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Hello. I am a nurse and my husband is an internal medicine physician. I have taken care of many post-partum patients, and my husband has done this surgery in residency. To all of you---if you have a c-section scar or ANY post-op incision that is not healing within a week, is oozing blood, fluid or pus, has pain, redness, tenderness or swelling, then you need to go immediately and see your doctor. Let him know if you have had a fever. Get a second, third or 10th opinion! Wounds will have drainage, but you should NOT feel pressure, heat or have fluids gush or ooze constantly from the incision site. Take care of yourselves. Your instincts tell you if something is wrong--if your doc seems to be blowing you off, FIND ANOTHER DOCTOR...and another and another, until you feel you are being taken seriously. Ask to have a drain put in your incision post-operatively if you are overweight, a smoker, have had complications with the pregnancy, or have had clotting issues. If (with or without a drain) you have oozing and poor healing of your wound, and see no improvement in about 7 days, or your symptoms are getting worse, ask him or her to culture the wound, specifically for MRSA bacteria, necrotizing faciitis (flesh eating bacteria), and yeast (fungal infection). Also ask to get a white cell count to help confirm if you have an infection. If he or she won't and they blow you off, GO TO ANOTHER DOCTOR! C-sections take about 6 weeks to fully heal---and I mean FULLY. That means in about 6 weeks, you should walk, have s_x, and be able to do light exercise, etc. Although this number depends on your underlying health condition before you had the c-section. If you are healthy, non-smoking and not obese, this should apply to you. If you are obese, a smoker or have had other health issues before or during pregnancy, expect to take longer to feel "normal" again and feel fully yourself. But remember---your skin should still be healed in 6 weeks no matter what, without oozing, redness, puffiness or pain!!! You also should not have holes in your incision site after several weeks--that means the skin is not healing, and is most likely infected. It does not take 6 weeks for a wound to begin healing unless you have a condition that prevents normal healing such as HIV, Hep B or C, if you are on steroids such as cortisone, etc. Infections may happen because of the normal bacteria we all carry on our skin. It may not be hospital related, or operation related, that's why people who sue when they get infections do not win. Ask your doctor if you can get antibiotics IV before surgery, and orally after discharge if you are worried or have had problems in the past. Keep the incision site clean and dry. I will have a scheduled c-section as I am pregnant with twins, and I will request that a drain be put in. I am healthy, non-smoking and not overweight at all. But I may get an infection due to stress, fatigue, and the naturally ocurring bacteria on my skin--you never know. Make sure EVERYONE who comes in contact with you at the hospital before, during, and after entering your room WASHES THEIR HANDS FOR 15 SECONDS WITH SOAP. Not that antibacterial alcohol gel. Tell your doc, the nurses, friends and family they must wash their hands everytime they leave and enter the room. This will cut down immensely on the risk infection. C-sections, for all they are major surgeries, are safe overall. Complications are not common. Remember to ask questions of your doc about how many of their patients have had complications, and what can be done to prevent and treat complications. Do this BEFORE you have a c-section, if possible. If not, do it afterwards as soon as you can. Take care of yourselves. Don't be afraid, be informed. Most women and children are fine after c-sections, or they simply would not be done. Remember that.
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