My 18 year old had a pilonidal cyst removed on Tuesday, leaving a hole 2 inches long and 2 inches deep (and ~ 1/2 inch wide) right at the base of his tail bone that's going to take 8 weeks or more to close on its own.
Here's where I come in: 3 times a day it has to be flushed with saline and packed with gauze that's been soaked in saline and wrung out, then lightly covered with a dressing to protect it. (I am seeing parts of him I haven't looked at in 16 years.) He's been taking a Hydrocodone every 4 hours since Tuesday night, and we're going to start tapering those off in a couple of days.
Given this routine, is there anything else I can do naturally to aid and support the healing of this wound? I'm trying to feed him lots of protein, fruits and vegetables, and he takes a multivitamin and a vitamin c supplement every day.
The last couple of days he's done too much sitting and standing, and it's starting to look kind of "angry."
Any input would be appreciated!
Holly
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I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's; his hair was perfect...
I think you should ditch the routine they suggested. It seems to me from my experience with wound care that packing it with moist gauze would just breed bacteria.
Use the same routine we use on diabetic ulcers - it has cured gangrene before several times on my mother. It works on non-diabetics as well. I've never known it not to work, but should it not get in to his doc ASAP.
Soak the area in hot water with epsom salts and sea salts in it {I use a handful or 2 of each}. Then peroxide out after soaking. While still wet, pack it full of regular white table sugar, and put a loose dressing {Not airtight} over it just to hold the sugar on. The sugar will moisten from the peroxide and form a nice crust in the wound. Do this around 3-4 times a day. Continue until it is fully healed.
My mother's toe was open to the bone with a ulcer, and this healed it in 2 weeks. They were talking about taking her leg off at the hip! The sugar will not impede the healing.
The sugar makes it too sweet for any bacteria to live - similar to a sugar cured ham
wow, just wow. holly tha'ts just sick. I give you so much credit. the things we moms do for our kids. your boy better love the crap outta you!
and sandy, what can I say. you are the woman! i never would have thought of sugar. but yeah, I agree that making the wound moist would just impede healing. a warm moist environment is just a breeding ground for bacteria.
__________________ The hippie formally known as Justmama " mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible" (marion c. garretty) AKK JM But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."
-Barack Obama
A friend of mine had the same thing done about a year ago,.. maybe a little longer. She did as they suggested and it healed wonderfully. The only time it got angry was when she was not using a pillow to sit on. She however did clean it about 5 times a day.
I saw it through all it's stages, since she needed help a lot to pack it. BUT.. she and I never soaked the gauze in saline. We put it in dry and then taped it up.
I really don't have any other advice to give for natural care.. but I do wish you and your Ds luck and a speedy recovery for him
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Ok, I'm taking all this advice in and ruminating upon it.
Soaking the gauze: I'm afraid to put it in dry because things, erm, stick to it. My fear is that if it weren't damp, I'd tear out healing tissue every time I removed it. Removing the gauze is painful as it is. Do you think the saline that it's soaked in is enough to prevent bacteria from growing?
I've heard that honey has antibacterial properties, and it would also create the "too sweet for bacteria" environment that Sandy recommended. Do you think that would work? I'm uncomfortable pouring sugar into this gaping hole, although I like concept behind it.
They told me not to use alcohol or peroxide because those are both "cytotoxic" (cell killing). He doesn't have an infection, so I'm not supposed to use something harsh unless he GETS an infection, and then just until it clears up.
I could post a picture of his wound, if that helps? It's not nasty or gooey, just large and disturbing.
Holly
__________________
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's; his hair was perfect...
Ok, I'm taking all this advice in and ruminating upon it.
Soaking the gauze: I'm afraid to put it in dry because things, erm, stick to it. My fear is that if it weren't damp, I'd tear out healing tissue every time I removed it. Removing the gauze is painful as it is. Do you think the saline that it's soaked in is enough to prevent bacteria from growing?
I've heard that honey has antibacterial properties, and it would also create the "too sweet for bacteria" environment that Sandy recommended. Do you think that would work? I'm uncomfortable pouring sugar into this gaping hole, although I like concept behind it.
They told me not to use alcohol or peroxide because those are both "cytotoxic" (cell killing). He doesn't have an infection, so I'm not supposed to use something harsh unless he GETS an infection, and then just until it clears up.
I could post a picture of his wound, if that helps? It's not nasty or gooey, just large and disturbing.
Holly
I've never tried honey - it tends to ooze and run and make a mess from what I'm told. Thats why we use the sugar. It just dries right in it and forms a nice protective crust.
If it's looking "angry" {red, swelled, etc} then you probably have the beginnings of an infection starting.
I wouldn't think the saline would do anything as far as preventing bacteria growth, unless it's mostly salt {higher percentage than typical saline}. I do understand the pulling out of healing tissue though - thats the beauty of the sugar method since you never actually disturb the healing tissue.
Here...I will give you all a picture of what I'm working with. Be prepared to be disturbed. This is 24 hours post surgery, and the pic is sideways...picture it running vertically, just under the dimple at the top of his butt crack. It's 2 inches long and almost that deep.
__________________
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's; his hair was perfect...
I had a much smaller cyst a few years ago. We were told to clean the top layers with peroxide to help keep the top of it from starting to heal closed before it could heal from the bottom up, so maybe that's where Sandy's peroxide reco started. In your case, the wound is so large that with the packing there's no chance it could heal top first.
I'm not always a big fan of the Drs, but in this case I think I would follow their recommendations. Mine healed up very nicely with no complications.
__________________ At the end of the day, I am never the same person I was when I woke up.
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Oh Holly. That's huge and awful looking! So sorry you and your son have to deal with that.
__________________ The hippie formally known as Justmama " mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible" (marion c. garretty) AKK JM But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope."
-Barack Obama
Sandy single mama to Trinity 
JM
and then taped it up.
Go ask her some questions!
Almost silently protesting the size of HM siggies by keeping mine as small as is humanly possible. 
So sorry you and your son have to deal with that.
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