What to do if the episiotomy wound is swollen

Moms who have had experience with natural childbirth know that during natural childbirth, many people have to undergo episiotomy surgery to successfully give birth to the baby. However, due to the special location of the surgical wound, it is common to have some problems with wound healing. One of the situations is that the episiotomy wound becomes red and swollen due to inflammation or other reasons. At this time, mothers will feel pain in the wound and a feeling of heaviness in the anus. What should I do if the episiotomy wound is swollen?

1. What to do if the episiotomy wound is swollen

1. Generally speaking, wound hematoma is one of the most common symptoms. Severe pain will appear at the incision site 1 to 2 hours after suturing, and it will become more and more severe, and even a feeling of heaviness and distension in the anus may occur. This may be because the doctor did not stop the bleeding enough when suturing. You should tell the medical staff immediately and have them checked out in time. In this case, as long as the stitches are removed in time, the hematoma is cleared, the bleeding points are sutured, and the wound is re-sutured, the pain will disappear quickly and most of the time the wound can heal normally.

2. Some wounds are red and swollen due to wound infection. Mild inflammation may cause redness, swelling, heat and pain. Severe cases may cause hard scabs and purulent secretions. In such cases, appropriate antibiotics should be administered and the stitches removed to allow the pus to drain. At the same time, physical therapy can be used to help reduce inflammation, or a sitz bath can be taken with a 1:5000 potassium permanganate warm water solution. After taking these measures, the perineum will generally improve or heal after 1 to 2 weeks because it has rich blood supply and strong healing ability. If the wound is severely inflamed and tissue necrosis has occurred, timely debridement and dressing changes are required to eliminate inflammation and promote wound healing.

2. Postpartum episiotomy wound care

1. Maintain the correct lying position: If it is a left-side incision, you should lie on your right side or supine to prevent lochia from contaminating the wound.

2. Keep the vulva clean and dry, and change sanitary napkins in time. The nurse will perform perineal irrigation for the mother twice within 24 hours. After using the toilet, if conditions permit, the perineum should be washed with running water; when wiping after defecation, wipe from front to back to avoid contaminating the wound.

3. Perform anal contraction exercises in the early stage to promote the recovery of pelvic floor tissue, perineum tissue and birth canal;

4. If there is wound swelling, physical therapy can be performed if infection is excluded, or cotton gauze with 75% alcohol or 50% magnesium sulfate can be applied externally to promote the absorption of edema;

5. Generally, the wound will be sutured after 4 days. The intestinal sutures need to be absorbed slowly and will recover in about 1 month.

6. Sexual life usually resumes about 2 months after delivery.