Instructions on some effective ways to take care of suture wounds

Change the dressing every day

How to take care of a suture wound, when to change the bandage?

Normally, when caring for a sutured wound at home, you will need to change the dressing at least once a day. However, in some cases, we will need to change the dressing more often such as when we see that the bandage is wet with a lot of fluid, the bandage is dirty, the bandage is accidentally dropped by wet water … etc.

Tools to prepare before changing the dressing:

  • Iodine alcohol
  • Sterile bandages/gauze
  • Physiological salt water
  • Adhesive tape / roll tape
  • Medical gloves (if possible)

How to take care of sutured wounds – steps to change the wound dressing 

Step 1:  The person directly performing the dressing change for the patient should clean and wash their hands with soap / antiseptic solution. If possible, use extra medical gloves (if possible).

Step 2:  It is necessary to actively wet the bandage covering the wound with physiological saline for 15 minutes before proceeding.

Step 3:  Peel off the bandage gently from the wound, avoiding further damage.

Step 4:  Wipe/wash off the liquid on the surface or the black blood scabs on the wound with a damp gauze

Step 5:  Carry out squeezing the collection on the inside of the previous stitch (this is the most important step). The pus/fluid can be squeezed as follows: press the 2 edges of the wound and roll the gauze along the suture

Step 6:  Disinfect the wound

Dilute iodized alcohol with physiological saline in a ratio of 1: 5. Then use gauze soaked in diluted alcohol solution to disinfect in order from top to bottom and from the inside to the outside.

Step 7:  Bandage the wound with sterile gauze and then fix it with a bandage or tape to be more secure.

How to take care of sutured wounds – follow up and evaluate the wound

Normal signs of suture wounds:

– Pain at the place of stitches: Usually, the patient will have the most pain in the first 3 days after stitching. After that, the pain will gradually decrease. With this pain, the patient can be treated with pain relievers advised by the doctor to use the right dose and time.

– Swelling, pain at the tip of the extremities after stitches are performed: When the skin appears wounds, it will cut off the veins under the skin. This phenomenon will obstruct the blood flow from the extremities to the heart, causing stagnation of the circulatory system. Consideration depends on the degree of stagnation that will create swelling, pain, more or less different. To overcome this situation, the patient needs to limit movement, and at the same time need to keep the top of the limb elevated so that the blood can go to the heart more easily. With injuries to the forearm / hand, an additional strap is needed to hang the arm around the neck. Leg/foot injuries also need to be kept elevated when sleeping and resting.

Unusual signs of sutured wounds:

– The stitches bleed a lot right after the stitches

The pain is continuous for several days and gradually increases.

– The wound is swollen – hot – red

– The skin around is edematous and tight, there is a lot of fluid under the mouth of the suture. Wounds with increased fluid seeping through the dressing or oozing pus with a fishy odor

– The podium at the suture

– The patient has a high fever, it is difficult to bring down the fever

In the way of taking care of suture wounds that appear the above signs, we need to quickly take the patient to the nearest medical facility to receive the support of a specialist doctor.

Body hygiene during suture wound care

Care should be taken to avoid getting the sutured wound wet for the first 24 hours immediately after surgery. In the first days after surgery, patients can wipe themselves with a dry towel instead of bathing as usual.

Entering the second day, the patient should limit movement / light exercise. If the body does not excrete too much sweat, you should limit bathing and just wipe your body with warm water.

In case it is necessary to clean the body, it is advisable to take a quick shower in a short time and carefully cover the surgical area. Avoid letting dirty water, soap drop/stick.

Patients should absolutely not take a bath or soak. When the wound is soaked in water for a long time, the epidermis of the skin will tend to soften, exposing the suture lines. This will facilitate the attack of bacteria residing on the skin and some foreign strains entering the wound.

After cleaning the body / bathing, it is necessary to quickly dry the body, gently wipe the skin around the wound with a clean, soft towel.

Foods that should be limited during the healing process: water spinach, beef, sticky rice, chicken, dog meat, seafood, spicy foods and stimulants. Should add more vitamins from fruits, vegetables, protein… so that the body has enough energy to recover 

When the doctor proceeds to close the wound with regular sutures, you need to return for the scheduled suture removal. The appropriate time to remove sutures for a postoperative wound ranges from 5 to 21 days, depending on the size and location of the surgery you performed. With self-dissolving threads, you don’t need to go back for thread trimming.

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