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Original poster

Help my c section has opened

42 replies

user1490285009 · 06/08/2021 18:40

Hi everyone

A part of my c section has started to open up. I believe it’s just a superficial part on the outside. The opening is not deep but it’s longish. I’ve been given antibiotics for 7 days, and told to keep the area dry. The problem I’m having is - that it’s not drying. I wash it with saline solution 2x a day and dab it dry. 5min later it’s moist again, and weeping a yellowish liquid. Also the pain is getting worse, and I now feel it deeper inside. It feels like day 2-3 pain of the c section. I can move around but I feel the pain with every leg lift. Paracetamol doesn’t help, and I’ve run out of codyrdramol that I was given from the hospital.

I was already experiencing baby blues and this has just added to my misery. I’m too scared to move or walk about. And I have been cooped up in bed since my discharge 10 days ago. The very idea of there being an open wound on my body also terrifies/disturbs me. I would really appreciate any advice on how to deal with this. I feel like I’ve been left on my own to deal with it medically, and I have no idea what I’m doing.

OP posts:
Windinmyhair · 06/08/2021 18:44

Have you been to the hospital since it opened up? I wasn't clear on the timelines.

If not, then go.

Mine opened up a bit on one end, and i constantly had a bandage on it, no regular cleaning etc.

If you aren't sure, go to minor injuries or call the post natal ward/midwife- you should have a number on your discharge paperwork.

CanofCant · 06/08/2021 18:45

I might be wrong as it's been a few years since my last DC but have you been having visits from the midwife and health visitor?

You should definitely give them a call to let them know as you will need medical attention, don't let it get worse. Do you have support from a partner? Could they call for you? Hope it gets cleared up soon Flowers

ShowOfHands · 06/08/2021 18:48

I had a section of my wound which reopened and leaked serous fluid continuously. It's a yellow, sticky fluid. It took a week to ten days to stop and seal again and it did sting a LOT. Don't be afraid to get checked out again.

clickychicky · 06/08/2021 18:51

Phone midwife for advice/help if you need it. Please don't suffer in silence.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 06/08/2021 19:05

Have you been seen since it started weeping? Go to the hospital,this needs to be checked.

roseswade · 06/08/2021 19:23

This exact thing happened to me and I’m now 6 weeks post section.

I was given a course of antibiotics for a week which didn’t fully resolve it.

You need to be seen by a nurse (or your midwife if you’re still with them)! I managed to get an appointment with a nurse after the course of antibiotics and they told me my body had rejected the dissolvable stitches and was essentially pushing them back out and re opening the wound. This might not be the same issue as yours but if your wound has re opened you definitely need to see them.

Since my first appointment with the nurse 3 weeks ago I have been going back every 2 days to have it cleaned, treated with iodine and re dressed by the nurse. She also had to remove some of the stitches that were coming back out. It’s now almost fully closed again and healing nicely so I’ve now moved to dry dressings in the day and nothing at night.

My advice is 100% go to see the nurse!

Original poster
user1490285009 · 06/08/2021 20:06

@MrsPelligrinoPetrichor @Windinmyhair

Yes I’ve been to the hospital since it started weeping. That’s when they prescribed me the antibiotics and told me to keep it clean and dry. But the dr didn’t really take her time with it. She seemed quite busy and it was a case of me asking her questions while she was trying to walk away sort of thing. So it didn’t make me feel confident that she’d been thorough. Especially since the pain has been getting worse. I have tried recalling the Post natal ward but they send me to triage, triage also ushers me off the phone and tells me to call back in 7 days after antibiotics. They don’t really address why I’m having more pain.

OP posts:
Original poster
user1490285009 · 06/08/2021 20:12

@CanofCant
My partner has to return to work unfortunately. So I’m having to do more while also trying to rest more.

The midwife was suppose to visit me today but cancelled, and I haven’t heard from the health visitors. I wouldn’t even know where to begin following them up.

I think part of the problem is also that the midwife missed the issue on the first visit. I had bandages still on I think they are called steratrips, I was told I could shower with them and they’d fall off - they didn’t. Yet the opening was beginning to form underneath but no one could see it because - they hadn’t fallen off and I was told not to remove them. Midwife didn’t remove them either. Only when I went into hospital because I noticed liquid weeping out did they get removed and the full situation seen for the first time.

OP posts:
clickychicky · 06/08/2021 20:49

How many days have you taken the antibiotics for?

Lovetoridemybicycle · 06/08/2021 20:53

I had this too. Had to go to the dressings nurse every 2or 3 days at the GP. Maybe try calling them to make a nurse appointment instead of hospital.

Original poster
user1490285009 · 06/08/2021 21:03

@clickychicky on them for 2 days - from 3am tomorrow my third day will start.

@Lovetoridemybicycle do you mean book nurse via gp? Or is there a specialist maternity nurse?

OP posts:
Manic2Mummy · 06/08/2021 21:07

I'm not sure this will help in the grand scheme of things, but when i had to keep my c-section wound dry in the summer, i found a hairdryer on low heat worked wonders! x

Lovetoridemybicycle · 06/08/2021 21:10

I just booked the nurse at the GP. Phoned reception told them what was going on and they booked me in to see the nurse. Its quite a large practice so they have 2 there all the time. It had to heal from the inside out, so was packed to stop it covering over. Took about 4 weeks. Good luck

Lovetoridemybicycle · 06/08/2021 21:12

Once the baby is out, it's just another wound so didn't need a maternity nurse.

BackAwayFatty · 06/08/2021 21:12

I had something similar where I needed to keep it dry, mine had got infected rather than opening. I got a dressing/gauze & kept it covered to help fry it out. Air as much as possible. I found a shower & body wash enough to clean once a day & rinsed with the shower head + dry thoroughly.

roseswade · 06/08/2021 21:21

@user1490285009 yes, definitely book a nurse via your GP. That’s what I did and was being seen every 2 days as I mentioned and it’s made it much better. Call your GP and insist on an appointment with the nurse. Mine was amazing and sorted everything out.

While you wait for an appointment get some dressings, clean your wound, dry thoroughly and put the dressing over the top of the wound. Change it every 2 days until you see the nurse.
Hope that helps!

User0ne · 06/08/2021 21:58

Your DH can take extra time off to care for you (dependents/carers leave) which if you can afford to do will help. It's possible the increase in pain is due to you doing more before your ready

Original poster
user1490285009 · 06/08/2021 22:31

Thank you for the suggestions, I’ll call the gp tomorrow. Another thing I hate about going into maternity care is the waiting times. Last time I went in, I had a 3h wait because they
( rightfully) prioritise women in labour etc. So a gp appointment will help with that too.

OP posts:
whoknew23 · 06/08/2021 22:38

I've just been in this position. It became infected and I saw an out of hours gp who lifted the plaster I put on looked at it and just reapplied the old plaster, which really wasn't great, I had to phone a week later and get referred to a treatment room to get it properly seen to. Turns out I had two stitches that hadn't dissolved properly that had to be removed by the nurse.

You have to keep it dry, stop washing it out.

Has your gp surgery got a treatment room ? I've had to visit mine once a week for 3 weeks now. The second week they applied inodine and told me to leave the dressing on for a week and not get it wet at all.

It's mostly now all healed, I just have one corner that's open ,

HappydaysArehere · 06/08/2021 22:54

Healing by keeping it dry is best. I had ingrowing toenails op. I was told to keep soaking in salt water and it didn’t heal and kept weeping. My dd is a nurse and when she heard what I was doing she said she couldn’t see how it was going to heal and to keep it dry. I did as she said and it healed quite quickly. I know your problem is vastly different but would think the principle is the same. Please see a doctor again. What about your GP if a midwife is unavailable..

TheresALight · 06/08/2021 23:04

Sending best wishes. I had similar after I'd been discharged by the community midwife, and ended up waiting hours to be seen in maternity ward only to be given antibiotics and sent on my way, which obviously kept an infection at bay but did nothing to help the wound recovery.
I second ringing the GP or Out of Hours Dr tomorrow so that they can get you seen and hopefully pass you onto the district nurses, who in my experience are much more hands on and practical than the midwife team! Mine was dissolvable stitches refusing the dissolve, and the nurse was able to remove them for me, I was seen every day and then every other day for cleaning and bandaging, the nurses were even able to help when the wound then started to repair too fast making a lump of excess skin, I know Envy
Whatever you do, do not start googling about how long it takes for a c section wound to heal. I was also very anxious after giving birth and couldn't stop myself, there are hideous stories out there (mainly from america / defo not NHS) and I would work myself up reading them. I think it took about 3 weeks tops to be fully healed once the nurses were helping, and this was my second c section and second time having to have the stitches taken out by a nurse (the first time must have been much quicker because I couldn't even remember it had happened until the nurse reminded me I'd been in just 18 months before for the same thing!)

Original poster
user1490285009 · 06/08/2021 23:18

I’ve just checked and I think the cause of the increase pain has been the wound has opened up more. So much so it’s now weeping pink blood instead of yellow gung.

My gp has limited hours Saturday and closed Sunday so I don’t even know if I can get this looked at before Monday.

OP posts:
MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 06/08/2021 23:21

Go go A and E first thing of not sooner.

Snoopsnoggysnog · 06/08/2021 23:28

Poor you OP. You really need to be seen and not fobbed off. Can you call 111? They can refer you to out of hours GP at hospital I think.

I had this as well but this was over 10 years ago and it wasn’t as deep as yours sounds. It was cleaned up by the health visitor and I was told to put tea tree oil on it I think.

Snoopsnoggysnog · 06/08/2021 23:30

Ps. I don’t think you should try tea tea oil by the way! I think yours sounds like it should be seen by a doctor.