infected stitches...

[LucyJones]

Have posted this on another thread so apologies to anyone reading this for 2nd time. My sister gave birth last week to a 8lb 6oz baby boy. She is still in hospital, tomorrow she is going into theatre with infected stitches (I think they are going to do them again). My mum and dad kicked up a fuss cos they were giving her antibiotics, she was seen by lots of different midwifes who didn't know what was wrong and my parents asked for her to see a consultant. My mum said they hadn't checked her stitches everyday - don't they do that any more? Anyone any experince of this? Or general advice/comments TIA

Midwives checked mine everyday (ds2 is 3 now though). I put tea tree oil in my bathwater which is meant to help combat infection and bathed every day - I had no problems and healed nicely.

HTH and hope your sister recovers quickly.

Thanks Soupdragon

they didnt check mine everyday. Just told me to keep an eye on them incase they were weepy.

Hope your sister feels better soon

Fio2 "Keep an eye on them"?? No way on earth was I going to look at mine!

I think the problem was she's had piles too so didn't know what was hurting. They don't tell you to put tea tree oil in hospital bag (or anything else for that matter) to prevent infection do they?

There's absolutely no way the mum can tell for herself what's going on down there, in my opinion and in my experience. With my first baby my stitches didn't heal and I had an infection as well (though the gyne said the one was probably not caused by the other). With my second everything healed up perfectly. In the short-term, I certainly couldn't feel the difference in healing - apart from the fact that I was in pain for months after the first.

I used teatree and lavender oils in my bathwater both times, but the second time I always washed myself with running water after using the toilet (wee or poo) for several weeks, rather than for just the first couple of weeks as I had done previously.

I had my stitching repaired when ds was 8m. Not fun, but worthwhile. So I do think that, although it's traumatic for your sister, it's much much better for her to get the problem sorted asap.

HTH, and congrats to your sister.

Thanks prettycandles - I'm going to see her tomorrow in hospital so fingers crossed she's feeling better.

Dear Lucyjones
I had an infected episiotomy and had 5 courses of anti-biotics before they found one that sorted the problem (amoxicylin). The anti-biotics had no effect on Ds (now 27mths) and I breast fed throughout. Did have to have the episiotomy re-done tho' as the infection mucked up the healing process. Did have the stitches checked - but if the infection/cut is very deep, they might not be able to see....

Just to update - saw my sister at the w/end. She was in hospital for nearly 2 weeks. When they redid her stitches in theatre they found an abcess! She is still in a lot of discomfort. They think it might have been the anusol they gave her for piles getting into the stitches. The baby is getting on beautifully though.

That sounds really horrible. I do hope she's better soon, poor love. I had infected stitches and it was horrible.

Glad the worst is over - sounds horrible. There is a super analgesic that you can get as a suppository (so it's perfectly safe wrt breastfeeding) and it works a dream 'down there', including for the piles. Trouble is that I can't remember the exact name! It's either Voltarol or Voltaren, the pharmacist would know for sure. I don't know whether you can get it without a prescription, though.

Voltarol and voltaren are the same thing - just a different form. It's a brand name for Diclofenac, a non steroidal anti-inflammatory.
(Incase it helps!)

And no you can't get it without a prescription. The closest you can get to it over the counter is ibuprofen.

Hi
I'm new to this website and have had a quick sketch to see whats what. I had infected stitches with my second baby. I also had bad piles,at first I thought the pain was the piles but it got so bad that I had to attend the local emergency clinic as it was the weekend. I was prescribed amoxycilin which cleared it up after 2 or 3 days but boy,did I suffer! I kept the area as dry & clean as possible after the birth but to no avail. I can also totally agree that looking at your 'hootenanny' after the birth maybe an ordeal but is maybe a good idea if you feel all is not well. I now realise after checking out a few of the topics on this site I have experiences I want to share that I previously thought were best kept to myself as I have been conscious of being a birth & baby bore! but no more.....

Welcome houseslave, nothing to add - just wanted to say Hi.

Its addictive, the only place where people were interested in my emergency c-section, leaking cracked nipples.... and of course I was online when in labour.

Hi Prettycandles. Was interested in your post because I had my stitches redone on Monday - dd nearly 9 months now.
I'm feeling pretty rotten - still very sore. Mostly scared that this lot'll be wrong and it'll have to be done yet again. The actual surgery was pretty traumatic too. Am interested to know how long it seemed to take for yours to heal? Also,did you have a follow-up appointment. I'm livid because the surgeon said he'd see me in 12 weeks and the out-opatients dept has booked me in for September. Useless.
I'd be interested to hear more about your experience.

Hi Pook - I'm wincing for you, but also cheering for you! It's not pleasant, and I'll bet you feel gruesome right now, but the worst is almost certainly over. This time you won't have been swollen and bruised before the repair began, which is often why things go wrong, and it will all have been far more controlled and unrushed. The chances are that you won't have to go through this again.

I imagine that you're far more aware of the 'discomfort' this time than after the birth. That's because you haven't been numbed by all the stretching. It doesn't mean that anything has gone wrong. Treat yourself as if you've just given birth: rinse rather than wipe after using the toilet, sit in salt water a couple of times a day if you can, put a few drops of lavender and teatree oils in the bath. Do lots of pelvic floor exercises, drink plenty of water or juice, and sit on a Valley Cushion.

Did you have it done under general or local?

I did have a follow-up with the surgeon. I don't remember exactly when it was, but I'm sure it was 12 weeks or less. I'd be inclined to speak to the appointments clerk. Tell them that the surgeon has said that he needs to see you 12 weeks after surgery. It could be that he phrased the appointment request incorrectly - that has happened to me - and you've gone on to a first appointment waiting list, whereas you are already in the system and shouldn't have to start again.

Hi Prettycandles

Thanks for your post. It was done under a local, which I think was actually the worst part really. Could have had a general, were I not b/feeding (dd NOT keen on bottle and so really no option). Wish I had, because I think it was the whole atmosphere - operating theatre, masks, gowns - and the actual sensation of the LA that made it worse.

I'm trying really hard to have lots of baths and to be as gentle as possible with the stitches. And hopefully I've managed to avoid an infection this time. But I think the thing is, on inspection (yuk), that I'm not the same "Down there" and maybe never will be - aesthetically at least. And that makes me quite sad, but have the compensation of an absolutely wonderful dd and things could have been a lot worse.

I rang the hospital and made such a fuss that they agreed to overbook me for a 12 week appointment as that is what the consultant had promised. It annoys me, though, that I had to make a fuss. Of course I understand that there are more urgent cases, but I think that just because it's routine and minor to the surgeon, it doesn't mean that it's not important to me.

I think that once the 2 weeks healing time is up (that's what I was told was the average time for it to heal) I may actually book in to see my GP (who I adore) before the consultant appointment, just so she can give me a once-over.

Have you had children since your stitches episode? I'm hoping that having No.2 may sort things out - and am ecstatic that at least I may be in a position to have No.2, IYSWIM

Sorry - just re-read your earlier post. Of course you've had more children. So there's hope!!!!!

I asked why I had to have a general - I wasn't given the option of a local - and they said that it was because of the emotional trauma. I didn't argue, even though I know that the dangers of a general are much higher than those of a local, as I found the stitching to be the most traumatic part of giving birth.

Maybe you shouldn't look at yourself down there for a while? After all, you don't know what it's meant to look like do you? Your only standard of comparison is yourself in your 'beautiful' pre-baby state . Anyway, you need to do whatever works for you to exorcise the memory of the operation, whether that's sweeping it all under the carpet or talking it out of your head. Seeing your GP sounds an excellent idea.

TBH things never were the same for me, even after the repair, but they were a million times better. What resolved more-or-less everything down there was giving birth a second time :0.