Sometimes, but only if the treating clinician says the wound and dressing may get wet. A brief shower may be allowed for some wounds, while surgical incisions, grafts, casts, packing, and wound-vac dressings may need to stay dry. Do not soak an open wound in a bath, pool, or hot tub unless specifically cleared.
Instructions differ by wound, procedure, closure material, and dressing. Follow the surgeon or wound clinician's timing and method even if it differs from general advice. Ask whether to remove the dressing before showering, cover it with a waterproof barrier, or keep the entire area dry.
Use comfortably warm water and let it run gently over the area only as instructed. Do not scrub the wound, direct a forceful spray at it, or apply fragranced soap, peroxide, alcohol, or antiseptic unless ordered. Pat the surrounding area dry with clean material and replace the dressing exactly as directed.
A waterproof cover can protect some dressings, but it is not a guarantee against leaks. Keep wound-vac pumps and electrical components out of water and follow the device team's bathing instructions. If a dressing that should remain dry becomes wet, call the care team for advice and change it only according to the plan.
Baths, pools, lakes, and hot tubs expose a wound to prolonged moisture and microorganisms. Avoid immersion until the clinician confirms the wound is sufficiently closed and any procedure-specific restriction has ended.
Call promptly for separation of wound edges, new bleeding, increased drainage, odor, redness, warmth, swelling, pain, or fever. Seek urgent or emergency care for uncontrolled bleeding, rapidly spreading redness, severe pain, confusion, faintness, or other signs of serious infection.
Call 877-545-1300 or request a provider to begin care. Healix360 serves Southern California and Nevada and accepts Medicare Part B and most major insurance plans.