What to use for itching?

I finally received my little buddy last Tuesday. The surgery took almost three hours, yikes! Anyways, they closed me up with two layers of internal stitches and then steristrips. The strips came off Sunday (well I took them off in my sleep) and my site is extremely itchy. I was told not to put anything on it but I am scared if I don't I will claw the wound open. Any suggestions?

4 Comments

Welcome to the club

by IAN MC - 2012-06-26 03:06:01

3hrs sounds a long time to me; glad you survived it.

Itching is a good sign and is a normal part of the healing process which stimulates nerve endings around the incision but if it's driving you mad try taking the antihistamine , Benadryl. Apparently there is a release of histamine as the wound heals and Benadryl may make it easier to live with.

Cold air from a blow drier could also help. It is probably too soon to apply creams on your incision but if the iching persists after the wound has healed then a steroid cream such as hydrocortisone would certainly relieve the itching.

Best of luck

Ian

itchy

by Tracey_E - 2012-06-26 05:06:27

Once it is closed tight, I use medical grade vitamin e or aloe. I would think just moisturizing will be enough to help with the itching, not likely you'd need hydrocortizone or benedryl. Sorry, no advice what to do until then, mine never get itchy until they've healed more.

Any swelling, rash or streaking? Wondering if you're allergic to the steristrips.

Yeah. I was itchy

by Jax - 2012-06-26 06:06:19

I was quite itchy. Very uncomfortable. I know that they don't want you a put anything on it but when I pressed the EP he said that I could put a drop of bacitracin on it.

Check with him first of course.

TY!

by jessimay - 2012-06-27 03:06:39

Thanks everybody!

Hurtheart: I am allergic to EVERYTHING as well. That is why they did the internals and steris. I am highly allergic to the dermabond and can handle the steris.

I called the NP this morning; she said everything sounded fine and I am already scabbing (the culprit). She said to put a tiny bit of neosporin on it for now. I have a follow up with the doc on Thursday.

As far as the three hours; I was awake. I heard from everybody that I was a character. They didn't mind me joking and wanting to know everything.

Anyways, I made the surgery complicated. I have had multiple sinus node ablations in the past year. It pretty much took over the entire atrium. Since they ended up burning out the sinus node I don't have much "regular" tissue in the atrium. He had a very hard time finding a spot with a good reading. The first spot he put the lead into was actually giving the technician a reading of only a 3 year life span. So he got greedy and went looking for another spot; that took almost 2 hours to find. Where it's at now gave them a 6 year span I believe. I am only 24 so the trade off is acceptable.

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