Wound itching

Hi all

I'm sure everyone here has at some point had the horrendous itching that comes with a healing wound after an implant. How do you handle it?
Naturally, scratching is a really really bad idea, but I hear that anti-histamines may also be harmful to the healing process as histamine release plays a role in the healing of skin tissue.

Thoughts?
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Comments

  • Well, depending on what stage you are in the healing process, and what your natural tendency is, soaking in warm-hot water for 15 minutes, can provide a bit of relief after you take your hands out of the water. You can try using counter-irritants like camphor, mint oil, menthol, etc.(Icy Hot, or whatever they call it out where you are, should do the trick). You could also try some topical numbing agent.

    One thing I definitely recommend not using is Hydrocortisone cream, in addition to any other corticosteroids, because they down-regulate the synthesis of collagen, which is going to make your healing time significantly longer. 
  • The itching is your nerves growing back. No way to get that to stop really, just suck it up and distract yourself until it stops or is healed enough that you can gently scratch the itch. it should only be that itchy for a little while and then go away.
  • Sometimes you can reduce it /get temporary relief by scratching the nearest bit of healthy skin by the itching area. Generally gentle scratching is suggested. Has worked well for various friends in bandages and casts.
  • Something odd i've noticed - it itches way more immediately after changing the dressing and putting fresh antibacterial cream on, so maybe it's just the cream i'm using.
  • That may just be due to the irritation that happens when you change the dressing, perhaps if you're concerned about it being the cream, remove the bandage, wait to see if you have some irritation, then apply the cream after removing your old dressing and let it sit for a while before applying the new bandage. See when the irritation is most salient.
  • Ive never really heard many people talk about itching. I haven't experienced it.
  • So I changed the dressing today to discover a blister filling up with fluid and pus.

    Decided to lance it with a sterile scalpel and then redress, but now i'm thinking it's possible i'm going to get a rejection. Lots of clear fluid came out and a tiny bit of pus, if it does reject i'll reimplant later.
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