Hey mums.....any advice on caring for stitches after vaginal delivery? I have a peri bottle I use when using bathroom but was wondering what I can use to keep from infecting or speed healing .
I don't know about healing any faster but to help relieve pain there is an aerosol spray in the first aid department that is for sunburns. It does wonders. They gave it to me in the hospital and I had my husband go grab more when we left. It's amazing!!! It numbs the stinging pain
After about a week, I found that the pain was manageable and didn't need the peri bottle anymore. Everything healed perfectly according to my ob. Just remember that everyone's bodies are different so yours could be the same or drastically different.
Biggest piece of advice... Wait to have sex until the six week check up!!!! I was feeling great and my husband had been gone my entire pregnancy (military) so we had been long overdue... My stitches had already dissolved and everything so I figured I was good... I was not!!! I re tore and had a much longer healing process afterwards. (Your cervix also isn't entirely closed until six weeks post pardum so you run the risk of infection. I didn't know that at the time)
It took about a week to be able to wipe without wincing. I bled for 5wks, 3 of which were heavy. Bowel movements were painful for about a week or so (invest in a stool softener for sure!). Sex was still painful for me after 8wks and I only had one internal stitch. It took awhile for everything to feel normal again. Like a previous poster said.. Each woman heals differently.
Clean the area with a peri bottle filled with warm water. Use witch hazel pads, they are awesome for itching and burning. Good luck and congrats on your baby! :-)
* Pee as soon as you feel the urge and keep drinking tons of water. * the first 24 hours at least keep a covered ice pack on the perineum area on top of your pad closest to your vag. * every time you pee cleanse with warm water in the peribottle and just dab with toilet paper to dry then follow with a liberal spray front to back with the dermoplast spray. * try to stay off booty as much as possible- try lay on your side to take pressure off. * stitches will dissolve 7-10 after delivery, nothing in the vag for 6-8 weeks. * make sure not to use soap or anything on your vagina when showering it will irritate- just bring the peribottle in the shower with you. * change your pad every time you use the restroom and at already every 3-4 hours when awake.
Dermoplast is amazing! Make sure it is the blue can, I heard the red one is more painful. I bought some just incase the hospital didn't have it. They do. Keep the area clean and don't wipe or scrub.
Don't worry ladies (: I had my son April 1st and had one stitch. My vagina hurt for about 2 days, and now I don't even have to use the spray. But man, my hips and pelvis are not giving me an easy time! Good luck (:
Use the heck out of that spray can they give you at the hospital, take warm baths (LOTS OF THEM!), and don't do the witch hazel right away! I was told to do that and I almost shot through the roof because it burned so badly.
Re: cleaning stitches after vaginal delivery
Wait to have sex until the six week check up!!!! I was feeling great and my husband had been gone my entire pregnancy (military) so we had been long overdue... My stitches had already dissolved and everything so I figured I was good... I was not!!! I re tore and had a much longer healing process afterwards. (Your cervix also isn't entirely closed until six weeks post pardum so you run the risk of infection. I didn't know that at the time)
* the first 24 hours at least keep a covered ice pack on the perineum area on top of your pad closest to your vag.
* every time you pee cleanse with warm water in the peribottle and just dab with toilet paper to dry then follow with a liberal spray front to back with the dermoplast spray.
* try to stay off booty as much as possible- try lay on your side to take pressure off.
* stitches will dissolve 7-10 after delivery, nothing in the vag for 6-8 weeks.
* make sure not to use soap or anything on your vagina when showering it will irritate- just bring the peribottle in the shower with you.
* change your pad every time you use the restroom and at already every 3-4 hours when awake.
I'm so scared of the pain and tearing from birth ugh!!