Plain petroleum jelly (like Vaseline) is the best thing to put on most surgical incisions. It keeps the wound moist, supports healing, and carries almost no risk of an allergic reaction. Despite what many people assume, antibiotic ointments like bacitracin and Neomycin offer no advantage over petroleum jelly for preventing infection in clean surgical wounds, and they’re actually more likely to cause skin irritation.
Why Petroleum Jelly Beats Antibiotic Ointment
For decades, many surgeons sent patients home with instructions to apply antibiotic ointment. That advice has shifted. A landmark study comparing bacitracin to plain white petrolatum on surgical wounds found no significant difference in infection rates between the two groups. The infection rate for clean surgical incisions is already extremely low, around 0.91%, so the antibiotic isn’t doing much extra work.
What antibiotic ointments do cause is contact dermatitis. Neomycin and bacitracin are well-known skin irritants that can trigger redness, itching, and swelling around the incision, mimicking the appearance of an infection and complicating your recovery. A study in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology concluded that nonantibiotic ointments are preferred over those containing antibiotics for postoperative wound care. If your surgeon specifically prescribes an antibiotic ointment, follow their instructions. Otherwise, petroleum jelly is the simpler, safer choice.
Keep the Wound Moist, Not Dry
There’s a persistent belief that wounds heal best when exposed to open air. The opposite is true. Healing cells need a moist environment to migrate across the wound surface and close it. Letting an incision dry out and form a hard scab actually slows that process down.
The goal is to apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly and cover the incision with a clean bandage. This creates the right balance of moisture while protecting the wound from dirt, bacteria, and friction from clothing. Change the bandage at least once a day, or whenever it gets wet or dirty, reapplying a fresh layer of ointment each time. Your surgeon may give you a specific schedule, but daily changes are the general standard.
What Not to Put on Your Incision
Hydrogen peroxide and rubbing alcohol are two of the most common things people reach for, and both are harmful to healing tissue. Research published in PLOS ONE found that even a 0.5% concentration of hydrogen peroxide reduced connective tissue formation and delayed wound closure. The likely mechanism involves an increase in enzymes that break down the new tissue your body is trying to build. Rubbing alcohol causes similar damage by killing the very cells responsible for repair.
Other things to avoid include herbal salves, essential oils, and any home remedy that hasn’t been discussed with your surgical team. These can introduce irritants or allergens to a vulnerable wound. Stick to what’s proven: petroleum jelly and a clean dressing.
Care Differences Based on Closure Type
How your incision was closed changes what you should put on it and how you handle it day to day.
- Stitches or staples: Apply petroleum jelly and a bandage. You can shower 24 hours after surgery in most cases, but avoid submerging the incision in a bath, pool, or hot tub until it’s fully closed.
- Steri-Strips (adhesive strips): You can shower with these in place. Let water run over them gently and pat dry. Don’t peel them off; they’ll fall away on their own as the skin heals underneath.
- Skin glue (Dermabond): This one is different. The adhesive acts as its own waterproof bandage, so you don’t need to apply ointment or a covering. In fact, putting antibiotic ointment on skin glue will break down the adhesive and cause it to peel off prematurely. Keep the area dry for the first five days, then shower normally. Avoid baths and prolonged soaking. The glue peels off on its own in five to ten days.
If you aren’t sure what type of closure was used, check your discharge paperwork or call your surgeon’s office before applying anything.
Showering and Cleaning the Incision
For stitches and staples, most surgeons allow showering 24 hours after the procedure. Let warm water run gently over the incision. Don’t scrub it, aim a high-pressure showerhead directly at it, or use soap on the wound itself. Pat the area dry with a clean towel, reapply petroleum jelly, and put on a fresh bandage.
Avoid soaking the incision in any standing water until your surgeon clears you. Bathtubs, swimming pools, and hot tubs introduce bacteria and soften the wound edges, increasing the risk of the incision reopening.
When to Start Scar Treatment
Silicone-based scar gels and sheets are the gold standard for minimizing scar appearance, but timing matters. Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center advises waiting about four weeks after surgery before starting any scar treatment, and checking with your surgeon first. Starting too early, before the incision is fully closed and the top layer of skin has sealed, can irritate the wound or trap moisture underneath.
In the meantime, the single most effective thing you can do for scar prevention is protect the healed incision from sun exposure. New scar tissue is especially vulnerable to UV damage, which can darken the scar permanently. Use sunscreen with SPF 30 or higher, or keep the area covered with clothing for several months after surgery.
Signs of Infection to Watch For
Most surgical site infections develop within 30 days of the procedure. Knowing what’s normal and what isn’t helps you catch problems early.
Some redness, mild swelling, and tenderness around the incision in the first few days is part of the normal inflammatory healing response. What’s not normal is a change in direction: symptoms that were improving and then suddenly worsen, or new symptoms appearing after the first week.
Contact your surgeon if you notice any of the following:
- Pus or cloudy drainage coming from the incision (clear or slightly blood-tinged drainage in the first day or two is usually normal)
- Increasing redness that spreads outward from the incision edges rather than fading
- Warmth or heat at the wound site that intensifies over time
- Fever above 100.4°F (38°C)
- Worsening pain or tenderness at the site, especially after the first few days when pain should be gradually decreasing
- The incision opening up or its edges pulling apart
Deeper infections can develop up to 90 days after surgery and may involve tissue beneath the skin surface. These often present with fever and localized pain even when the surface looks relatively normal. Early treatment with your surgeon gives you the best outcome.