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Just when you
think you are finally done....
Splitting
- is a common problem, especially for those with very
large wounds. Newly healed skin is very fragile and
during your healing phase you probably were very careful
about how you sat and moved. Once the major healing is
complete you will start being naturally less careful and
the strain on the new tissue will cause it to pull
apart, usually right in the crack. Things to help
minimize this is stretching as you get into the later
stages of healing. Yoga is a good idea, just be gentle.
Leg lifts and knee bends are also something to try, the
idea is to move your legs away from your body and bend
them to stretch the muscles of the gluteus maximus.
The skin in
the cleft has to be able to stretch as the body moves
and damaged skin only regains 70% to 90% of its original
tensile strength (how much it can be stretched without
tearing) so the wound area will never be as strong as it
was prior to surgery,
you have to "train" it back into stretching in the
same way you do a muscle. Eventually, the skin
will stretch enough so that it doesn't split.
One product
that has gotten good reviews for healing split scars:
Aquaphor Healing Ointment.
Pulling -
is the sensation of tugging deep in the wound bed. This
is perfectly normal and caused by the new tissue in your
healed wound, which does not yet have the ability to
stretch very far. Now that the wound is fully healed
you are in the "remodeling phase", which can last
from 6 to 18 months. All during this time new collagen
fibers are being laid down and rearranged and the scar
softens.
Itching and
Tenderness - this is also normal. The newly healed
scar is very tender and will be for many months. This is
the peak period for "Pilonidal Paranoia" where every
little tug, split or soreness will send you into a tizzy
of being certain that "it's back". Don't drive yourself
crazy, because it is very easy to do! Itching is normal
- put some hydrocortisone cream on the scar and it will
feel better. Tenderness is something that I have always
taken as a warning sign that your body is not happy
about something you are doing. It may be the way you
are sitting, clothing you are wearing (like thongs), too
much activity that rubs the scar tissue.... What I
always do at the first sign of tenderness is swab the
scar with No Bump RX to take down the inflammation.
Then I try and figure out what I am doing to make the
area tender -- with me it's usually slouching in my
chair while on the computer.
This page last updated:
05/24/2008
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