Unless your surgeon tells you to use peroxide or rubbing alcohol—and they likely won’t recommend either—you should never use these chemicals or any other harsh products on your healing surgical incision.
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Think of your incision as skin that has to be treated as gently as possible, with the most gentle cleansers and lukewarm water. There is no need for hard chemicals, abrasive scrubs,lotions, or ointments unless they were prescribed. In fact, some lotions and ointments could increase the risk of infection or irritation, rather than soothing the area.
How to Treat Your Incision With Care
For the first few weeks of the postoperative healing process, you might be instructed to clean your incision at home.You should follow the directions you were given.
There are several reasons for this:
Clean and moist—but not wet—is your goal as you are healing.
There are many ways to close a surgical incision. Applications such asDermabondand Steri-strips may fall off prematurely if they are exposed to alcohol, peroxide, lotion, or scrubbing.
What to Know About How Wounds Are Closed
A Word From Verywell
When it comes to a healing wound after surgery, using extra over-the-counter products can be harmful. You will have special instructions to prevent infections and scars and to promote healing based on the type of surgery and your underlying medical condition. Make sure you follow instructions carefully. and if you have any concerns at all—such as redness, pain, draining,pus, or bleeding—call your surgeon’s office so you will get instructions for what to do next.
3 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cleveland Clinic.Handling injuries: From small cuts to serious wounds.Fort Healthcare Wound and Edema Center.FAQs.Baxter J, Espinosa JA, Leinwand MJ.The EPIC procedure (Endoscopic-assisted Pilonidal Irrigation and Cleaning): a simple and effective treatment for pilonidal disease.Surg Endosc. 2021 Mar 15. doi:10.1007/s00464-021-08422-0Additional ReadingDry Skin. National Institutes of Health
3 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Cleveland Clinic.Handling injuries: From small cuts to serious wounds.Fort Healthcare Wound and Edema Center.FAQs.Baxter J, Espinosa JA, Leinwand MJ.The EPIC procedure (Endoscopic-assisted Pilonidal Irrigation and Cleaning): a simple and effective treatment for pilonidal disease.Surg Endosc. 2021 Mar 15. doi:10.1007/s00464-021-08422-0Additional ReadingDry Skin. National Institutes of Health
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Cleveland Clinic.Handling injuries: From small cuts to serious wounds.Fort Healthcare Wound and Edema Center.FAQs.Baxter J, Espinosa JA, Leinwand MJ.The EPIC procedure (Endoscopic-assisted Pilonidal Irrigation and Cleaning): a simple and effective treatment for pilonidal disease.Surg Endosc. 2021 Mar 15. doi:10.1007/s00464-021-08422-0
Cleveland Clinic.Handling injuries: From small cuts to serious wounds.
Fort Healthcare Wound and Edema Center.FAQs.
Baxter J, Espinosa JA, Leinwand MJ.The EPIC procedure (Endoscopic-assisted Pilonidal Irrigation and Cleaning): a simple and effective treatment for pilonidal disease.Surg Endosc. 2021 Mar 15. doi:10.1007/s00464-021-08422-0
Dry Skin. National Institutes of Health
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