C-Section incision w/ overhang

[lexxibeth]

My honeycomb dressing was removed 2 days ago and while the wound is very neat, either ends are still slightly open and a little wet. I'm very conscious that it's right in the crease of my belly overhang and getting air to it is nigh impossible as I can't comfortably lay back and hold my belly up.

The midwife recommended placing muslin/breathable cotton against it to keep it dry but the little bit of seeping means peeling the fabric off every hour or so and that is quite uncomfortable.

Any of you other section mamas have any wound care tips I could try? Much appreciated! xx

A sanitary towel folded in half - it shouldn't stick the way fabric does.

I found the most important thing was to carefully wash and dry it at least twice a day, and as soon as laying back was not painful, to lay down and hold the overhang up for 20mins twice a day.

I know it’s tricky but if you can do try and get the air to it. I massively over did things post section and didn’t air it. I ended up having a nasty infection and it took a long time to heal.

I found that even a airing it a for 20 mins a couple of times a day helped. I also used wound dressing ( from a first aid pack) which didn’t stick on the advice of H.V.

I cleaned the wound with cold boiled water when it got sticky. And wore massive cotton pants for months. I also dried it using the cold setting of the hairdryer to advoid rubbing the area.

I was just going to suggest the hair dryer but soul beat me to it.

Where in the country are you? Its a beautiful day (so far in SE London) Sunlight is very healing, if you have a garden, could you sort of lie down on a blanket and expose it to the sun and air for 15 or 20mins?

Massive-er cotton pants are on my shopping list for today as the ones I'm currently in are resting on my belly and causing pressure and I'm already on antibiotics for cellulitis. Not in the wound, mind you, but my actually post-bump skin.

I'll try the pad and airing with a hair dryer - hubby can help haha! Airing outside would involve exposing myself to the neighbours (oop North) as my overhang currently comes quite far down my thigh :'( DS was 11.2lbs and did a lot of stretching me out before we evicted him!

I slept on my back, when I did that my overhang rolled back so the wound got air. After each shower I made sure to do that as well. I used large teena pad over the wound when I was up and about.

Hair dryer could have a lot of dust so beware.

i used to get antiseptic wipes and unfold them and then leave them to dry out (I literally made a little washing line for them in my kitchen!!) so that they didn't sting too much or make things wetter. then I would put them next to the incision and hold them in place with a maternity pad wedged under my over hang. They aren't as breathable as cotton, so I switched to muslin squares as soon as I could.

once everything is properly healed and not weeping (and definitely not before) use nappy rash/barrier cream round the scar site, but not directly on it, to stop rashes.