WE all dress for the occasion, dressing up right after a fistula op is important I think to avoid infection and aide healing!!! I am sure you will agree :)
After my 3rd op, I had the district nurse making house call for the first week.. after which I was mobile enough to drive down to my GP. During the first week, and the first few days more so.. were painful. Trying to schedule the dressing and visit to the loo was a nightmare. I wanted to make sure I could go to the loo have my clean up routine of shower head hosing down and bath before the nice lady district nurse came along. Which was around 10:00 in the morning. The first couple of days ... where a combination of anaesthesia after effects and tramadol's were dulling me down, it was a bit of a task to be up and give enough time for the loo and clean up.
Anyway.. I found the dressing up a fistula was differently done by different nurses. Some just rolled up a sheet of kaltostat and wedged it in. Some used the soft fibrous kaltostat and packed it in the open fistula track. Some used Acqacel, which is pretty stiff strip, goes in the cut like a stiff lolly stick!! and then restricts movement for quite some time.
Keeping in mind that pus and a very little blood is still seen on the swabs, should I still pack my fistula track? The pus is thick.. yellow/greenish and stinks!! Should I ask for antibiotics..? Pain.. its there.. but nothing out of the ordinary or excruciating. But its there.. its a constant.
please feel free to type your questions / suggestions / recommendations... hopefully I will have some peace of mind.. If I am doing the right things.. and change my routine if I am missing is anything..
May god us give us all strength to see the "back" of this ... soon!