What if my c section opens

Don't be afraid to call if you have concerns. If something seems off with your incision, let your doctor know. Don't sit on it," says Dr. Your doctor will check for signs of infection and either make a recommendation for treatment or refer you to a specialist for additional care. Jennifer A. Sign up for our email newsletter! Developing breast cancer treatments help reduce invasive surgeries.

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Patricia Davis, MS Mar 19, If you prefer to listen to this article, click on the SoundCloud player below. Do: Take time to sit and bond with your baby.

Walk every day. Walking helps prevent blood clots and constipation. Hold a pillow over your incision when you need to cough or laugh.

Shower normally. Reach out to a lactation consultant if you have trouble breastfeeding. Take baths until your incision is healed and your postpartum bleeding has stopped.

Participate in rigorous activity or do core muscle exercises until your doctor clears you for activity. Have sex until your doctor says you can. Be afraid to ask for help. That might mean asking friends and family to watch the baby while you nap, or having them do laundry. List of Partners vendors. It can be quite alarming to have your incision start to open after having a surgical procedure.

That doesn't mean it is an emergency, but an incision that begins to open shouldn't be ignored. The opening of a wound may be a minor issue, such as when a suture comes loose or a very small area of the incision starts to pull apart.

But it may also be a major problem if the entire incision opens, particularly if you can see the tissue below or if it starts to come out through the incision. In all cases, you should keep a close eye on your incision, even if there are no areas that have come open. You also should check it daily for signs of infection and to make sure it is healing well. This article explains the reasons why your incision may open, and why it requires care.

It also offers some ideas for preventing an incision from opening back up. When a surgical incision starts to open, a problem called dehiscence , you need to closely watch for signs that it's getting worse.

If one of your sutures comes loose or the glue strips holding your incision fall off, this is not overly concerning. If it starts to gape open, and leaves space between the sides of the incision, you should tell your surgeon.

You need to let the surgeon know because even small openings allow foreign material like bacteria inside of the wound. This increases the chances that your wound may become infected and open even more. A small opening may not need medical attention, but your surgeon should be the judge of whether or not you should be seen in the office. A small opening will likely need close monitoring as the wound closes on its own.

It often will take longer to close and leave a larger scar. Your surgeon will know the details of your medical history, how the surgery was performed, and the potential complications that you face. This information, combined with what the wound looks like, will help to determine the treatment you will need. If the incision has just started to open, with only a small part spreading apart, cover it with a clean bandage and call your surgeon.

If it is open wide, cover it, call your surgeon, and expect to go to the nearest emergency room. In rare circumstances, the wound may completely open and eviscerate. This can become quite serious or even life-threatening.

Evisceration means the incision opens wide and the internal organs, often the intestines, begin to push out through the opening. Signs of infection may not show up immediately after surgery. It can take up to 30 days for symptoms to develop.

If symptoms do develop, it is important to see a doctor as soon as possible for guidance on the best treatment. Diagnosing a C-section wound infection is fairly straightforward. A doctor will first try to determine the presence and severity of an infection through a physical examination.

They will then examine the wound and ask about the presence of fever-like symptoms. Further tests may be necessary to determine the type of infection and most suitable treatment. This will usually require taking a sample from the wound and sending it to a laboratory for analysis.

The results of these tests can provide information about the infection, such as the type of microbes causing it. This information will help a doctor decide how to treat the condition. The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is the most common microbe to cause C-section wound infections. Other common types of bacteria that can cause the infection include Enterococcus and Escherichia coli.

Antibiotic medications are the usual treatment for bacterial infections.