The body takes a few days to fight off bacteria and other potential infections following exposure to the air. It does this by releasing white blood cells and forming blood clots to prepare the site for tissue repair. Your doctor can give you an idea of how much redness or swelling is normal, but if it persists for more than a week following surgery or gets worse, it could be a sign of a bacterial infection. Red streaks radiating out from the incision site is another indication that the wound could be infected.
Fever is one of the classic symptoms of both viral and bacterial infections. A sure-fire sign of infection, any yellow, white, or green-colored discharge seeping from the wound that smells bad needs to be examined as quickly as possible. Also known as purulent drainage , this pus is distinct from ordinary drainage, which is typically clear or slightly yellow and usually clears up after a few days.
Pus is a mixture of various forms of dead matter, including white blood cells, tissue, bacteria, or even fungus. Some level of pain is to be expected following any surgical procedure, but it should always be trending downward over time.
Hold a clean, sterile gauze pad by the corner and place over the incision. Tape all four sides of the gauze pad. Put all trash in a plastic bag. Remove your gloves last. Seal plastic bag and throw it away. Wash your hands. Cleaning an incision To clean the incision: Gently wash it with soap and water to remove the crust. Do not scrub or soak the wound. Do not use rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, or iodine, which can harm the tissue and slow wound healing.
Air-dry the incision or pat it dry with a clean, fresh towel before reapplying the dressing. Caring for stitches, staples, tissue glue, or adhesive strips Stitches or staples normally cause some redness and swelling where the stitch enters the skin, along with mild irritation and itching. Other incision care tips After some surgeries, you may be given special instructions other than these for taking care of the incision.
Related Information Surgery: What to Expect. Incision care. In B Narins, ed. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale. Credits Current as of: May 27, Top of the page Next Section: Related Information. Previous Section: References Top of the page. Current as of: May 27, You, the reader, assume full responsibility for how you choose to use it.
Post-Op Incision Symptoms and Questions. Call Now Major stomach or abdomen incision and wound gaping open and visible internal organs You think you have a life-threatening emergency Call Doctor or Seek Care Now Severe pain in the incision Fever Incision looks infected spreading redness, pain and large red area Incision looks infected spreading redness, pain and on face Red streak runs from the incision Stitch or staple came out early and wound has re-opened You feel weak or very sick You think you need to be seen, and the problem is urgent.
A surgical cut made by a healthcare provider during a medical procedure is also a wound. Your body has a complex system to patch up skin wounds. Each stage is needed for proper wound healing. Wound healing takes a number of parts and steps that come together to repair the body. When you get a cut, scratch, or other wound in your skin, it usually starts bleeding.
The first stage of wound healing is to stop the bleeding. This is called hemostasis. Blood begins to clot seconds to minutes after you get a wound. This is the good kind of blood clot that helps to prevent too much blood loss. Clotting also helps to close and heal the wound, making a scab.
This might make the area look inflamed , or a little red and swollen. It might feel a bit warm too. This means help has arrived. Fresh blood brings more oxygen and nutrients to the wound — just the right balance to help it heal. White blood cells , called macrophages, arrive on the scene of the wound. Macrophages help clean the wound by fighting any infection. They also send out chemical messengers called growth factors that help repair the area. You might see clear fluid in or around the wound.
This means white blood cells are at work defending and rebuilding. Once the wound is clean and stable, your body can begin rebuilding the site. Oxygen-rich red blood cells come to the site to create new tissue. Chemical signals in the body tell cells around the wound to make elastic tissues called collagen. This helps to repair the skin and tissues in the wound. Collagen is like a scaffold that other cells can be built on. At this stage in healing, you might see a fresh, raised, red scar.
The scar will slowly fade in color and look flatter. It might look pink and stretched or puckered.
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