I started swimming last year around nov, I was able to swim free style and back until last july, when I had an accident that left me with 8 stiches in my right arm, now I havenot gone swimming since then , my arm is fine now but I wonder if the streching in swimming would harm my scar? can anyone give me some advice?
Former Member
You're generally "water-tight" 2-3 weeks after the stitches are put in. I've gone swimming (with stitches--which was weird but the doc said OK) within 2-3 days after stitches have been removed.
Scar tissue is VERY hard to tear so that shouldn't be a fear. If you're in a sunny climate--I would apply some sunblock to it as scars tend to turn red(der) when in the sun.
I've had shoulder surgery with stitches (both the old fashioned thread and the sub-cutaneous ones with steri-strips) and the incision areas haven't had any problems with swimming.
After 8 weeks--the scar may still not look great but there's no way you can harm it by swimming.
