Year In Review: Wound Care Blues

This summer I had a minor surgical procedure.

It wasn't bad. It left a small scar. No big deal.

The surgeon told me how to take care of it. "Don't get it wet.. Change the bandage twice a day, and use a little Neosporin. We'll see you next week to see how you're healing."

Easy enough.

I stopped by my best friend LadyTee's house after the procedure.  LadyTee's mother, Bobbie Jean, was sitting there in the den watching television. I decided to tell her about it, and ask for some advice on how to take care of it since she is a retired nurse.

"Get yourself some saline solution," she advised. "That is better for you since it is close to your body fluid chemistry."

That made sense, but at the same time it didn't. Seem to me like some peroxide or alcohol would be better.  But I kept what she said in mind.

I talked to LadyTee about it.

"Get some of that witch hazel! That does it every time."

Witch Hazel.

My goodness. LadyTee is the Queen of Witch Hazel.  She has 30 years worth of stories touting the wonders of witch hazel. According to her, it works wonders.  It is magic. And I have to stand there and listen to alll these stories.

I personally don't like it. It smells kind of strange. I suppose it should smell a bit odd, as it is an extract from the witch hazel shrub bush, first used by the Native Americans back in the day.

Still smells... strange, though. You know what I'm talking about if you have ever gotten a whiff of it. They need to mix it with some lemon or peppermint essential oils. Something.

I used it, along with some peroxide and alcohol. Oh, and I didn't forget about the Neosporin.  I used that too.

But it wasn't so easy taking care of this little wound that was no bigger than a pinhead. Why? Because there was some tenderness, redness, itchiness, and hives. It almost drove me batty.

I went back to the doctor a week later for a follow-up. The doctor removed the bandage and examined the wound. I told him that I was really having a hard time with it.

"This is happening because you are allergic to the adhesive of the bandage. You have an adhesive burn."

O_o

What? I have never been allergic to a bandage.  And what was this "adhesive burn" thing he was talking about?

As much as I wore band-aids as a kid, I have never had problems with the glue on bandages. Wow.

He had to cut away a small amount of infected skin. He told me to try paper tape and soft gauze. (And that's what he used that day. It felt much better.)

It was some nastiness. Life became about waking up early enough to change and clean the wound. And the first thing I thought about when I arrived home from work was changing the bandage and cleaning the wound.  Everything became about wound care.

And I did some reading about wound care. It turns out that Bobbie Jean was right. Saline solution is the best thing for wound care. At least for my wound.

I found that at the drugstore for $9 a can. It is the best thing in the world.

I also used vitamin E. I bought the capsules and bust them open, and spread the oil on the places where the adhesive had burned my skin.

That helped a lot with the redness. I continued using my Neosporin. But I had to make sure to use the right kind.

I didn't do well with the pain relief cream. It was causing all kinds of pus problems. I threw that away really fast. Fast as I could throw it, I did.

This whole wound care... that was a lot going on. I think I was taking care of that wound for at least 6 weeks. I thought it would never end.  I am an expert in bandages and tape now, that's for sure.

And at the same time, I had a lot on my mind. It was such a time of dealing with the unknown. That minor surgical procedure was the first thing I thought about when I woke up and the last thing I thought about before I went to sleep.

That wound was on the lower part of my right breast.

I had a suspicious mammogram back in April 2013, and I had to have two areas biopsied.

To be continued....