swelling. increased redness around the wound. pus or bleeding from the wound. the wound feeling warm.
If you develop fever or notice redness, swelling, pain, red streaks, or draining from the wound before or after you remove the stitches, consult your doctor immediately. You may have an infection that should be treated. If the wound reopens after you remove your stitches, see your doctor as soon as you can.
Healthy skin is naturally acidic, but if a surgical site gets infected, that acidity decreases. When that change happens, Taylor's sutures go from a bright red to a grayish-purple color.
At the incision edges, the skin may be pink to light red initially. Monitor for fading of these light colors back to the normal color of the skin, which is normal for healthy healing. If the color of the incision appears to intensify over time (from light red to dark red), an infection may be developing.
The wound will not heal correctly unless the infection is cleared. Infection in a wound may also spread if it is not treated. In most cases, antibiotic medicines are prescribed to treat a wound infection.
Stitches and staples need to be removed within 4-14 days. The specific removal date depends on the location of the stitches or staples. Removal should not be delayed.
Some infections are unavoidable, even when a surgeon properly uses stitches. However, sometimes surgeons contribute to infection by not properly cleaning and debriding a wound before sewing it back up. Doctors should also sterilize the area to ensure that germs are killed before stitching.
Generally absorbable sutures are clear or white in colour. They are often buried by threading the suture under the skin edges and are only visible as threads coming out of the ends of the wound. The suture end will need snipping flush with the skin at about 10 days.
It is normal for stitches or staples to cause a small amount of skin redness and swelling where the stitch or staple enters the skin. Your wound may itch or feel irritated. Check your wound every day for signs of infection.
Flucloxacillin is a good first-line choice for wound infection in non-penicillin-allergic patients. Co-amoxiclav, or doxycycline plus metronidazole (if penicillin-allergic), are suitable first-line choices for contaminated wounds, such as human bites.
However, they can sometimes become infected. Some symptoms of infected stitches are worsening pain, redness, swelling, and pus around the wound. In this article, we discuss the symptoms of infected stitches in more detail.
Who will remove my stitches? It is advisable to go to your GP or practice nurse to have your stitches removed and we would recommend making your appointment in advance.
"Stitches can be left in too long," warns Dr. Yaakovian. "When this happens, the skin can grow over the stitches — making removal more difficult. It can also lead to more scarring."
The pain should slowly get better during the next 1 to 2 weeks. Redness: Mild redness along the incision is common. It should gradually get better and go away. Call your doctor if the red area spreads (gets larger) or red streaks occur.
Signs and symptoms of surgical site infections
Any SSI may cause redness, delayed healing, fever, pain, tenderness, warmth, or swelling. These are the other signs and symptoms for specific types of SSI: A superficial incisional SSI may produce pus from the wound site.
Red Area: In the initial stages, wounds appear red due to the natural healing process. But if the red area around the injured site continues to increase even after 4-5 days of an injury, it is a telltale sign of an infected wound..
Keep your stitches or staples dry and covered with a bandage. Non-absorbable stitches and staples need to be kept dry for 1 to 2 days. Absorbable stitches sometimes need to be kept dry longer. Your doctor or nurse will tell you exactly how long to keep your stitches dry.
You might feel sharp, shooting pains in your wound area. This may be a sign that you're getting sensations back in your nerves. The feeling should become less intense and happen less often over time, but check with your doctor if you're concerned.
After 48 hours, surgical wounds can get wet without increasing the risk of infection. After this time, you can get your stitches wet briefly with a light spray (such as in the shower), but they should not be soaked (for example, in the bath). Make sure you pat the area dry afterwards.
redness and swelling at the incision site. drainage of yellow or cloudy pus from the incision site. fever.