Does this csection wound look infected?

[Cantpee]

I’ve been on Clarithromycin since last Tuesday as my csection wound was weeping a bit, doctor said she wasn’t sure if it was infected but prescribed them anyway. But since this morning it feels a bit sore and swollen and red. There is a hard lump below it but the wound is healed over now.

Not particularly. Is the surrounding skin hot to touch? Did they do a swab? Have you got a temperature?

I don’t have a fever and I feel fine. They didn’t swab it. I’m mainly worried about the hardness beneath it, I’m not sure if that was there before as I hadn’t been poking it! The surrounding skin is a bit tender but not really hot.

I am not a medic so can't tell. But I felt that there was something wrong with mine a few weeks after DS was born. It was really painful to touch. I kept being fobbed off, but when he was 4 months old the scary burst open.

It turned out that an infection had been brewing for weeks, and an abscess had formed which finally burst. It was horrendous.

If you're not sure, or are worried, please seek help from your GP. And refuse to be fobbed off

If you feel well and don’t have a temperature, I would just monitor. If it begins to weep then contact the GP again and request a swab to check you are on the correct antibiotics. Also monitor for any redness or heat surrounding your incision.

The hardness beneath it would be swelling and scar tissue inside.

Infected presents as very red, hot to the touch and then increasingly sore and swollen. Take a pic like this morning and night to see if it is getting worse.

Good luck!

Thank you it is slightly more red today than yesterday but as I said, I’ve been prodding it a lot!

It looks ok, but keep an eye on it. Mine was very red and sore to touch for a while. Very hard underneath in certain areas too, especially the left, which is where the first couple of incisions were made, apparently they require a bit of extra force when doing the first few cuts. 13m on and it's totally fine, soft to touch, hidden below my pubic line and fading away!

You can use a marker pen to “outline” any redness then you can easily see if it’s worsening.

I think this end is where they have tied the stitches off which the gp said can feel more sore. I am actually in hospital tomorrow for another issue so may call in to maternity triage for them to have a look if it seems worse.

That’s a good plan. The stitches end is always the last to heal and are sore for a good while.

You MUST stop touching it - you will end up giving yourself an infection if you keep prodding around! it’s very normal for scars to feel lumpy at first as the layers of tissue underneath will heal at different rates.

I had an infection with my first CS and when it healed it looked similar. When I had my second CS the surgeon cut away all the lumps and bumps left by the first and left a neat, flat scar that is barely noticeable.

This may be TMI but when mine was infected it stunk no matter how much I cleaned it. That was the red flag for me.

It looks fine to me.
I'm a midwife and I had four LSCSs myself.

I had wound infections twice.

I found that all four wounds had hard areas below the healing skin incision as everything went back to normal.

Do stop touching it. You're more likely to introduce an infection like that.

Thanks everyone, I went back to the gp this morning as it was very sore in the night and she has prescribed an extended dose of antibiotics to sort any remaining infection.