Very SORE ("burned" feeling) tummy 6 weeks post C-section -??

[Mazzletov]

Well one expects to be a bit sore after this sort of thing, BUT ...

As well as the obvious tenderness/numbness near the actual scar, I've had INCREDIBLY sensitive and sore skin all the way up my abdomen. It's gradually receded downwards, now only sore below the navel. But it's really a nuisance, it hurts when I rub moisturiser on it or do other silly things like WEAR CLOTHES. It feels very much like sunburn. I cannot find underwear that isn't desperately uncomfotable, chaffing away - EVEN the famed NCT netty pants.

Has anyone else experienced this, and/or can anyone tell my WHY it hurts and what might help? I had a horrible itchy rash, mostly all over legs, tummy, chest but very bad on tummy, for a few days after the op - is this connected?

I also have a swollen lump just above the scar, I was told this was a haematoma (sp?) - a gathering of blood and fluid that would absorb in a few days, but clearly it HASN'T ...

hmmm. i;d get back to the GPs .

especially re the lump

it might be partly to do with everything healing and regaining feeling in the area.

have you tried pure cotton big pants?

have you tried calamine or is it burning inside, IFYSWIM

do you know what caused the rash?

i mean the burning might be to do with healing, not the lump!

Hi Lulumama - the soreness is very much on the surface. Hard to describe - it doesn't make you wince like a raw burn right on the surface would, but more like the burned area is just barely protected. If I trace a finger over the bare skin, it feels like I've got really bad sunburn and there's a very thin piece of fabric or something between the burn and my finger. Does that make sense??

It's not at all red or anything. Kind of dry and 'thick' (hmm, as if I had a massive big belly which has suddenly shrunk together )

Big cotton pants, tiny thongs - anything that TOUCHES me is just aggravating; pressing or scraping on the skin, it all hurts. The soreness is now from below my navel to below the scar. This is an improvement - it used to be all the way up the tummy. Of all the rubbish one goes through with a CS, irritated tummy-skin was the last thing I expected and v annoying now that I'm so much better in most other ways.

I feel like a right wimp!! I'm normally such an Amazon about pain. I'm just fed up.

They told me the rash (or at least the ITCHING) was a reaction to the drugs given during the op. They offered my Piriton - I settled it in the end with Aloe and lavender. I don't "do" medicine.

have you been taking arnica aswell? to reduce inflammation and swelling internally

it might all be to do with the allergic reaction, especially if you scratched your tummy a lot, your skin can feel tender for a while. it is not something i have experience of. sorry

i would certainly go back and see as 6 weeks post op you would expect that these sort of side effects would have disappeared

hope you are feeling better soon

OUCH! Feeling sounds familiar (two c-sections) but mine was never that bad. I found Lansinoh nipple cream really soothing.

...but it lasted MANY months...

I remember that feeling well. I never had it after my first section but the second was awful. It was just like a burn, a few inches up from the scar and around it. I couldn't bear anything touching my skin and the painful area was bright red. It didn't last 6 weeks though, about 4.

Yup, still on the arnica, and other things. My incision got infected so my powers of recovery have been WELL diminished, maybe that's why it's taking a while for this to get better. Just wanted to find out if I was "NORMAL" .

The area doesn't seem red but it seems to me the most likely explanation is all the hideous goop they smear on you for the op. I didn't see any of it or know anything about it but dh tells me they used big sticky pads and various potions.

Thanks all - ScruffyTeddy, WHAT DID YOU WEAR during this time? (Or did you just stay in bed pouting as I'm tempted to? )

You may well be reacting to the plaster bandage they put on you after the surgery - I had an inch wide blister for many months after I reacted to it. But for some people you just feel it as a burn. In my case the skin felt 'granular' afterwards.

In terms of reducing pressure on it you can get a caesarian pack which you put on the sore bit - it's a bit like wearing a bumbag backwards - they have cool packs in them too so you can whack them in the fridge and that sometimes helps.

Otherwise, if you have a silk scarf, make like a sumo wrestler so nothing harsh is touching you and you have the cool fabric against your skin.

Personally I just lay around in fold down yoga trousers with my scar hanging out for a month or so. I looked a right sight but it did heal eventually!

Fold-down yoga trousers are the ONLY thing I'm remotely comfortable in - bamboo ones; the cotton ones have an annoying seam right at scar level which isn't soft or stretchy enough... I ordered another pair off ebay and they've got lost in the post - goddammit.

I gave in and bought one of the support belts at week 4, wished I'd got it sooner. Today I put the actual belt part in the wash and wore the cushion and shield tucked in my fold-down yoga trousers. The shield fell out somewhere between my house and Sainsbury's - double goddammit. DH proposes fashioning some replacement. Does anyone have experience of such things??

SILK SCARF IS A GOOD IDEA - THANKS VERY MUCH!

Oh dear mazzle..I cant recommend anything tbh. I didnt even wear knickers for a month. I wore my oversized nighties, all day and all night...I wanted to rip my own skin off!

Sorry!

aloe vera oil? will that soothe

you poor thing

ScruffyTeddy - IKWYM!!!!!!!!

Lulu - yup, slathering it on ... I think they've fundamentally poisoned my nerve-endings on a deep-tissue level ...

Thanks all. x

I know there's going to be several mners pondering the logistics of my post now but I really cant go into details...lol. Twas a most uncomfortable time

This turned up in google search... if any of you are still MNers I would love to know how long the skin burny thing lasts for!!! It's not constant but is really maddening when it flares up! I'm almost 5 weeks post-CS and it runs from just below navel to about 1cm above incision. No sign of infection or anything.

And Mazzletov which support belt did you buy?

Yes I totally understand about the burnt feeling of surface of skin just above scar on left hand side, not all the way along. Only felt this after 3 section after my 8wk check and baby is just over 3mths old. thinking about booking appointment with docs but hoping it will go away on it's own...

I'd welcome updates on whether this went away for people and how long it took!

Stranger, Ian 6 months post c section and only just feel right. Still have tender skin above scar but burning has gone and can now do excersize, I'd say it got a lot better at 5 months past. Hope that helps

Thank you!
Any other updates would be welcome. I'm feeling so worried and depressed by this now.

I had similar for a few weeks, in random patches. It didn't last long. Get the occasional itch now a year later.

I’m nearly 4 weeks after my section and I’m having the exact same symptoms, sore almost sun feeling on the skin below my belly button and above my incision.
There is no rash or chaffing the area is still numb in part when I apply pressure. I’ve spoken to various health professionals, my GP thinks its nerve damage and basically told me to take paracetamol and grit my teeth, my midwife and the the hospital staff on my mat and are say the same, my nurse friends suggested it may be iodine burn from the op, however I think too much time has passed for it to be that.
I’m keep googling for answers or just suggestions on how to alleviate the pain, it’s incredibly sore and affecting my day to day life. I had a c section as my previous vaginal births were traumatic and I need a lot of after care and a section was suggested by midwife .... I know it’s a huge abdominal op but to get this ‘extra’ symptom on top of normal recovery pain is horrendous!

If anyone’s had anything similar and had some actual medical help that info would be amazing to hear ...
I feel totally fobbed off by midwife/gp/ health visitor etc....
thanks 😊

I am going thru this right now too. Only it’s starting to spread not just on the scar but down my inner thighs and top of vagina. I’m 8 weeks PP. I’m freaking out. It is red. I do have the bump on my scar. And it burns. Like my skin is about to peel right off!!! Please someone help with experience. Because of the covid right now my ob is only in the office 2 days a week and is booked out for 3 weeks. I don’t want to go to the hospital but don’t know what else to do at this point!!!! Help

@Julia84anne I'm four weeks PP and experiencing the same burning sensation on the skin but not the other stuff. Do you have a health visitor you're in contact with? Mine has done everything over the phone and lets me send pictures if there's anything concerning me about baby or myself - could you send pictures across or FaceTime a health visitor??

See your GP about the lump to be sure.

Have had 3 CSs with various recoveries always still had pain and lumpy scars somewhere up to 12 weeks post.
Swelling and pain around the area can be normal healing or infection or loss of sensation/nerves returning.

My OB recommended topical volterol and ibuprofen for swelling and pain reduction around the internal scar (not on the skin scar), daily massage the scars and surrounding area (sucks and hurts but helps) and core/back strengthening exercises (mummy MOT) as things like weakness or diastasis recti can ‘pull’ the scar.
Hope it gets better