sitz bath ?s

poptart109

okay, until today I was told no baths of any kind. Today MW said I could take sitz baths and use a palmful of epsom salts in each bath.

After my first bath, I noticed it slightly burned for a few hours after- does that mean I used too much salt or is that common during the bathing/healing process?

Also, am I supposed to use warm or cold water for the baths? I checked the internet and some sites say warm, some say cold. MW didn't specify either.

kmgourley

My guess is the salt caused the burning.  I was told to just use regular water.  If I remember right, though, you were having problems?  Epsom salts will help make sure the area is clean.  Anyway, I was told to use the hottest water you can stand comfortably.  Not sure why... maybe helps get gross stuff off and keep everything clean?

poptart109

Yes, it seems I'm always having issues...thanks for the reply.

SammyluvsJ

I always used warm. I was also told normal baths were ok so??? I guess it would burn sometimes but nothing that concerned me.

I read that the water should be as warm as you can stand it, so I always had it pretty hot

kmgourley

Aw, I hope it's getting better for you   I had a third degree tear and it was not fun.  The sitz baths do help, though.  Are you taking ibuprofen or something?  I took that every 4 hours like clockwork (600mg) and had very minimal pain. 

poptart109

I've been trying to stick to regular Motrin but they gave me pain killers too.