How does stitches heal

How can you care for yourself at home? Keep the cut dry for the first 24 to 48 hours. After this, you can shower if your doctor okays it. Pat the cut dry. Don't soak the cut, such as in a bathtub. Your doctor will tell you when it's safe to get the cut wet.

If your doctor told you how to care for your cut, follow your doctor's instructions. If you did not get instructions, follow this general advice: After the first 24 to 48 hours, wash around the cut with clean water 2 times a day. Don't use hydrogen peroxide or alcohol, which can slow healing. You may cover the cut with a thin layer of petroleum jelly, such as Vaseline, and a non-stick bandage.

Apply more petroleum jelly and replace the bandage as needed. Prop up the sore area on a pillow anytime you sit or lie down during the next 3 days. Try to keep it above the level of your heart. This will help reduce swelling. Avoid any activity that could cause your cut to reopen. Do not remove the stitches on your own.

Your doctor will tell you when to come back to have the stitches removed. Leave Steri-Strips on until they fall off. Be safe with medicines. Read and follow all instructions on the label. If the doctor gave you a prescription medicine for pain, take it as prescribed. If you are not taking a prescription pain medicine, ask your doctor if you can take an over-the-counter medicine.

Call your doctor or your nurse call line now or seek immediate medical care if: You have new pain, or your pain gets worse. Another way of closing a cut is to use glue! Sometimes, if a cut isn't too deep or wide, and is on a flat area like the forehead, the doctor will use special skin glue to keep the cut's edges together until it heals. It usually dissolves by itself in 7 to 10 days. Another option for tiny cuts is a small sticky strip called a butterfly bandage.

It keeps the edges of a shallow cut together for a few days, and then it usually comes off in the bath. If you need stitches, the nurse or assistant will usually start by putting a numbing gel on top of the cut.

When the skin is numb, he or she will begin cleaning your cut with sterile water, which is squirted into the cut to remove harmful germs and dirt. You're probably wondering if this will hurt. Actually, you won't feel much pain at all during the cleaning and sewing of the cut. Sometimes a liquid numbing medicine will be put into the skin with a small needle.

These substances, called anesthetics say: an-es-THEH-tiks , may numb the area so you feel hardly any pain at all. It's a lot like the medicine used to numb your mouth when you have a cavity filled. The doctor also will make sure that whatever cut you such as a piece of glass isn't still in the cut.

Using a very tiny needle, the doctor will sew your cut together with the sutures. Although the area will be numb, you might feel a tug as the doctor pulls the stitches together. Stitches are done the same way at the end of surgery. If you get these at the end of surgery, you won't feel it — you won't even be awake! Your doctor will tell you how to care for your cut after it has been closed. It's important to follow the directions carefully with your mom's or dad's help.

Different kinds of materials — sutures, glue, and butterflies — need different kinds of care. Gut is not suitable for cardiovascular or neurological surgical procedures. Its use is generally limited to obstetric-gynecological procedures. Poliglecaprone Monocryl and Polyglycolic Acid Dexon. This suture, a synthetic monofilament i. Polydioxanone PDS. Another synthetic monofilament suture that is commonly used for soft tissue wound repair e.

Polyglactin Vicryl. A synthetic braided suture often used for repairing hand or facial lacerations. Types of Nonabsorbable Sutures Nonabsorbable sutures can be used for most types of soft tissue repair, including cardiovascular and neurological procedures.

Nylon, polyester, and polypropylene. Synthetic monofilament sutures often coated with teflon, polybutilate, or silicone to make them easier to handle. A braided, natural suture offering high tensile strength and easy handling. However, as an animal protein, silk carries a significant risk of infection.