When Stitches Become Infected: What Are Infected Stitches?
Infected stitches are those which have been removed from your body and then placed back into it. These include those taken during surgery or when you get a tattoo. They are usually not harmful if left alone, but they can become infected.
How Do Infected Stitches Look Like?
The most common sign of infection is redness around the wound. If you have had any kind of surgery, these wounds will be inflamed and swollen. Sometimes pus may come out of the wound as well. In this case, you will notice that the skin around the wound is either normal in color or is white. You should also see a clear fluid leaking from the wound. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should visit your doctor, because you may have an infected wound.
There are some other types of infected wounds as well. One of these is the skin tag.
These are usually very small skin lesions which can appear on different parts of your body. They can bleed if you apply pressure to them. This is a common condition; it does not necessarily mean that you have an infection.
Another type of infected wound is the burn wound. These look like your skin has been charred, but this does not mean that you have been badly burned.
As a matter of fact, it is possible to have a second degree burn and not be burned at all. It is just possible for the skin to appear pinker than it really is. Likewise, you can have a deep second degree burn and not be burned at all.
Last but not least, there are wounds which appear to be neither infected nor normal skin. These are keloids and they are very common as well.
A keloid is a type of skin growth which can occur when the skin is broken. A simple scar of normal skin can become a large raised bump if it becomes infected or the skin grows to tightly around the break.
How Can You Tell If Your Wound Is Infected?
There are a lot of different ways that you can tell if your wound is infected or not. You can try looking at it, smelling it, touching it, or feeling it. It is very important that you learn how to tell if a wound is infected because you do not want to accidentally give yourself an infection.
If you look at your wound, you may notice that it does not have the normal skin color. Instead, it appears red or purple.
This could mean that it is infected, so you should probably see a doctor about it. If you smell it, you may notice that the smell is different. It may not smell foul, but it could have an odor. This smell will usually go away if you soap it off or change your clothes.
You can also try applying pressure to the wound. You can do this by holding on to it, squeezing it, or grabbing it.
If you grab it, you should be able to twist it and pull it. If you can do this, this could mean that the wound is infected. On the other hand, it could also mean that you have an STI, so you need to see a doctor about this as well.
You can also try touching the wound with your fingers. If the wound is infected, you may notice that it feels hot or only feel a slight difference in temperature.
You should also be able to push in on the wound and feel something hard under the skin.
If you feel the wound, you can usually tell if it is infected or not if you are able to push in on it. If you are able to push in on it, this means that the culture of the wound is normal.
However, it could also mean that the wound is infected but the bacteria or virus is not established yet. This would mean that you should probably see a doctor since you may have an infection and it is better to get it taken care of early.
You do not need to worry if the wound feels different. This could mean that it is normal skin with an infection underneath, or it could mean that the wound is infected, but you do not have anything wrong with you.
You will just have to see a doctor about this since it could be serious.
How Do You Tell If Your STI Is Brand New, Old, Or An Emerging Wound?
You can tell a lot from the appearance of your wound. If you look at a wound and notice that it looks slightly different, this could be an STI. It could also be an old wound that is just in a different place now.
Also, it could be something brand new if you follow your symptoms. Certain strains of chlamydia and gonorrhea have different symptoms than others.
It is very important that you determine what your symptoms are so that you can see a doctor before you have an outbreak. This will be very difficult since you need to check in with your symptoms at a certain time. You will need to know when you had unprotected sexual contact, when you first noticed some symptoms, and when you last had a test.
Now, if you look at your symptoms and you do not see anything, this could be a brand new infection, or it could be something that has been there for a while that you have not showed symptoms of yet. However, you should still check in with your symptoms at the right time.
How Do You Tell If Your STI Is Already Established?
If you have already got an STI, then you can use this method to tell if your infection is already established.
First, you need to know what kind of infection you have. This could be syphilis, chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital herpes, or genital warts (cytomegalovirus).
Second, you need to know your current symptoms. You can compare what you know to the symptoms listed on the guide if you want to figure this out.
Third, you need to compare what you do currently have symptoms of to the list. Make a list if you need to.
Fourth, you need to start being careful. If you do not have any symptoms yet, then you can still pass this on to someone else.
However, you need to start getting tested now and trying to prevent the symptoms from showing up. Take the medication that has been given to you if you have been given any at all.
Fifth, as soon as you start noticing your symptoms, you need to visit a doctor immediately. This could be anything from a rash that looks like broken veins to itching that makes you unable to sleep.
If you notice either of these symptoms, then you need to see a doctor right away. This can be life-threatening, especially if you have had unprotected sexual contact with someone and don’t know it yet.
Does Your STI Need To Be Treated Immediately?
If you have an STI that needs to be treated immediately, then you need to visit a doctor. This could be something as minor as a genital warts or as serious as an infection that is causing your genitals to swell.
Other things that need immediate treatment could be your HIV or syphilis. If this is the case, then you will most likely need to get your test results confirmed and you will also get a prescription for some antibiotics to help fight the infection.
The other thing that you need to do immediately is to start taking your medication. Not following this part could result in re-infection.
This is because certain STIs can lie dormant in your body for years before they suddenly become active, giving the disease time to spread again.
If You Have No Symptoms Now, Keep Using Condoms!
Believe it or not, many STIs can be passed on even if you do not have any symptoms. The only way to be sure that you do not pass it on is to have a test.
They can find out exactly what kind of STI you have.
It is safer to get yourself tested if you do not have any symptoms now. When you go to a doctor, they will take a sample of your blood to check it out.
If you don’t have any symptoms to begin with, then you should get yourself tested regularly to make sure that you don’t pass it on.
Be sure to use protection when having sexual contact with someone. If you need to get tested, go to a clinic or your local health department.
If you want proof that you have an STI, then you can ask your partner to get tested as well. This works even if you feel you don’t have any symptoms at the time.
Sources & references used in this article:
Sex with stitches: assessing the resumption of sexual activity during the postcircumcision wound-healing period by PC Hewett, TB Hallett, BS Mensch, K Dzekedzeke… – Aids, 2012 – journals.lww.com
The scientific challenge of hepatitis C by J Cohen – 1999 – science.sciencemag.org
Effect of Acupuncture on ST36 Acite Stitches to Accessible Epitelization Accuracies in Rats of Rats Infected of MRSA Bacteria by W Sayogo – Journal of Global Research in Public Health, 2018 – jgrph.org
Prevention of surgical site infections in high-risk patients with laparotomy incisions using negative-pressure therapy by S Finegold – 2012 – Elsevier
On Human Nature by AU Blackham, JP Farrah, TP McCoy, BS Schmidt… – The American Journal of …, 2013 – Elsevier
