Surgery & Miasma

[YoungSoulRebel]

I'm too full of pain medication to make heads or tails of a book right now (in fact, I can barely make much sense of some of the songs *I've* written, right now), so while I'm typically much better about this, please, for the love of all that is sacred, bear with me as my head is very, very fuzzy at the mo.

I had surgery on Friday. (If you know what over, great, but please respect my privacy on this forum, as I'm kind of particular about who gets to know my private business.) On technicality, these wounds aren't exactly open, but they're far from healed up enough to even hold one of my cats right now. In fact, they're still in the "draining lymph" stage.

Question is:

When do surgery wounds no longer qualify as "open wounds" for the purposes of practise? When they're no longer draining? when the stitches can be taken out/dissolve?

It would be incredibly nice to know this.

[patch]

I'd reckon its around when the stitches are gone, and it dosen't need them to stay closed. (I'm going with the physically open here xD).

Until It's completely healed, from then onwards, I'd just make sure the wound is well badaged before I do ritual.

[YoungSoulRebel]

I'd reckon its around when the stitches are gone, and it dosen't need them to stay closed. (I'm going with the physically open here xD).

Until It's completely healed, from then onwards, I'd just make sure the wound is well bandaged before I do ritual.

That makes some sense, staying bandaged. I can't recall at the mo how the ancient Hellenes defined "open wound", but you figure that surgery in 300AD and surgery in 2008 is like comparing a bologna sandwich to foie gras, so bandaged should be fine, all things considered.

[Theres]

if you want to get really picky then i'd say no, bandaged does not equate to closed. if the wound were fully closed then it wouldn't need a bandage, right?

however i'm not so sure it matters that much.
there had to have been many, many wounded soldiers attending Patroclos' funeral pyre, no?

[*~Amora~*]

I know this thread is terribly old, but my impression is that the point is to be clean and not "unsightly" - as in actively bleeding - and that being bandaged should be fine.

[YoungSoulRebel]

I know this thread is terribly old, but my impression is that the point is to be clean and not "unsightly" - as in actively bleeding - and that being bandaged should be fine.
Thanks!

Of course, due to a minor complication, I was still pretty "open and bleeding" (a graft didn't take) until fairly recently so, while I agree with your own conclusions, I still refrained from practise.

[*~Amora~*]

Thanks!

Of course, due to a minor complication, I was still pretty "open and bleeding" (a graft didn't take) until fairly recently so, while I agree with your own conclusions, I still refrained from practise.

No problem. Thank you for valuing my contribution, however belated. And you probably followed the safest route. But I'm curious - did you attempt to gain clarification before or after this event from the gods?

[YoungSoulRebel]

No problem. Thank you for valuing my contribution, however belated. And you probably followed the safest route. But I'm curious - did you attempt to gain clarification before or after this event from the gods?
I did, and the answer I felt I received was basically a refrain from "bigger" rit while maintaining prayer and the tiny little "impromptu" rit and smaller miscellany -- I saw a prayer and kiss the leaves when I water my plants (including my bay laurel) and this has never changed, a small prayer and small tea candle for Hygaea before my shower, prayer cycles to Apollon and Asklepios with my morning exercise, a prayer/rit to Khronos, the Fates, and the Hourai as I wind my alarm clock and watch before bed and after I wake up, etc.... The smaller ritual has remained unchanged, but I now believe that bringing blood to a ritual altar that is *not* blood to be offered/sacrificed is what's specifically the dishonourable thing.

[*~Amora~*]

Yes . . that also makes sense (and thank you for all of those great details).

In addition, you addressed something I was wondering about. It seems appropriate to pray to Apollon, Asklepios, and Hygaea when recovering from disease, injury, or surgery - and yet one wouldn't want to show disrespect for them with Miasma.

I wonder, then, if it was the ancient doctors or families who made offerings to them on behalf of the wounded, or if the wounded might cry out for aid and swear to give offerings later when they were "clean".