Question:
This may seem stupid but here goes...with the icy roads and driving to
work on them, I have a silly fear of hitting something and having the air bag pop out into my newly healed incision! I know in my heart this probably won't happen but was wondering if anyone has actually had this happen. If so, were you OK? I am afraid my incision will come open or something. I am 10 wks postop. My incision is completely closed but I wonder if it is healed inside. Please don't flame me or put me down because this is a real concern of mine. Thanks! — Marilyn C. (posted on January 7, 2002)
January 7, 2002
hahah thanks for giving me ANOTHER thing to worry about.
I am preop with a surgery date of 2/11/02 - my fear is slipping in the snow
or on the ice and having my incision bust open. =(
— Brenda S.
January 7, 2002
Fears may be unfounded, but they are never silly. At 10 weeks post op you
are considered fully "healed." There should be little to no
greater risk for you to "pop open" in the event of a car accident
than it would be for someone who did not have surgery. I would imagine
that the most likely, but still highly UNLIKELY, thing would be the
development of a hernia, which is the internal opening of the muscle tissue
which allows the intestine to bulge up under the skin. All in all, you
should be just as safe as you ever were before your surgery. Take care,
and drive safely!
— BethVBG
January 7, 2002
I would add to make sure that you are also wearing your seatbelt. I think
used with the air bag, your chances of really 'hitting' your stomach are
probably reduced. I also don't think this is a silly fear. We all have
some degree of fear about certain things. I keep reading about people who
can't wait to get on a roller coaster when they get small enough. That
WILL NOT be me. They scare me to death.
— garw
January 7, 2002
marilyn, my hubby & daughter were involved in rear end collision 3
years ago which resulted in my hubby being pushed into the rear end of the
car in front of him. hence the airbags deployed. thank god thank god thank
god!!! both suffered injuries but none were from the airbags. & yes
they were both wearing their seatbelts which may have reduced the impact of
them flying into the airbags. to give u an idea of how hard they were hit
from behind...my daughter was in the front passenger seat & her seat
broke & hubby was in the drivers seat. his head rest snapped in half at
the steel bars & his seat broke too. their injuries, altho serious,
were no where near life threatening. thank god for crumple zones, air bags
& seat belts.
— sheryl titone
January 7, 2002
Marilyn, that is certainly not a silly thing to fear! I remember when I was
pregnant with my kids, I was afraid to drive in bad weather for fear of
hurting my tummy, even with a seatbelt on. Since surgery (12/00), I have
had some fears driving, mostly because I feel really vulnerable now. Its
weird to have so much space between me and the steering wheel, and I feel
less "protected" now. I agree that if you wear a seatbelt and the
airbag deploys, you should be ok. If not, you'll be much better off than if
you didn't have one! Should something happen, medical personnel would see
the scar, and probably check things out at the hospital.
— Susan S.
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