How to accidentally prevent touching your hair when you sleep post op?

[HairRun]

I'm thinking of getting one of this velcro wrist wrap things you see parents put on toddlers, and hooking the other end to my feet, but I'm thinking the length won't be perfect enough. 

I'm sure some of you have come across this problem, anyone with a solution? 

[StillAlive]

Yes. It's called : stop obsessing over it. Unless you routinely gouge yourself when you sleep, it's going to be alright. Of the hundreds of thousands of HT patients, I don't believe that I've ever read a story of 'Sleep walking man ruins HT recovery by scratching'. Post op-care is important, but if anyone could ruin an HT by scratching while they sleep, man, it'd be a whole other industry  

[sl]

Some will wear washing up gloves or mitts to effectively stop you being able to scratch out a graft..We had a patient have his shirt buttoned up with his arms inside the main trunk of it but I would not recommend this in case you fall out of bed and cannot break the fall with your arms! He also then tied his arms to the head board he told me but I do think protection on over the hands is a better option. 

[sl]

It is rare but it has happened but in the very small minority but we have seen a few scratch out grafts but as said above...not the majority by a long shot. One who did posted his case on this forum but got a great result, so the few grafts were not a problem that he lost.

[NARMAK]

2 hours ago, HairRun said:

I'm thinking of getting one of this velcro wrist wrap things you see parents put on toddlers, and hooking the other end to my feet, but I'm thinking the length won't be perfect enough. 

I'm sure some of you have come across this problem, anyone with a solution? 

Sleep upright in a recliner style seat or similar where you're "locked in" to that position and get a slightly oversized stretch hoody and slip your arms out of the sleeves whilst the hoody is zipped up and you've got a makeshift straight jacket. 

Believe me, this is the EASIEST way to do it and not look crazy or exert too much effort. 

It's my #1 Pro Tip to anybody concerned with scratching their head whilst asleep and having recently done it, can vouch for how effective it was and easy to do alongside my neck pillow which i recommend buying as a chunky memory foam version. 

[Tiger2050]

I used a t-shirt, put my wrists through the arm holes and wrapped up my hands. 

[Rahal Hair Transplant]

Hair Run,

there are all kinds of ways to prevent hair transplant patients from damaging their newly transplanted hair while sleeping but most discussion and solutions revolve around your head on a pillow and not touching your hair while you sleep.  You could try sleeping with some kind of loose fitting cap or hat such as the ones designed to cover your ears in the wintertime when it’s cold. 

You could try sleeping with gloves on but that’s not gonna prevent you from touching your scalp. But it might prevent you from scratching it.

Let us know what you come up with.

Best wishes,

Rahal Hair Transplant

[HappyMan2021]

If youve never had a ht before it makes sense you'd worry about this. But as someone who has had 4 HTs, youll see this worry is unfounded. 

Do you normally scratch your scalp in your sleep? Im guessing not. No need to handcuff your hands and sleep in a recliner for 2 weeks or anything like that. 

Wear a surgical cap while you sleep and that should be enough to make your brain realize to keep your hands away from your scalp. 

Per Dr. Mwamba, grafts are secure after 3 days and you can resume sleeping however you'd like

Edited August 25, 2022 by HappyMan2021

[gillenator]

I would opt for a pair of knit mittens.

[Melvin- Admin]

It's not that serious. I suggest sleeping with the surgical cap on, if you go to scratch your head, once you feel the cap on, you'll instantly stop.

[NARMAK]

27 minutes ago, Melvin- Moderator said:

It's not that serious. I suggest sleeping with the surgical cap on, if you go to scratch your head, once you feel the cap on, you'll instantly stop.

Personally i would say that's a higher risk to take for somebody who's basically asleep and relying on their subconscious reflexes to do that. 

That's why i opted for the zip hoody trick. It works a charm

[Melvin- Admin]

2 minutes ago, NARMAK said:

Personally i would say that's a higher risk to take for somebody who's basically asleep and relying on their subconscious reflexes to do that. 

That's why i opted for the zip hoody trick. It works a charm

Yea whatever works. I slept with the surgical cap and I reached for my scalp to scratch and felt the cap and instantly remembered 'crap I got an HT' but everyone is def different. Depends on how heavy of a sleeper you are as well.

[Balding Bad]

As someone who does actually sleep scratch my scalp during my sleep, this was 100% a concern for me. In fact, I found that I did scratch one of my grafts as I slept. What I found worked for me was wearing gloves to sleep and then keeping my hands tucked under my leg as I slept. Sure it'll put your arms to sleep and you'll wake up with pins and needles, but it's worth it.

[mister_25]

It does actually happen, I did it recently. Thankfully I was three and a half weeks post op when I did it but I wouldn’t be surprised if someone loses grafts over it. I dug in really hard and there was a little bit of blood, who knows what will happen when your at your most vulnerable.

[Gatsby]

I remember 11 months ago post op having a nightmare that I had scratched my grafts during my sleep. When I woke up I was thanking the Lord big time! 🤣 However I'm glad this thread has been raised again. I'm two and half weeks away from my next transplant. I've spent the last six months playing with my new hair and I'm worried that it's become an unconscious habit. I think I'll be wearing oven gloves after this surgery.

[Balding Bad]

6 hours ago, Gatsby said:

I remember 11 months ago post op having a nightmare that I had scratched my grafts during my sleep. When I woke up I was thanking the Lord big time! 🤣 However I'm glad this thread has been raised again. I'm two and half weeks away from my next transplant. I've spent the last six months playing with my new hair and I'm worried that it's become an unconscious habit. I think I'll be wearing oven gloves after this surgery.

Haha nice, glad to see I've inspired a senior member such as yourself with the idea. The student has now become the teacher!