How long after surgery did the dr's say to shower or bathe?

[Risa]

Question,
Marisa's Dr. said that it would be o.k. to give her a bath or shower. It just seems so soon to get the wound wet. She still has all the little stirips on the wound he said to remove them as the loosen up. How long did your kids wait until they showered? and how did you get all that sticky stuff off? Also marisa has thrown up a couple times today were 15 days post op is that normal? probably from the meds? Thanks Risa

[LindaRacine]

Hi Risa...

I got to shower on day 12. What a joy!

The vomiting is probably from the pain meds, but should definitely be reported to the surgeon.

Regards,
Linda

[nikyergen]

Crystal got to shower the day after we got home from the hospital, day 8, but we had to keep her incision dry until day 14. I just taped a piece of saran wrap over the incision, being careful on where I placed the tape for easy and painless removal. The steri strip will come off eventually, but if you find that they aren't coming off pretty quickly now, you can put neosporin on them and it will help loosen them, tip from Carmell. Then they will come off very easily. We put the neosporin on at bedtime and Crystal showered in the morning and then we removed some of the loose strips. They neosporin will help get the sticky stuff off too. This was all a tip from Carmell that I really appreciated, and so did Crystal.

The medications may be what is making Marisa sick. Poor thing, it is so miserable to be sick to your stomach and having a back surgery.

You are in my prayers.

'til later,
Nikki

[nicoles mom]

Risa
Dr. Boachie Told Us Nicole Was Able To Get Her Incsion Wet Right Away. When I Washed Her Hair It Got Wet Then I Just Would Pat Dry It Hurt Her But This Is What We Did Just Be Gentle. My Doctor Told Us That Went The Strips Start Coming Up On The Edges To Use Rubbing Alcohol. Her Incsion Was Close So It Didn't Sting. I Started From The Bottom Up Each Day I Took A Few Off. The Rubbing Alcohol Took The Steri Strips Off With No Pulling. The Alcohol Eats The Sticky Stuff Up Just Kind Of Melts Away Using The Alcohol. I Started Taking Then Off Two Weeks After The Surgery Within Two Weeks There Were All Gone.
Theresa

[Mary Lou]

Risa,

I wouldn't think 15 days is too early to shower. The first shower will probably tire her out, but Jamie said it felt so good! Jamie was allowed to shower at 10 days post-op as long as the incision was dry and wasn't oozing anything. However, she wasn't allowed to get incision soaked.

As for the steri-strips, her's were on for almost seven weeks! I ended up taking a spray bottle and soaked them really well with water and they came off very easily. Everyone else has told you Carmell's secret and that did work great on the glue left behind.

Mary Lou

[momofthree]

My daughter was able to shower on day 5 ( the dr. wanted her to do it before she was discharged. On day 9 she showered by herself. Today is day 11 and she is very independent; up and down the stairs about 10 times a day-walking all over the place-she is totally taking care of herself. She was released from the hospital after 4 nights/5 days. I feel very lucky that she has done as well as I ever thought she would.

kim

[Jacque's Mom]

Showering...

I'm sure for all of you out there that had the surgery in the 80's and before, a shower was not in the picture until that body cast that we wore for NINE MONTHS came off. How did we do it? I remember laying on top of the washer/dryer and putting my head in the sink next to it so my mother could wash my hair every couple of days. She would put about one inch of water in the bathtub so I could at least sit in it. But you do what you have to do and after it's over you ask "how'd we get through that". Lots of support and determination. I must say, all you moms out there sound so amazing. My mother did a fabulous job taking care of me and I pray that my daughter keeps doing well with her scoliosis and no surgery in the future (fingers crossed). I go on this site anyway to hear about the new technologies just in case.... Thanks everyone for all your tips, etc. Boy could we have used this website years ago........but then we didn't have computers - I'm not that old but that sounds like something my parents would have said! Thanks again, LYNN

[Tiny]

Risa, Tara was in the shower as soon as we got home from her 10 day post op appointment and got the go ahead! It made her feel so much better getting clean and getting all of that glue out of her hair. She stayed in for 40 or 45 min. and didn't have trouble with dizziness, but we kept the water fairly tepid. She had dermabond on her incision rather than steristrips and didn't have to worry about getting it wet. Tara is 18 days post op and isn't throwing up, but still has a lot of nausea and no appetite. The Dr said it was very normal and some was med related and some just surgery related with the body going through such trauma. Good luck.
Linda

[Risa]

Thanks everybody,
Well I (mom) got brave last night and showered marisa I guess I was the one that was scared to get it wet. Well to say the least marisa loved it you could tell she felt great afterwards. I will be trying the achohol and neosporin. Thanks again Risa

[lorrie]

hi Risa
Glad Marisa enjoyed her shower so much. Hope the nausea clears up - it's hard to manage when they can't rush to the bathroom by themselves. I can't believe you two are really 15 days post op - time flies when you're having fun they say!
Best wishes,
Lorrie

[Carmell]

Hi Risa,

I'm glad Marisa enjoyed the shower. Most docs say that showering is fine, just no bathing or letting the incision soak in water. Running water over the incision is fine, especially 15 days post-op.

Besides the neosporin suggestion for the steri-strips, there is something called Detachol (pronounced Detatch-all)that most pharmacies have (behind the counter, you have to ask for it). It is an adhesive remover. Braydon's hospital is not very careful to remove the surgical tape the draps are attached to his body with. About 2 weeks post-op, I use the Detachol to get the ugly adhesive residual off his body, then a good shower makes him feel better. He hates tape more than anything, more than having an IV placed. The IV removal is awful for him.

Could Marisa's nausea be from being constipated in addition to the narcotic medications? If she's taking anything stronger than regular Tylenol, those meds mess with the stomach. Call the doc, but make sure she's not dehyadrated, and that she's having regular bowel movements. Good luck!

[susannajon]

I second everything the other moms have said. The top reasons for nausea and vomiting are constipation and pain meds. Some people need to alternate pain meds to avoid nausea and itching.

If she hasn't pooped in 24 hours, you need to be aggressive in helping her along. Those lovely glycerin suppositories are quick and relatively painless. Also, because they're not taken internally, there are few side effects.

Also, we used a nice long shower followed by some Neosporin to loosen up the steri-strips. As long as the incision looks clean and closed, there's no reason not to remove the steri-strips at two weeks. After applying the Neosporin and rubbing it in well, start on the outside edge and pull in toward the incision. Stop when you are right next to the scab. Move to the other side and repeat, so there's just a little dot of adhesive sticking to the scab. Take a cotton ball soaked in warm water and hold over the stuck spot for a minute. Rub a little more Neosporin in, and gently lift the steri-strip away. Dab dry with a clean cloth, and move on to the next. If it seems to be hurting her, just do a couple and take a break.

[Lura]

Hi girls!

Alex's steri strips fell off on their own. Showers seemed to help. Our Dr. said not to put anything on the incision or strips, so we didn't. I have heard of people being allergic to "sporins" (neo, poly, etc), just thought I'd share that so you can check with your Dr.

Best to all of you!

Lura

[susannajon]

Hey Lura, Good point! Neosporin might cause allergic reactions. As an alternative, you can try mineral oil or vaseline instead, anything mild and which will help break down the adhesive. wash the area gently with a little warm water and mild soap after the strip comes off.

Susanna

[nicoles mom]

Susanna
Did Boachie Tell You To Use Alcohol. He Told Us The Nite We Were Discharged From The Hosipital. I Ask Him Isn't That Going To Burn And He Told Me To Soak A Cotton Ball And Run It Down Her Incsion. It Just Breaks Down The Adhesive And As Long As The Incision Is Closed There Was No Burning. The Alcohol Also Took Off All The Other Adhesive Tape Marks On Her Hands From The Iv.
Theresa