C section/ toenail polish

[civilfawlty]

Am booked for a c section with a general on weds and a pedicure booked for tmrw. Just heard a rumour you can't have painted toenails during the op. Does anyone know if this is true?
Thanks
And-please-can we not have a discussion about the merits/ demerits of c sections and generals. Ta

Mine was removed when they were deciding if I should have an emcs! Also think u have to wear lovely stockings for a few days after cs so can't see your toes then either!!

Yes, you are not allowed painted toenails. Nurses will make you remove it if you turn up with it on! AFAIK its so they can check if your nail area turns pale/blueish- not sure why exactly? Circulation?

Yes, horrible white suction socks- FGS take LONG nighties!

Bums. Was SO looking forward to my pampering. Thanks for the info.

What the BEJESUS are suction socks?
What else haven't they told me?

Knee high like REALLY tight white HIDEOUS HIDEOUS socks, those pressure ones ytou wear on planes, they will MAKE you wear them & you will be too weak to fight them off.

Get the pedi anyway, get your feet all smooth etc and just skip the polish?

I was told no nail varnish on toes for
my ELCS - something to do with nail bed colour being something they might want to check if they were concerned about - erm - oxygen levels? Why they need toes and not fingers for this I don't know. I'm not sure if this is policy at every hospital, so probably best to ring and check.

I had a pedicure in what turned out to be my last week of pregnancy - it was bliss at that elephantine stage.

Every time you want to pick up your DC you will have to ring a nurse. And every time you want to put them down too.

If there is any way on gods earth of getting a private room that DP can stay in with you and help you, take it.

I've spent the weekend performing c sections in my job. I honestly couldn't care if you wear nail polish on your toes. The reasoning is in case you need to have your oxygen saturations monitored via your toes the polish can interfere with the equipment. However, this is done on your fingers almost always. So definitely no fingernail polish!

PS yes - still have pedi, just skip the polish - you will have lovely smooth moisturised trotters and if you are lucky you will get an ankle and foot massage...

They need to put a little peg on your finger to monitor your oxygen levels....shouldnt need to remove polish from your toes tho..and if they do, they have nail polish remover.

They'll remove it if you haven't already... can you swap your treatment for something else? (Not a manicure, that'll go too)

Ooh. Yes. Foot massage would be a lovely treat.

Apparently you have to do one night on the ward so they can 'see me' (through the curtain?). I was thinking I could have my quiet room and some rest in normal temperature (rather than the ward/sauna).

Wow-performing c sections. Amazing. What is it like? Does all the AF get sucked away? Does the baby cry straight away?

I had to remove mine. Not sure how I applied it in the first place, come to think of it!

Civil, sometimes the baby will cry straight away but often can take a few minutes so don't worry if this happens. Baby will be taken to be warmed and dried which will usually start the first cry.
I must admit I have a little tear behind my mask at each delivery though! Good luck and congratulations in advance!

Thank you so much for that. I still can't really believe this wriggling bump is a baby tbh.

Had ELCS with DS1 but no pressure socks. Ankles swelled up horrendously though, so maybe it would have been better with them!

i could keep my polish on my toes as i didnt have any on my fingers so they could check for pinkness (or whatever) on fingers, but i was awake during the operation (not too sure what general anesthetic is asi am abit dense)

They didn't take mine off OP.

Go for the pedi anyway it'll be the last relaxing thing you do for quite some time

Surely they cannot "make" you do anything! I can't understand why you are not "allowed" flowers in NHS ward when in private hospital rooms are flowery bowers. The last time I vistited someone in an NHS hospital I took flowers and made it quite clear I'd take a very dim view if they were stolen from my friend - the flowers remained!

I had nail polish on my toes & my fingers and they didn't remove either. It was quite pale pink.
Good luck!

What do you mean by 'does all the AF get sucked away?' If you mean does all the lochia get removed (the post birth bleeding) then no - that blood is from where you have a dinner plate sized wound on your uterus where the placenta was attached - it takes time to heal whichever way your baby comes out so you still bleed after a CS!

Lizandlulu - general anaesthetic is where you are 'knocked out' as opposed to local which numbs the area being worked on but leaves you awake,

Higgle - if a surgeon or anesthetist said they needed to remove your nail polish so they could check you were okay while undergoing surgery, would you really say 'you can't make me do anything'? Really?

OP, good luck tomorrow. You get to meet your baby

thanks for htat flisspaps for some reason i think that does make a difference doesnt it as to how they check your vitals? if your awake, then its more obvious if you are ok, where as if you put asleep then they have to check you more, if that makes sense.

OP i wouldnt go for colour, just to be on the safe side. andi had to wear those bloody awful socks for 2 days till i was walking about, but was allowed flowers on the ward

GOOD LUCK!!