them to take them out then-lots and lots of pain suggests you should go and be checked up anyway. Mine felt swollen and itchy and they pulled and dragged constantly and as I said the doctor told me that its quite common to have discomfort as the skin heals around the stitch, then as you move it pulls inside where the skin is very sensitive and the skin can't heal around the stitch until it dissolves.

I really really hope this gets sorted out for you soon, I was in tears regularly and I found it really hard to move forward after the birth with this lingering discomfort.

i can relate to what you are all saying here it is just unbearable i feel i cant start to enjoy my new life with baby because sometimes i cant even pick him up. it does feel swollen down there and i was using ordinary night time sanitary towels but find if i use propper maternity pads it is like eaglebird says -like sitting on a big padded cushion and much easier to bear. i have also been doing the tea tree oil in bath trick and find this a relief for all of half an hour. there is no weeping and yes i do feel my insides are going to fall out as i cant do my pelvic floor exercises propperly. i'm really glad there have been so many responses on this subject it has really helped hearing other peoples stories and suggestions. i have made an appointment with my gp to get them looked at today, surely getting them removed couldnt be any worse than what i'm going through at the minute, and its not about wether im able to have sex again i cant even think that far ahead yet, it is just about getting my life back to normal. thanks all. will let you know what happens at gp later!

bessie i hope your feeling better soon too!

How did it go at the doc's Lulu? Hope you are feeling better soon.

well i visited gp and she also says it looks really well down there just a bit swollen. she also told me it was quite deep and will take some time to heal which was a bit of a let down. i am thankful everything is ok down there and have resorted to the fact that this will continue for some time yet. i read that one about putting tea tree in a sports cap bottle with water and squirting as i wee which worked! and just going to keep on using the propper maternity pads. thanks for your concern eaglebird

lulu glad everything's ok - does taking paracetamol help? What about applying ice? (a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a clean tea towel)

I worked up the courage to get a mirror & have a look... I couldn't see any stitches so assume they have gone. It's a bit tender around there, but doesn't look "angry" so guess that's all ok! My concern now is how everything else is looking... "gaping" is a word that springs to mind will look again next week & hope that things look more normal by then!

oh bessie your so brave, i still havent looked at mine too scared! glad your getting yourself back to normal i cant wait to recover myself. its just a painful waiting game. i have been given codene tablets by the doctor which really help ease the pain but make me unbelievabley drowsy.will try applying ice