C section wound slightly open day 15 - positive stories?

[Peonyyyy]

Hi all, had my second planned c section 2 weeks ago and all went well again, and everything seemed to be healing up nicely on day 5.

however I noticed not long after this that the ‘scabby’ end which is where I assume they tied the knot had opened slightly (about 0.5cm) and had some clear yellow liquid coming out (small amount - not dripping or anything but I could see it glistening and on a tissue when I dabbed it). This end of the incision has always looked a little red annd has dark scabs, and is the area that oozed a little immediately after the procedure but then stopped.

The next day this area had scabbed over, but a small area next to it has then opened up slightly. Then the next day this had scabbed over but another small bit opened up. All in the same area, at the end where I assume they finished the sewing up. The dodgy bit is about 4cm across on the end of my scar. The rest has healed up perfectly.

I have tried to take it easy but I have occasionally twisted when getting baby out of the crib at night etc and it’s a bit harder with an energetic older child as well. last time I didn’t have any of this, it all healed completely by day 6 or so.

I saw the midwife for day 10 check up today, she wasn’t concerned at all, doesn’t think it’s infected. She said it can just take longer to heal on the side with the knot sometimes. She said just to keep it dry.

It’s been getting me down so I wondered if anyone has any positive stories of c section wounds opening up a bit but healing up on their own without antibiotics or dressings? How long did it take?

im hoping by this time next week it’ll be better or at least improved.

Ouch.
not a c section wound but I had a surgery a while back and it was literally left like an open wound to heal itself. not very big mind, maybe an inch long.
anyway within about 3 weeks it had to my surprise. Keep it as clean as possible. I was told the chances of infection were high but I never got one.

Exactly the same happened to me, on day 16. Very small amount of pus on one side. I rang the triage, was advised to come to the hospital to be seen. I was seen and sent away with antibiotics (which they said were precautionary) and all was healed within a couple of days. Might be worth calling the maternity ward.

@Clearinguptheclutter thats really good to hear! Was it covered by your clothes or literally open to the air all the time? did it dry up and then heal?

I’ve been dabbing with salt water and drying twice a day but it seems to remove some of the scabs which then means the clear fluid is there again, so I might reduce this so it can properly dry. I’m trying to air it as much as I can but it’s so cold!!

@misseckleburg amazing that it healed within a few days! I might see if it improves over the weekend and Call triage if not. I’m wanting to believe the midwife is right and not fret but also kind of thinking should I just get antibiotics just in case

Sympathy, it's annoying isn't it. I had very similar, but a larger open area and I did have infections, but the thing that healed it for me in the end was actually having it covered with dressings. I had a by-chance conversation with a wound specialist who told me that damp and covered is much more effective than drying out, and it definitely worked for me.

I had this after my second and went to the gp. Who looked at it and said 'oh I thought it was going to be really bad going by how you described it' made me feel like I wasted his time .
Told me to keep it dry and clean and give it more time.
Although a lovely hv assured me it's best to get these things checked .

I'm a practice nurse & we often see ladies with c-section wounds to check wound, clean & dress if required, give antibiotics if needed. Often we can check it & reassure you. You could make an appt with your practice nurse at your surgery.

I had this and was a bit distraught that it was going to put my recovery back (I was desperate to get back to exercise and probably overdoing it with walking and moving around was how my wound opened up in the first place 🤦‍♀️)

I called 111 for advice and they sent me to OOH where I was prescribed flucloxicillin (sp?) which is safe to breastfeed on. I had the antibiotics for a week but the wound still wasn’t closing back over, and I wasn’t comfortable leaving it uncovered and weeping as it was, it just didn’t seem hygenic. Like a PP, mine only really healed when I covered it. I bought silver dressings online (non-adhesive ones to tape in place), and a few days of those sorted everything out.

i’m 9 weeks post ELCS now and fingers crossed everything is healed and as it should be. Hopefully yours is easily sorted too, I know how upsetting it can be to have your wound pop open even if it’s not painful!

EDIT to say that I needn’t have worried and nothing took longer than it should have to heal in spite of the opening and slight infection!

Mine did same, but 20 years ago. It didn't help stitches were late coming out due to a bank Holiday weekend. It dried up and healed fine. The scar is slightly wider at that end tho. But wasn't infected.

Get back to the hospital that did your csection - mine had a separate antenatal triage space. They should look at the wound and assess if you need antibiotics. You shouldn't be in the dark with this problem.

I had something similar happen, went to my triage and they cleaned the wound and prescribed anti iotics. It healed well after that. I just went in when my newborn woke up, around 4am, as I'd be up anyway. It was obviously very quiet and I was seen fast. Newborn and my partner came with me.

thank You guys. Interestingly with my first c section a few years back I went home with the dressing on because no one told me otherwise, and I kept it on until day 5 when the midwife came and told me off saying I should’ve removed it (how I was supposed to know this I have no idea) so I removed it in the shower that night. It healed beautifully and I wonder if leaving the dressing on actually helped it heal faster as it kept everything in place (it was sticky all over). This time they wouldn’t let me leave hospital without ripping it off first.

I said I’d follow the ‘keep it dry’ advice for this weekend and see how it’s looking on Monday. I’ve stopped doing the salt water as that was making the scabs soft and come off, which made it keep weeping. So now everything is dry and scabbed over, there is still a slight bit of redness around so I will see how that looks on Monday.

if this doesn’t show any improvement I will go back and ask for dressings.

Hi all, just a little update, after another 3 days of airing it as per what the midwife said it wasn’t improving, it kept opening up again around the scabs and I noticed it was oozing slightly onto my pants which didn’t seem hygienic.

for the past 2 days I’ve been doing dressings instead and it seems to be helping, so thank you! I’ve been cleaning it daily with salt water, then letting it air and then putting the dressing over the top. The redness seems to be going away and it seems to be healing from the inside out as you guys said so it’s very much just open on the surface and not deep if that makes sense.

I think the advice to air it is correct when the wound is healing normally, but if there is a slight opening that occurs later then keeping it clean with a daily dressing seems to be the best course of action. Thanks everyone, hopefully will be fully closed in a few days.