When you’re having a procedure done, it’s important to ensure you are prepared for proper bandaging in preparation for aftercare.
I had two implants put in at the same exact time which required sutures. I don’t know of any installer that applies topical ointment like Neosporin to their sutures before applying a bandage of some sort. Usually the bandage is your standard adhesive bandage or plaster as you Europeans like to call them
The problem with this in my opinion is that sutures represent a large number of puncture wounds which need serious protection from the elements, but the immediate aftercare provided is not up to the task
Proper preparation as the client should entail bringing topical ointment and a good 360° sealing bandage like the bandages we provide customers in our kits. We provide the nexcare waterproof bandage which provides a very good amount of protection from dirt and water ingress, as long as your hairy arms are shaved or you have very fine arm hair like myself
I was unable to apply proper bandaging and topical ointment for at least 10 hours after my procedure, and this resulted in one of my sutures becoming infected. It’s very hard to beat a subdermal infection with topical ointment once it has a chance to set in. In contrast, the other set of sutures did not become infected and the healing process will likely result in a much cleaner scar with no chance of it reopening.
I’m very hesitant to put antibiotic ointment under an occlusive dressing and I don’t recommend it to people for aftercare because of the risk of maceration (tissue inundated with liquid). Any delay in healing or weakening of the skin due to moisture keeps the wound open longer which increases infection risk more than just leaving it dry.
With a very very thin application of antibiotic ointment you can definitely see better outcomes, but 9/10 people just glob it on. So I guess your recommendation should come with the clarification that you only need a tiny little bit of ointment and it goes a long way.
I don’t know I globbed mine on pretty good I don’t think it’s a huge deal for a single application because your skin will absorb the ointment within a day or so and then you’re left with a “clean” treated wound under the bandage. I wouldn’t recommend constantly removing the bandage to keep globbing things on every day. I left my bandages on for 5 days before taking off and replacing, at which point I just put fresh bandages on and didn’t bother with the topical.
Really the focus is on ensuring two things; 1) you have a proper bandage that protects the wound from dirt and infectious material ingress… and 2) the topical ointment is kind of there as an insurance policy. I’ve seen a lot of sutures get put in where the surgical thread is literally laid down on and dragged across unprepared skin or clothing, then pulled through the open wound on its way back to laying on unprepared skin or clothing. For whatever reason, there is a big focus on maintaining the sterile field during the procedure, but then the suture thread just gets dragged through the literal mud during suturing. But even if this wasn’t the case for the vast majority of body mod suturing techniques I’ve seen, it would still be a good idea imo to liberally cover the sutures just after the procedure with antibiotic ointment, then place a really good bandage overtop.
To your point though, I think a lot of people subconsciously or overtly reference some sort of Hollywood movie kind of “change the dressing” regimen and think they have to rip off a perfectly functional bandage every 12 hours to scrub the area down and apply ointment and reapply a new bandage. Old world civil war era approaches to replacing salt water covered rags used as wound treatments everyday just needs to be expunged from the global consciousness. Modern bandages and ointment function best when applied once and left alone. Unless you are oozing puss or blood or both, there really isn’t a reason to replace your bandaging if your bandage is doing its job by maintaining good adhesion to the skin.
You’re so right. Honestly that’s a much bigger issue than maceration, people just need to chill out. You’re smart and use occlusive bandages though and don’t touch them. For a lot of people they’re either not familiar with products like tegaderm or they’re cost prohibitive, so they just use a regular old band aid style bandage which
doesn’t hold on the skin for more than two days if the skin wasn’t clean and hairless and never rubbed against clothes or sheets.
has an absorbing pad intended for body fluids but that will just as easily take up water from washing your hands or whatever and then keep that wound damp and nasty so maceration becomes a problem again.
So people need to be educated on the different types of dressings and basic first aid so they make good choices during after care. One fix for that could be better aftercare documentation or a more robust community wiki
