How to Avoid a C-Section Incision Infection
Any time you’ve have a surgical incision it’s possible that an infection can occur at the site. This is true even when you’ve had a c-section.
Typically incision infections are not life threatening, in fact most infections are easily remedied, however you want to avoid infections as much as you can because they can be painful and slow down your recovery.
Not all infections occur because you did something wrong, sometimes those little buggers just get in where they don’t belong, but for the most part you can help reduce your risk by paying special attention to keeping the wound clean and dry.
Here are a few tips to help you avoid an infection by keeping those nasty bacteria from invading your incision:
1. Always wash your hands thoroughly before cleaning your incision or changing your dressing.
1. Keep your incision clean and covered at all times. Lightly cleanse your incision with a soapy sponge or wash cloth by squeezing the soap from the sponge over the area so that the soapy water runs down over the incision. Don’t directly rub the area as this will disturb the healing and could break it open. When drying the area, pat it lightly with a clean towel or better yet, simply let it air dry.
2. Use a maxipad to keep the incision covered. This is a good barrier for an infection. You can attach the maxipad to the inside of loose fitting underwear. I also like to place some bacitracin or neosporin antibiotic gel to the top of the pad before placing it on the incision. This helps protect it from any bacteria that should enter the area, plus it keeps it from sticking to the wound.
3. As the wound starts to heal you may see a little spot bleeding. Don’t be alarmed, this is usually normal, however don’t apply creams or oils on the area, only apply antibiotic cream as mentioned above.
4. Your pain should diminish as the incision site heals, however if you experience a fever, redness, swelling, excessive pussy drainage or pain increases call your doctor right away.
Let me also add that paying special attention to your incision and doing your best to avoid infection also helps diminish the look of your cesarean scar. Most scars take a few years to become hardly noticeable at all but it happens a lot faster with proper care.
