More patients may be able to safely shower after surgery

Many patients may be able to shower just two days after their operations without increasing their risk of infections around the incision site, a recent study suggests. Even though showering can lift patients' spirits, potentially speeding recovery, concerns about contamination often prompt doctors to advise against getting wounds wet until stitches are removed, which can take many days, or even weeks. But when researchers randomly permitted some patients with relatively low-risk surgical wounds to shower 48 hours after their operations, the people who got to bathe were happier with their care - and their odds of infection were no different from those of their unwashed peers.