Stitches

[Gusyus]

DS hit his chin on the fireplace hearth the other night and needed quite a few stitches on his chin--just underneath. We were lucky there was a plastic surgeon at the hospital to do the job. Anyone dealt with stitches there before? My son is 3 and doesn't like us touching his face (sunscreen, moisturizing lotion, lip balm, etc.) on a good day. So it's a big battle to clean and dress the sutures. So far we've just been glopping on neosporin a few times a day and haven't kept it bandaged much because it's just a hard part of the body to get a bandage to fit on. But then the ointment rubs on on clothing or his blankies.

Any suggestions for cleaning under there? The care instructions say to use either just soap and water or diluted peroxide--but do we use a washcloth or just kind of splash water on it? It seems to be pretty tender still, understandably.

[Anonymous]

A natural sponge makes lots of suds and is soft, I would use that in the tub instead of a washcloth. One parent holds the child/their arms, the other soaps and rinses. I would just do it quickly with no negotiation. Add a positive reward/bribe. Maybe those expanding sponge thingies or other bath toys.

Don’t bandage it. The ointment will come out in the wash. Pre-treat it with some Dawn.

[Anonymous]

Have you tried to teach him to do it? You don’t need a sponge/cloth/whatever. Have him wash his hands well, and then teach him to wash his cut.

At 3 he can understand that it has to be done, and that he can do it, or you can do it.