my sister has a wound on her toe and she is trying to get the gauze out but the gauze is stuck into the wound. We soaked it in warm water for 20 mins. does anyone have any tips on how to remove this gauze.
she says it is really painful.
Answer:
it's going to hurt. soak like you have been and get a good grip and pull. after you get the gauze out, make sure you clean the area really thoroughly and apply some antibiotic cream. she may also want an otc pain med (motrin or tylenol) afterwards.
Did the hospital or doctors office pack these gauze in her wound? If they did, did they tell her it was okay to remove the gauze? Alot of times when they pack a wound you are suppose to go back to them to have the gauze removed. If thats not the case I would just continue to soak it in warm water. Take a shower or bath with your foot submerged. These should loosen up. No matter what she does, its going to hurt when they are removed.
I agree with the soaking, but after a while you may have to go back to the doctor if you still can't get it all out.
Unfortunately yes there will be pain involved.
Good luck
gauze does have a tendency to stick. you need to pull on it slowly and gently while adding water so that it saturates the gauze by layers.
I agree with the nurse there is not much more you can do. Try very very slowly pulling on one edge while the foot is submerged in warm water and take it very slowly, You could also try massaging around the area to help breakup any clots which maybe sticking. As normal with these questions not enough information like how long has it been there, is this the first time it happened, are there stitches under the gauze and what is the propose of the gauze packing.
1] use some new warm water with a little soap in it
2] pour peroxide on it - the bubbling action will help loosen it
3] clean well, dry area, and put new bandage with antibiotic ointment on it
P.S.make sure part of gauze isn't snagged on toenail; and use an anti-stick bandage this time
if you are allowed to use neosporin by your MD you could take some gauze and really coat it in neosporin, place that in the wound, put a couple layers of clean gauze over the top and wrap it up so it stays on. this will keep your wound wet and warm (heals faster that way) and medicated. the neosporin would also keep the gauze greasy enough to not dry out your wound and stick to it. i only suggest this if your MD says it's ok. He might have a reason for letting it dry out. By letting the gauze stick and having it pulled out, the MD might be trying to have you debride(clean out all the "guck") from your wound by pulling all that junk out that has stuck to the gauze. I personally don't agree with this method but it still gets the job done. good luck and hope your sis gets better soon.
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