Episiotomy healing tips.

[NovRainbow5]

I had my first (and definitely last) baby yesterday and had to have had an episiotomy. Does anyone have any tips on how to make it heal faster or less painful? At the moment I’m still in hospital and being given paracetamol and ibuprofen but I’m still in agony 😩

Poor you, it’s horrid. Sounds obvious but keep it as clean as possible. For the first week I sat in a warm bath twice a day. I either used plain water or put in a drop of tea tree essential oil.

Using warm water to rinse as you wee is also good.

No idea if you’ve done the “first poo” yet but I was really scared to. What helped me was to straddle the loo seat backwards so I could “brace” against it, which made me less worried the episiotomy stitches were going to pop.

And keep on top of the painkillers (especially ibuprofen as it’s anti-inflammatory). It’s easy to forget when you’re so shellshocked and busy with the baby, but keeping taking them regularly means you should never have throbbing pain.

Good luck and congratulations!

Keep the area really clean, especially after going to the loo. Get in the shower or use a flannel. Also, get some air to the area, after shower lay on a towel on bed with nothing on for a while- doing this is what really turned the corner for me. All this is alot easier to do once you are out of hospital so hope you get home soon. And Congratulations!

Congrats on your baby!

100% to running water while you wee. Either in the shower if at all possible, or keep a squeezy bottle by the toilet. Stay well hydrated so wee isn't too potent.

A cold compress may help e.g. ice pack but make sure there's a layer between it and your skin!

The stitches do heal remarkably quickly IME, hope it's the case for you too.

All the above. I was recommended to put lavender oil in the bath, put some in a cup of milk and then put that in the bath. The fats in the milk dissolve the oil so it can do is healing work. You can use an app to track when you've taken medication too.

I took ibuprofen for a few days, it was much better when the swelling had gone down. Mine healed pretty quick but the scar still gave me twinges months later exactly the same as my CS scar did first time round.
Wear bagging clothes and don’t do any lifting or anything that makes it hurt more. I had a bath twice a day

Please check with midwife before bath. I ended up with an infection and damage due to not being told not to bath as my stitches dissolved in it.

You can also get one of those rings to sit on if it hurts to sit. Took me longer than it should have to get one but it really helped when it did.

Get some witch hazel and put it on your maternity pad and put the pad in the freezer (do a few), then when you need a new pad, grab it out the freezer. It helps sloths and heal. Complete game changer for me.

Agree with pp to stay on top of painkillers and try an ice pack wrapped in kitchen roll or a flannel. And getting air to it is key, let it air dry after a shower and my midwife recommended using a hairdryer on the cool setting for a couple of mins. Sounds out there but helped me so so much.

Ask for a prescription of Prontosan wash and gel. Scoosh the wash on the area while in the shower and ask your partner to dab some of the gel on the area if you're struggling to see for yourself.

And this is exactly why I chose sections with both mine. Still painful but not downstairs

That’s a really unhelpful remark! She can’t go back in time!

Spritz for bits spray helped me a lot with my 3rd degree recovery, you can spray some on your pad and it's nice and cooling, boots sells it.

Congratulations!

I third the witch hazel on your pad. Keep the bottle in the fridge and pour it on to your pad each time you change it. Wishing your downtown a speedy recovery!

@onepotatotwopotatothreepotato

And this is exactly why I chose sections with both mine. Still painful but not downstairs

Yeah nice one

OP, my episiotomy was really sore on the day after DD was born and then got very rapidly better (so much easier than my section!) Keeping on top of paracetamol is the best thing you can do for the pain. I wouldn’t take anything other than the paracetamol and ibuprofen because stronger painkillers tend to constipate you, you don’t need that. I would start taking a gentle stool softener like movicol now, and you can also use a glycerin suppository if you need to when it comes time for the first poo, those were lifesavers for me. Other than that I think very comfy clothes/pjs/pants and keeping it really clean are the best things for your comfort.

Congratulations and sympathies, OP.

The problem with an episiotomy wound is that it is impossible to keep sanitary, with all the plumbing around it. You must wash with a disinfectant. I have wished death on the midwife who told me "You are not dirty, just wash with water" and was nowhere to be found when I had a raging infection in the weeks that followed.

We have an iodine solution called Betadine in France that is sold for this purpose without a prescription. If it were me, I would also take preventative antibiotics. Amoxicillin can be taken while breastfeeding.

After a shower, dry with a hair dryer set to cold.

When the wound closes, use Contractubex which is a scar cream specifically prescribed for genital operations and mastectomies. Massage it into the scar several times a day.

You have my empathy - episiotomies are really horrid . I had mine just over 4 weeks ago.

My biggest advice would be try really, really hard to keep the area clean and dry.

Bit of TMI but my routine was (and still is):
Peri bottle - squirt water over area every time visit toilet then dab dry with clean towel. Use wet wipes then shower bum after no. 2 (especially if you've been blessed with delightful hemorrhoids after birth that make things difficult to clean). Short (5-10min), shallow bath filled with salt, lavender oil and tea tree oil on a daily basis. After this bath, I wipe down the area with water wipes and cotton pads with some tea tree oil on, dabbing gently at sore bits. Take a look with a mirror, check nothing looks too inflamed or infected. Sit there "airing things" as much as possible during the day, no knickers with a towel underneath. Change pads every 2 hours, more if you're filling them. Take as much paracetamol as you safely can. I also bought an inflatable ring cushion from Amazon.

Honestly though, it's so frustrating waiting for things to heal and stop being painful but it doesn't happen overnight. Everyone is different of course, but for me, it took 2-3 weeks to not be in pain sitting down and after 4 weeks some stitches are still intact, and the area still feels sore after walking or stretching. Really hope yours heal nicely and don't take too long, but try not to get disheartened if it takes weeks. Focus on lots of cuddles with your baby and try to rest as much as possible

In the olden days it was a shallow bath with a bit of salt in. Also helped with the itch as it healed but that seems not to be the way now. I second glycerine suppository for first poo.

This is going to sound manky but I had warm baths with a few tablespoons of milk mixed with a couple of drops of Arnica oil and Lavender oil. I was given lactulose too.

Rather on the tmi side of things but I would use some toilet paper to "guide" my poops, which were rock hard, away from the area, wipe with moist toilet wipes, and then give a good spray with the shower and pat dry with some toilet paper.
It felt like it would take forever to heal but as long as you take it easy and not irritate it with tight trousers it will be manageable after a few weeks. I also found that once I only needed regular sanitary towels instead of maternity ones that ones without wings were less irritating.

@onepotatotwopotatothreepotato

And this is exactly why I chose sections with both mine. Still painful but not downstairs

What a pointless and stupid comment.

I feel for you OP. I had an episiotomy and still can't sit down on the floor without some pain.

• Use plain water
• moist toilet wipes
• keep with the ibrofen and paracetamol.
• avoid bending and lifting anything heavy.

I had my first number 2 while in the hospital and it was very uncomfortable but l just breathed through the pain. You got this !!

@onepotatotwopotatothreepotato

And this is exactly why I chose sections with both mine. Still painful but not downstairs

Good for you

I used to fill the bath up a bit with warm water so I could go for a wee. Much less painful.
I hope you are healing well, it is a terrible thing to be dealing with when you also have newborn to look after