Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSerosanguineous DrainageCausesOther Types of DrainageWhen to Seek Medical Care
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Serosanguineous Drainage
Causes
Other Types of Drainage
When to Seek Medical Care
Serosanguineousdrainage is the normal discharge of fluid from a wound or incision site after surgery. This usually appears as a thin, often slightly yellow fluid that’s mostly water, with a light pink tinge.
Serosanguineous drainage lasts for a few days as a wound heals. However, there are times when the drainage may last for longer periods or have an abnormal consistency, color, or smell.
If you notice these signs, contact a healthcare provider. They may indicate slow healing, aninfection, or an injury to a vein or artery.
What Is Serosanguineous Discharge?
The discharge should be odorless. It may be clear or slightly pinkish in color depending on how many tiny blood vessels, calledcapillaries, are damaged. The discharge may even have a few visible clots or blood streaks, but the fluid should become clearer as the healing process begins.
The color and consistency of the drainage can vary based on which component of blood is leaking from the wound. These elements include:
Although serosanguineous drainage is a normal part of the healing process, it also is the most common symptom of surgical wound infections.
With normal wound drainage, serum from blood plasma will be the main fluid seeping from the wound. Even so, there may be variations in the amounts and color of the fluid drainage.
Causes of Serosanguineous Drainage
Serosanguineous drainage is common during the healing process of a wound. Although it lasts a few days, the drainage can continue longer, depending on the size of the wound and how fast you heal. Many people will experience this fluid discharge in the six weeks following surgery.
The drainage often occurs when you need to change a bandage or wound dressing, and the capillaries found in the healing tissues are disrupted in the process.
Certain health conditions or medications that affect your ability to heal also may contribute to serosanguineous drainage and how long you have it. For example, alow platelet countor the use ofblood thinnerslike warfarin can affect your blood clotting ability and slow the healing process.
What’s Normal?While serous or serosanguineous drainage is normal in small amounts, call your surgeon or healthcare provider if the drainage is profuse or persists for longer than 72 hours.
What’s Normal?
While serous or serosanguineous drainage is normal in small amounts, call your surgeon or healthcare provider if the drainage is profuse or persists for longer than 72 hours.
These other types of wound drainage may indicate a problem with the wound. Contact your surgeon or healthcare provider without delay if things seem abnormal. In some cases, you may need to seek emergency care.
Serous Drainage
Plasma is composed primarily of serum, a fluid consisting mostly of water, and proteins called fibrinogens that work with platelets to help your blood clot. Serum is also known as serous fluid or serous exudate.
Withserousdrainage, the fluid seeping from a wound is thin and watery with a slightly yellowish hue. There may be crusting around the wound due to the clumping of fibrinogens.
Sanguineous Drainage
Sanguineousdrainage occurs when thicker red blood is draining from the wound. It can happen when there is a deep incision through multiple layers of tissues. It can also occur if a larger blood vessel is accidentally cut or nicked or you overexert yourself before a wound has healed enough.
Hemorrhagic Drainage
Hemorrhagicdrainage occurs when blood is freely flowing from a wound (resulting in ahemorrhage). It usually happens when an artery or vein has been damaged.
If the blood is bright red and spurts or gushes, it means that an artery has been ruptured. If the blood is dark red and steadily flowing, it means that a vein has been ruptured.
Emergency care is an absolute necessity. Surgery,blood transfusions, and intravenous (IV) fluids may be needed to stop the bleeding and avoid severe complications, includingshockand death.
Hemorrhagic drainage can be life-threatening depending on the amount of blood lost, how difficult the bleeding is to control, and the amount of time the bleeding has gone unchecked.
Purulent Drainage
Purulentdrainage involves the presence ofpus. Pus is a thick fluid made up of dead cells, tissues, and bacteria that can develop when there is an infection. Pus often has a foul smell and can appear in many different colors, including white, yellow, gray, green, or brown.
With purulent drainage, there may be other signs of infection including fever, chills, and increasing redness, pain, and swelling on or around the incision site. There may even bewound dehiscence(in which the incision starts to open up).
Seropurulent Drainage
Seropurulentdrainage means that serum and pus have mixed together to form a milky, white discharge. The discharge may have a foul smell or no smell. There may also be signs of an infection, such as fatigue, low-grade fever, swelling, redness, and tenderness at the incision site.
Even if the infection is milder, you need to see a healthcare provider to ensure that you are given the right treatment and that the infection doesn’t get worse.
The discharge and mild inflammation at the site are often part of the normal healing process. Withproper wound care, drainage from an incision should resolve without incident.
There are times, however, when an infection or injury can cause abnormal wound healing. Checking the discharge can alert you to whether there is a problem.
The following chart can help you understand the differences between normal and abnormal wound drainage, so you can decide when it’s time to see a healthcare provider.
NormalThe drainage is clear, slightly yellow, or tinged with pink.The fluid discharge is thin and watery.The drainage has no odor.There is only a very small amount of bleeding.Pain, swelling, and redness are improving.AbnormalThe drainage contains large amounts of blood.The drainage is milky or yellow, tan, green, or brown.The drainage smells foul.There is a steady flow or gushing of blood.Pain, swelling, and redness are getting worse.
NormalThe drainage is clear, slightly yellow, or tinged with pink.The fluid discharge is thin and watery.The drainage has no odor.There is only a very small amount of bleeding.Pain, swelling, and redness are improving.
The drainage is clear, slightly yellow, or tinged with pink.
The fluid discharge is thin and watery.
The drainage has no odor.
There is only a very small amount of bleeding.
Pain, swelling, and redness are improving.
AbnormalThe drainage contains large amounts of blood.The drainage is milky or yellow, tan, green, or brown.The drainage smells foul.There is a steady flow or gushing of blood.Pain, swelling, and redness are getting worse.
The drainage contains large amounts of blood.
The drainage is milky or yellow, tan, green, or brown.
The drainage smells foul.
There is a steady flow or gushing of blood.
Pain, swelling, and redness are getting worse.
Summary
Normal wound drainage involves the serosanguineous discharge of thin, watery fluids that may be clear or contain tiny amounts of blood. Abnormal wound drainage is when the discharge is thick, bloody, or has a milky white, yellow, green, gray, or brown color (often with a foul smell).
5 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.Rudy HL, Cho W, Oster BA, Morris MT, Schulz J.Treatment of isolated serosanguinous incision drainage after thoracolumbar surgery: Is surgical management always necessary?Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2020;21(3):227-230. doi:10.1089/sur.2019.179Osmosis from Elsevier.Serosanguineous: what is it, appearance, and more.Hughes LD, Lum J, Mahfoud Z, Malik RA, Anand A, Charalambous CP.Comparison of surgical site infection risk between warfarin, LMWH, and aspirin for venous thromboprophylaxis in TKA or THA: a systematic review and meta-analysis.JBJS Rev. 2020;8(12):e20.00021. doi:10.2106/JBJS.RVW.20.00021Wounds International.World Union of Wound Healing Societies consensus document. Wound exudate: effective assessment and management.University of Michigan Health. Michigan Medicine.Incision care after surgery.
5 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.Rudy HL, Cho W, Oster BA, Morris MT, Schulz J.Treatment of isolated serosanguinous incision drainage after thoracolumbar surgery: Is surgical management always necessary?Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2020;21(3):227-230. doi:10.1089/sur.2019.179Osmosis from Elsevier.Serosanguineous: what is it, appearance, and more.Hughes LD, Lum J, Mahfoud Z, Malik RA, Anand A, Charalambous CP.Comparison of surgical site infection risk between warfarin, LMWH, and aspirin for venous thromboprophylaxis in TKA or THA: a systematic review and meta-analysis.JBJS Rev. 2020;8(12):e20.00021. doi:10.2106/JBJS.RVW.20.00021Wounds International.World Union of Wound Healing Societies consensus document. Wound exudate: effective assessment and management.University of Michigan Health. Michigan Medicine.Incision care after surgery.
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.
Rudy HL, Cho W, Oster BA, Morris MT, Schulz J.Treatment of isolated serosanguinous incision drainage after thoracolumbar surgery: Is surgical management always necessary?Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2020;21(3):227-230. doi:10.1089/sur.2019.179Osmosis from Elsevier.Serosanguineous: what is it, appearance, and more.Hughes LD, Lum J, Mahfoud Z, Malik RA, Anand A, Charalambous CP.Comparison of surgical site infection risk between warfarin, LMWH, and aspirin for venous thromboprophylaxis in TKA or THA: a systematic review and meta-analysis.JBJS Rev. 2020;8(12):e20.00021. doi:10.2106/JBJS.RVW.20.00021Wounds International.World Union of Wound Healing Societies consensus document. Wound exudate: effective assessment and management.University of Michigan Health. Michigan Medicine.Incision care after surgery.
Rudy HL, Cho W, Oster BA, Morris MT, Schulz J.Treatment of isolated serosanguinous incision drainage after thoracolumbar surgery: Is surgical management always necessary?Surg Infect (Larchmt). 2020;21(3):227-230. doi:10.1089/sur.2019.179
Osmosis from Elsevier.Serosanguineous: what is it, appearance, and more.
Hughes LD, Lum J, Mahfoud Z, Malik RA, Anand A, Charalambous CP.Comparison of surgical site infection risk between warfarin, LMWH, and aspirin for venous thromboprophylaxis in TKA or THA: a systematic review and meta-analysis.JBJS Rev. 2020;8(12):e20.00021. doi:10.2106/JBJS.RVW.20.00021
Wounds International.World Union of Wound Healing Societies consensus document. Wound exudate: effective assessment and management.
University of Michigan Health. Michigan Medicine.Incision care after surgery.
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