Help with Stitches

What about trying the little individual first aid ointment paks that maybe he could "dab" on there himself?

Hi M., I suggest letting him spray them clean with some clean water in a spray bottle. You can hold a rag under his chin while he sprays them himself. You can then let them air dry and give him some neosporin on a q tip to gently rub the stitches with. I think if you let him do it himself under your supervision he will do a better job than you doing it while he wiggles and screams.

I would continue trying the washcloth when he eats, but mnaybe use a warm baby washcloth. It should be pretty soft. Then constantly put some neosporin on it. That stuff is great. My daughter has had a few bad cuts, one that got infected pretty quick. It healed very quickly after applying neosporin like 5-6 times a day for a day or so. Good luck!

I would soak some cotton balls in hydrogen peroxide and dab the injury clean. That will help keep it clean and it dries fast. My daughter just went through it, luckily not on her face. Her doctor told me to keep a bit of neosporene on it also to help the scarring and dryness of the wound. Kids are so accidental, unfortunately this will probably not be his only injury. Best of luck to you!

I am so sorry to hear about his stiches. I don't really have any good tried and true methods, but, was wondering if baby wipes might help. They are soft and already damp, I clean my dd's face all the time with mine and it is quick and easy, he may still kick and scream though.
Best of luck to you and a very speedy recovery to him.

Use a syringe of warm water to irrigate it and then tell him that you have to use the "magic air" to heal the stiches...use hairdryer on the cool/low setting to dry the stitches. Got this tip from a nurse when I had my own stitches....keeping them dry helps them heal a lot faster and I found it offers pain relief and helps minimize so much of the itching when healing. Let him talk into the air.....his voice will sound silly! Then you take a turn and let him blow it on you.....Good luck!

Do it while he is asleep; I've done that with ear drops.

I used to work for a plastic surgeon who did eyes. It was my job to clean their stitches on their eyelids.. the best method is to use sterile saline and a gauze pad. It will not sting or stick to the stitches.. If they are crusty, soak the pad and lay it on the stitches for a couple of minutes, or just squirt the saline directly on the stitches and dab gently until the crust comes away. If you keep the area covered with antibiotic it will heal more quickly, not crust as much, less will stick to the wound, and less scar will appear later.. I hope this helps!!

My son had stitches on his cheek last year. I would stay away from baby wipes due to fragrances. We cleaned our sons with a q-tip. One thing that I would definately recommend is the Bactricyn antibiotic ointment. It's better than neosporin. Also make sure after the stitches are removed to use mederma. It works wonders-Also if you are going to be out in the sun make sure to put heavy sunscreen on him esp the scar.

Hope this helps

I hope this won't seem over-the-top, but what if you created a little sticker chart with boxes for each time you need to clean his stitches? You could explain the importance of having his cooperation (I'm sure you've already done that, but you can never build him up too much ... "Mom can't do a good job unless you are strong enough to hold very, very still ... can you do that?" Something like that.) and then offer him some great reward on the day he earns so many stickers. You should be able to calculate how many times you'll need to clean (if you're cleaning 3 times daily and the stitches come out after 5 more days, that would be 15 times) and then set a goal somewhat lower than that so that, if he has a bad day or bad moment, he'll still have incentive to try again. If 15 is your total cleaning times, I'd maybe go for 10 stickers. The reward could be whatever will truly motivate him, so ask him what would make a good "prize." A new video, a trip to the park, whatever you guys decide. Then you can talk about it each time you're cleaning his stitches. "Which video do you think you'll choose?" or "What will we do when we go to the park?" If you get excited about his reward and help him focus on reaching that goal, maybe he'll be just distracted enough to hold still enough for you do get the cleaning done ... maybe?????

Good luck and I hope things heal quickly!!

I had a similiar situation but it was next to the eye which proved to get just as dirty. Get a spray bottle of betadine (sp??) it looks brown they may have improved it to be clear by now. Or you could use the squeeze bulb (the Docs use at birth to clean out your babies nose) with warm water & hydrogen peroxide. Have your son lean over the sink and squirt the solution over his cheek/mouth area. I do believe this would prove easier than the washcloth. Also, I don't know what you are feeding your child but at a time like this milkshakes, smoothies, pediasure using a straw could save you a load of grief and him too. There are times in life you need to go off the normal diet and this sounds like the time. The stitches will heal fast but at this age I'm sure it will feel like a long time to you. Of course, I'm not a medical professional so use these suggestions as you desire. Best of life to you & your family.

Take a Q-tip and tell him to dab it himself. He'll know how much pain he can tolerate to himself. Does this make sense? Have him look in the mirror as he is applying the cleanser to his wound. Then if he is not doing it properly, you can take over. I know he's young but this might be a partial solution.

YOu could try using a squirt bottle (maybe like the cleansing bottles that they have when you deliver a baby...) with some warm saline - light saline - solution or warm soapy water? It seems like that wouldn't hurt as much as a wash cloth, and if you get it while it's still "fresh" it shouldn't require too much effort.

Just a thought. Didn't read the other requests. As far as medicating.... Good luck. We had to give our 3 yr old eye drops and sometimes it came down to us "sitting" on top of him with mom or dad pinning his torso and arms down under/between our legs and holding his head still while the other did a quick eye drop while prying his eye open. I know it sounds like we were torturing the kid, but I think we got beat up more than he did, and it got the medication in. If he was in the right mood, we could get him to hold still for a reward at the end, but about 1/2 the time he flat out refused, reward or not, to hold still and let us do it. It also usually resulted in an around the house chase to catch him before pinning him down.

Good luck. I feel for you and him to have to go through all that.

You can go to the pharmacy and get a small syringe without a needle and fill it with water then just spray it off gently after he eats, then no one has to touch the wound with anything to clean it off. Just don't soak it so much it won't air dry. I think the q-tip idea is great for putting on the medication, makes it where you can go between the stitches and not have to touch it too hard. My now 5 yo son had stitches right under his bottom lip when he was about two and the syringe worked great, I think rinsing it with warm water made it feel better. Just make sure you take him with you when you go to get the syringe, sometimes the pharmacy won't sell you a syringe if they don't know what you're going to use it for (you can also get them at a farm supply store, just not as small).

You might try some hydrogen peroxide. It doesnt sting and will keep it germ free.