Confession... Just about every medical person I consulted discouraged swimming before the entire incision line was entirely healed--- 3-5 weeks. Now, I don't mean to take lightly the potentially horrific consequences of flesh-eating bacteria that proliferate, relatively speaking, in tropical water, but seriously folks, I was going to Hawaii and I was going to get in that water. So, the question was how best to protect myself. Here's some of the more realistic feedback... From my ER doc brother: "Slather it with Neosporin and go for it." From my physical therapist friend (who discouraged swimming): "The orthopedic office might have some Tegaderm." Ah, hah! A lead... Then, the PA at stitches-removal (who also looked askance at swimming) provided some of this magical Tegaderm film, a highly-adhesive transparent waterproof film. So, here I am bandaged for the beach. You can see the steristrips covered by a bit of gauze, with the Tegaderm film over all. Long story short: I went in the water, swam about and floated for a bit, and the dressing was not compromised. For an extra precaution, when I got out of the water I wiped down the entire dressing with an alcohol wipe. Survived my first swim! (Postscript: the Tegaderm film became compromised at the point where it contacted the thong of my sandal as I walked back to the car. After this day, I relied completely on over-the-counter liquid and adhesive bandages.)
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