Guest guest Posted October 1, 2004 Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 I received a phone call this evening from a former student. Seems her SIL had a baby yesterday and she was given an episiotomy - you guessed it. She tore mightily. Didn't we just discuss this? Traditionally moms are always advised by the L & D nurses to have a sitz bath - just enough water in the tub to 'sits' in it....not even funny if you ask me considering what put the moms in this predicament to begin with. She would like to know if I had anything else to recommend. I know enough to know that if an EO is to be added to the bath water (the sitz) to be sure to dilute it in milk first. I just don't know that it would be wise, economical (depending on the EO selected) or more importantly efficient to use an EO in this manner - being that the suffering site is one particular area. What I would like to know is would it perhaps be better to advise a warm compress of heli and olive oil? Or would olive oil be clogging to the cells at the site of the stitches? I thought I'd read somewhere that olive oil has a bit of anti-bacterial property to it (which may be why it is the most commonly used oil for perineal massage)? I am also thinking that comfrey and Vitamin E would be good to use. Oh, another question: the birth was yesterday. Her family is advising the mom that it is better to wait a couple more days before applying anything herbal - I realize EOs are strong medicine if not used wisely but if the dilution were proper I wouldn't think I should be afraid to go ahead and use them now. I would advise of course that EOs be used sparingly if they were to want to apply an ointment/herbal compress more than once a day as I am sure they would want to do for pain relief as well as healing. Last, I seem to recall that fresh aloe would be a good pain reliever directly at the site. Any thoughts would be appreciated as my concern is that stitches are supposed to be kept dry in order to prevent infection at the site. I believe our previous threads have been about stitches for surgery and the locations were not internal. Be well this evening Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 1, 2004 Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 Hey Dale, I wouldn't use EO's until the wound is on its way to healing some more - give it a few days. If she wants to use lavender, add lavender herb in tea form to the bath. Refrigerated aloe gel would be great! My midwife came up with an herbal bath tea blend, that I now carry on my web site, which is a combination of comfrey leaf & root, witch hazel herb and uva ursi combined with sea salt. I used this as an after birth bath tea (although I didn't tear, that " down there " are is still quite tender and beat up after birth!) and it was WONDERFUL! Its even good for baby to bathe with mommy in it (a great bonding thing Maybe she can also try something like a frozen Woobey on the area to help soothe it some ... *Smile* Chris (list mom) Last Day For The Sale On Tins and Foamer Bottles Last Day for The Pre-Buy On Silver Perfume Pendants Last Days For The Great Pumpkin 2 Auction Basket!!!! http://www.alittleolfactory.com Dale Bernucca [dbernucca] I received a phone call this evening from a former student. Seems her SIL had a baby yesterday and she was given an episiotomy - you guessed it. She tore mightily. Didn't we just discuss this? Traditionally moms are always advised by the L & D nurses to have a sitz bath - just enough water in the tub to 'sits' in it....not even funny if you ask me considering what put the moms in this predicament to begin with. She would like to know if I had anything else to recommend. I know enough to know that if an EO is to be added to the bath water (the sitz) to be sure to dilute it in milk first. I just don't know that it would be wise, economical (depending on the EO selected) or more importantly efficient to use an EO in this manner - being that the suffering site is one particular area. What I would like to know is would it perhaps be better to advise a warm compress of heli and olive oil? Or would olive oil be clogging to the cells at the site of the stitches? I thought I'd read somewhere that olive oil has a bit of anti-bacterial property to it (which may be why it is the most commonly used oil for perineal massage)? I am also thinking that comfrey and Vitamin E would be good to use. Oh, another question: the birth was yesterday. Her family is advising the mom that it is better to wait a couple more days before applying anything herbal - I realize EOs are strong medicine if not used wisely but if the dilution were proper I wouldn't think I should be afraid to go ahead and use them now. I would advise of course that EOs be used sparingly if they were to want to apply an ointment/herbal compress more than once a day as I am sure they would want to do for pain relief as well as healing. Last, I seem to recall that fresh aloe would be a good pain reliever directly at the site. Any thoughts would be appreciated as my concern is that stitches are supposed to be kept dry in order to prevent infection at the site. I believe our previous threads have been about stitches for surgery and the locations were not internal. Be well this evening Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 1, 2004 Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 WalMart sells a generic 'Tucks' pad (pad with witch hazel). These were soothing to me. So much so that if one of my boys gets a sore bum from spicy food or such, I tuck a pad in the crack of the affected butt...and they're happy as clams. You can make your own, but the generic ones are really quite inexpensive. Also, wet a washcloth & freeze it in a zipper bag, then use it as a 'pack'. Tepid/cool water (very gentle pressure) from a handheld shower unit after every bathroom visit. (Actually, one of my nurses advised me to pee in the shower and rinse with the handheld since urine can be so irritating. The cool water can be very soothing.) Maybe 'later', a spray with lavender and heli, or some of that combo added to the witch hazel pads?? I must say that the best things I ever had for a tear & poor-repair (doc seemingly tried to 'choke off' an area that was not yet dead, and I don't know what it is called, but there is a name for it) were the morphine with the hydrocodone chaser they finally gave me. Sighhhhh. (Morphine hang-over *is* a bear, though...) Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery! -- Have a wonderful day! Lisa An Indigo Rose ~usually unusual~ soap, supplies, and other stuff... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 1, 2004 Report Share Posted October 1, 2004 Thank you Chris & Lisa!! The first time I've been called and asked for AT for more than just labor...very exciting for me. Chris thank you for letting me know you have this bath on your site. I'll be happy to send that along to my friend and former client. Have a wonderful Friday. We are off to our our local autum festival. Dale Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 14, 2004 Report Share Posted October 14, 2004 Hi Chris. Sorry being an Aussie, have no idea what a Woobey is - I am thinking condom-because that is what I used. Well actually, maybe I should have used an unfrozen one 9 months earlier lol. Sorry it is very late over here and I think I need to get some sleep. Virginia At 11:06 AM 1/10/2004, you wrote: >Hey Dale, > ) Maybe she can also try >something like a frozen Woobey on the area to help soothe it some ... > >*Smile* >Chris (list mom) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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