Recipient area itchy at night. Dried blood next morning

[Popeyee]

Hello hair restoration network,

I had an FUE procedure for 2.5k grafts on my top and crown over 3 weeks ago and the recovery has been smooth. However, I noticed that my recipient area has a lot of flaky skin and it is very itchy. I try not to scratch it during the day but I think I may be unconsciously scratching it during my sleep.

The past few days I found several red dots of dried blood on my recipient area in the morning and I’m concerned that I am somehow removing the grafts as I’m scratching my itchy scalp while asleep. I think I’m either scratching my scalp with my fingers or brushing my hair back and forth with my palm, while I am sleeping.

Is this concerning? Can grafts still be pulled out by scratching/brushing after 3 weeks? What can I do to avoid scratching or stop the itching?

Thanks in advance!

[Gatsby]

I would be taking an antihistamine for a while and perhaps even consider wearing gloves at night. I know that sounds weird but f you are drawing blood then you must be scratching hard. Having said that I doubt you are damaging the root of the follicle three weeks post op.

[shiba1985]

No. Shouldn’t be this itchy though. Maybe try applying some ointment that provides moisturizing effect

[gillenator]

Aloe Vera cream will help with the itching and will soothe and cool the scalp.

[witty]

I also had the same problem and almost scratched the recipient area while sleeping but it was just a touch and then I woke up. After that, I always wrapped the blanket tightly around me, put my hands under the blanket.

[Popeyee]

1 minute ago, witty said:

I also had the same problem and almost scratched the recipient area while sleeping but it was just a touch and then I woke up. After that, I always wrapped the blanket tightly around me, put my hands under the blanket.

This is exactly what I did last night after I woke up haha. I just hope I haven’t been damaging my grafts the past few days. applying some serum/lotion might also help as gillenator mentioned

 

[witty]

I had HT and at the beginning had itching in donor area, but after day 6 I've got some pain in a donor area, especially at night. Then on day 8 the pain becomes extreme, it was a burning feeling left and right of the donor area and i had to take a lot of painkiller to sleep somehow. Day 9 was also very painful. Staring from day 10 it was better. I think it happens because i was sleeping on my back, 45 degree, till day 10. Is it really necessary to sleep 10 days on the back? Or this it only important in first 3-5 days and afterward you can sleep on sides as well, changing position and to not press all the time on the back of your head.

[Popeyee]

1 minute ago, witty said:

I had HT and at the beginning had itching in donor area, but after day 6 I've got some pain in a donor area, especially at night. Then on day 8 the pain becomes extreme, it was a burning feeling left and right of the donor area and i had to take a lot of painkiller to sleep somehow. Day 9 was also very painful. Staring from day 10 it was better. I think it happens because i was sleeping on my back, 45 degree, till day 10. Is it really necessary to sleep 10 days on the back? Or this it only important in first 3-5 days and afterward you can sleep on sides as well, changing position and to not press all the time on the back of your head.

I cannot speak for everyone but this was my experience. I did not have any pain post surgery, just heightened sensitivity. I slept on my back at a 30-45 degree angle for 2 weeks making sure not to touch my grafts. This was tricky because the recipient area was on the crown and this was probably the worst aspect of the surgery for me because I wasn’t used to this and I kept waking up every 2 hours or so. After two weeks I started sleeping flat on my back and sides

[HappyMan2021]

tie your hands to the bedposts so you cant itch. 

that being said its strange to me that your recipient area is itchy. I have had 4 HT's, and for all of them the donor area was incredibly itchy, but never the recipient area...

[Popeyee]

Just now, HappyMan2021 said:

tie your hands to the bedposts so you cant itch. 

that being said its strange to me that your recipient area is itchy. I have had 4 HT's, and for all of them the donor area was incredibly itchy, but never the recipient area...

If I had to guess it’s because of the flaky skin around the recipient area. Could be due to cold and dry winter weather

[gillenator]

It’s also a definite sign that healing is taking place.

[gillenator]

Just curious, did you get a chance to try some aloe vera cream?

[pkipling]

You're definitely not damaging the grafts 3 weeks post-op, so you can rest your mind a little bit in that regard.

As for the scratching in your sleep, it's very relatable. In fact, I was sooo concerned that I would do this (because I can be a very rough sleeper whose been known to even slap myself in the face while sleeping LOL), that I actually slept with gloves on and fastened them together for the first 5 days post-op. And sure enough, I woke myself up several times by one of my hands trying to move up towards my head - but got stopped by being attached to the other one. Haha. 

[Popeyee]

2 hours ago, gillenator said:

Just curious, did you get a chance to try some aloe vera cream?

I didn’t try aloe Vera but I had some hyaluronic acid serum on hand so I used that instead to moisturize and it seems to do the trick