Wound Care After Packing Removal or Replacement

Home care

Your health care provider may prescribe medicines for pain. Or they may suggest an over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever, such as ibuprofen, naproxen, or acetaminophen. Talk with your provider before taking any OTC medicines if you have chronic liver or kidney disease, a stomach ulcer, or gastrointestinal bleeding. In certain cases, you may also need to take antibiotics to help prevent, or treat, an infection. If so, take them exactly as directed for as long as directed. Don’t stop taking your antibiotics until they're all gone, even if you feel better.

Here are some general care guidelines for your wound:

• Follow your health care provider’s instructions on how to care for your wound. Always wash your hands with soap and clean, running water before and after tending to your wound. If you have disposable plastic gloves, wear those to care for your wound. Then dispose of them properly.

• If a bandage was put on, remove and change it once a day or as directed. If the bandage gets wet or dirty, replace it with a new bandage as soon as you can. Use a clean cloth to gently pat the wound dry.

• If your packing was replaced, a small piece of gauze may hang from the wound. It allows fluid, blood, and possibly pus to continue draining from the wound. You may need to use an ointment or cream to keep the packing from sticking to the bandage.

• Don't bathe in a tub or soak your wound until your provider says it’s okay. Take showers or sponge baths instead. Don't swim.

• Don’t scratch, rub, scrub, or pick your wound.

• Check your wound daily for the signs of infection listed below.

Your wound may have been closed with stitches (sutures), strips of surgical tape, skin glue, or staples. Your health care provider will decide on the best closure based on the size and location of your wound. Each type of closure needs specific care.

• Stitches. You may want to clean the wound daily after the first 2 to 3 days. To do this, remove the bandage and gently wash the area with mild soap and clean, running water. After cleaning, apply a thin layer of antibiotic ointment if advised. Then put on a new bandage. Stitches on the outside of the skin often need to be removed by your provider.

• Surgical tape. Keep the area dry. If it gets wet, blot it dry with a towel. Surgical tape closures often fall off in 7 to 10 days. If they haven't fallen off after 10 days, you can remove them yourself. To remove the tape, moisten it with warm water and gently pull it from each end to the middle. Then roll it sideways so as to not pull the wound open again. If the adhesive sticks too much, you can use mineral oil or petroleum jelly on a cotton ball to gently rub the adhesive and loosen it.

• Skin glue. You may shower or bathe as usual. But don't use soaps, lotions, or ointments on the wound area. Don't scrub the wound. After bathing, pat the wound dry with a soft towel. Don't apply liquids like peroxide, ointments, or creams to the wound while the glue is in place. Don't scratch, rub, or pick at the glue. Don't put tape directly over the glue. Skin glue will fall off naturally in 5 to 10 days. If it doesn't peel off in 10 days, gently rub petroleum jelly or an antibacterial ointment onto the glue until it loosens.

• Staples. Take showers or sponge baths. Don't take tub baths. Don't use lotions on the wound area. The area may be cleaned with mild soap and water 2 or 3 days after the wound was stapled. Don't scrub the wound. Pat it dry with a clean, soft cloth or towel. You can use antibiotic ointment if your health care provider tells you to. Staples will need to be removed in 10 to 14 days.

Follow-up care

Follow up with your health care provider, or as directed. If your packing was replaced, you may need another visit in 1 to 3 days to remove or replace it. If you have stitches or staples, return to get them removed as directed.

When to get medical advice

Contact your health care provider or seek medical care right away if you have any signs of infection. These include:

• A fever of 100.4° F (38°C) or higher, or as directed by your provider.

• Increasing pain in the wound, or pain that doesn’t get better even with pain medicine.

• Increasing redness or swelling.

• Pus or bad-smelling fluid leaking from the wound. This can be normal for an abscess that has been opened or packed. But it should improve over several days. This shouldn't occur in other types of wounds.

Also call your provider or seek medical care right away if:

• Your wound bleeds more than a small amount or won’t stop bleeding.

• You have numbness or weakness in the wound area that doesn’t go away.