Infection after c-section?

[tinkerbellkj]

To start, I am 3.5 weeks post postpartum from my second c-section in a one year period. I had no problems with my first c-section, I healed almost immediately with little pain, this time seems to be slightly different.

 

Almost immediately (about a day after I was discharged from the hospital) I noticed that my stitches were bleeding, which I figured was from lifting my 1 year old. I saw the doctor the next day and he said it was fine and normal and to keep the area dry etc. Well, the week went on I was very itchy and noticed that part of my incision on the right side was slightly open. I saw my doctor at 1 week PP, and he said I had a rash and that the opening would heal I was not infected etc. He told me to keep it dry and to put a pad on it and it would go away. I did that.

 

Now 3.5 weeks later the rash IS gone, I'm not itchy and the right is closed up. I noticed today that I am still bleeding (sporadically) at one spot of my incision and there's another spot that is pussing, and if I press it (TMI, I KNOW) it pusses much more, ugh. Basically there are two little holes in the incision. I am calling my doctor tomorrow because I really don't think this is normal THIS long after, as like I said, I have had a c-section before and this did not happen. I just wanted to see if anyone else experienced this or anything like it, because like I said I healed like a dream last time and know not everyone does. I'm really worried that I have an infection (I have no fever, I've been checking) and hope this is all semi-normal. Thanks!

[d24]

my wife has a c-section too, and her's got infected pretty badly because she was too 'afraid' to make a bigger deal of it.

she ended up having to basically use sanitary pads on her scar to catch the blood/puss.

you need to be on antibiotics - so get yourself to your doctor and demand them (before you catch a fever)

you also need to really listen to the advice about no heavy lifting, no pushing prams, no ironing, washing up, etc.

oh, and grab a cushion, and hold it to your cut everytime you get up, my wife found that to help a lot with the pain

 

wish i have a happy ending for you, but 5 months on she's still incredibly tender - the bleeding and puss has stopped - but there is still bruising. apparently this would have been avoidable if the doctors has known and acted sooner. but they caveat that by saying they have no idea what the cause of the bruising is - they believe it may be something to do with her appendix now, or an egtopic pregnancy - but we're convinced it's just a botched stitching by the hospital... case continues!

 

good luck with yours. get some antibiotics asap

[lavenderdove]

If you have pus there is an infection and you need antibiotics, so you should go to the doctor. Two pregnancies and c-sections in one year is a lot of stress on the body and it might just be healing more slowly, hence more susceptible to infection, or perhaps you've had an infection all along that was smoldering and has now broken out to be obvious. Even a minor infection can slow healing of incisions.

 

The good news is if the incision is mostly closed, antibiotics should clear it up so that you can finish healing, but you do need to get in ASAP in case the infection is more internal rather than just in the skin which can be more dangerous.

 

Unfortunately 'normal' may sometimes including infections. Hospitals are notorious for having difficult 'bugs' that cause infections one can catch from being in the hospital called 'nosocomial infections'. About 10% of all patients who check in catch them. (see this link: link removed )

 

They can try to keep everything sterile, but hospitals themselves carry all kinds of resistant bugs that people can get when checked in there... I went in for one examination at the hospital and got a terrible case of boils out of the blue which are staph related and a problem one can get in hospitals, and another time i went to visit someone who was ill in the hospital and came down with a lung infection so severe i ended up in the emergency room, caught from going to the hospital which are hotbeds of virulent strains of bacteria.

 

You need to go get this infection cultured at the doctor so they can identify it and make sure it is not one of the more dangerous ones and can find the right antibiotic to treat it with. Some infections are garden variety and will respond well, but others, especially those caught at the hospital itself, need more aggressive treatment and antibiotics, so you shouldn't wait if you see signs of a wound infection like pus.

 

Make sure the doctor takes a culture, and if he doesn't find another doctor who will! Doctor's are supposed to protect their patients, but sometimes they try to distance themselves from anything they fear might be blamed on them that you caught when they did surgery etc. because they fear malpractice suits. So you might want to go to a different doctor if your current doctor doesn't take this seriously and doesn't take a culture the wound to determine what is infecting it. Most doctors these days will take a culture of the pus to make sure it is not something really dangerous, and to also select the best antiobiotic with which to treat it.

[lavenderdove]

btw, also make sure you take some mega vitamins... slow wound healing can be a sign of vitamin deficiency (i think vitamin C deficiency) and lack of protein will cause that as well, so you might want to make sure you are getting extra vitamins and protein.

 

Two pregnancies inside a year is very draining on the body which is why they advise against it, so you may be run down and need extra vitamins and protein and calcium mto build yourself back up again.

[tinkerbellkj]

Thanks. I'm going in today at 2:20, I'll definitely push the culture at him. Hopefully it's just something minor, but I need to get this taken care of asap.

[BellaDonna]

Definitely sounds like a bit of an infection. The doctor needs to stop brushing you off. I'm glad you are being assertive and going in today.

 

I didn't have that happen with my c-section, but I did get an infection from staples when I had my appendix out. The skin around the staple became red and inflamed and extremely itchy.

[tinkerbellkj]

Thanks everyone. It is infected, though he said that because the fluid was light colored vs green that was a good thing. He cleaned it up and I'm taking an antibiotic. I'm going back next week to have it checked again. I'm definitely glad I went and didn't sit on it, hopefully it'll clear up but if it doesn't I will not hesitate to continue to go back to the doctor if I need to.

[Batya33]

I had an infection at the site and took antibiotics - I'm so glad you had this taken care of and hope all else is well.

[d24]

hooray, a happy ending