After Your Child's Inguinal Hernia Repair

Home care

• Keep in mind that some swelling in the area of treatment is normal during the first few days after surgery.

• Give your child pain medicines as needed. Most often, this is children's acetaminophen or ibuprofen. After 2 days, your child should be in little or no pain. Only give pain medicines recommended by your child's health care provider.

• Let your child eat or drink as usual.

• Have your child wear loose, comfortable clothing. This keeps clothes from pressing tightly against the incision.

• Don’t pull off the strips of tape that are used to close your child’s wound. These should come off on their own in a week or so. If the strips are still in place after 10 days, you may remove them. If surgical glue was used, it should peel off on its own in 5 to 10 days.

• For the first 3 days after surgery, give your child sponge baths only. After this, your child can bathe or shower as usual but stay away from prolonged soaking of the bandaged incision.

• Your child can likely return to school or daycare in a few days. Ask your child's provider.

• Talk with your child's provider about physical activity. Don’t let your child lift objects weighing more than 3 pounds, climb, or do strenuous activities for several weeks. You should also limit your child’s activities that involve straddling, such as bike riding or horseback riding. 

When to contact your doctor 

Call the doctor right away if your child has symptoms such as:

• Signs of infection in the incision. such as redness, fluid, warmth, and pain.

• Trouble peeing (urinating).

• Fever of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher or as directed by their provider.

• Vomiting or nausea that doesn’t stop.

• In a boy, swelling of the scrotum that gets worse.

• No bowel movement in 3 days.

• Belly (abdominal) pain that doesn’t get better or that gets worse.