Allergic to bandaids???

[Nippz_7919 0]

Ok, so had my gallbladder out on the 18th of June and found out I am allergic to band-aids..Which is weird, this came outta no where..I have never had a problem...But seems like I healed just find even tho I was a lil red and did something weird to my skin......So then on June 30 I finally had my lapband surgery, and did fine. But when I changed my bandages, seems the allergy came back even worse (I thought maybe the last time was a fluke, so I would try a different band-aide).....and I don't seem to be healing the same with this surgery....I just had a discharge last Saturday around my band incision and went to doc he said it was normal. Is my body's way of telling me the stitches need to come out. Well still had a lil gap where it had not healed, but seems to be like scabbing over and closing (Gross I know). I haven't used any bandages since the 3rd and I am still red and itchy like crazy. It's even worse when I shower. Could it have been caused from a different type of stitch? Which would probably wouldn't be cuz the incision right below my chest was perfectly find. Granted it was only 2 stiches, not 4 like the other 2 infected areas.

I have cleaned with peroxide and I put a triple antiobiotic cream on as often as I can. Is this normal? Or an I doing something wrong?

Edited July 14, 2010 by Nippz_7919
extra word

[AngryBaby 2]

I'm also allergic to bandaids... Mostly its just the adhesive. My skin gets red around the bandaid and if it is left on for too long and taken off it will actually rip my skin off. I also break out into a rash and it drives me crazy. It does more harm than good.

Very few people have this condition... Usually when someone says they are allergic to bandaids they actually are allergic to the latex... not the adhesive. If you don't know which one it is you could try using latex free bandaids (to see if it's just the latex you are allergic to) or using liquid bandage (if you end up being allergic to adhesive).

Tell your doctor, once you find out you are allergic to one of them. If you ever have to have surgery again DEFINATELY TELL YOUR DOCTOR OF YOUR ALLERGY!!!

They can actually do stitch you up with disolvable stitches (under the skin) and use medical liquid bandage (kinda like super glue) to close you up. I always heal a hell of a lot better when they do this rather that trying to tape me up and what not...

[kcarny 0]

I have sensitive skin and am allergic to band-aid adhesive, too. It sounds like you still have some irritation since your doctor doesn't think it's an infection. I usually put some hydrocortisone cream on rashes like that. Ask your doctor if that would be ok. It helps me when I have a reaction. Don't try to dry it out with alcohol or peroxide. That will make it itchier!

[elcee 3,341]

I am not allergic to bandaids but I am allergic to the adhesive on the surgical dressings.Let them know next time so that they can use the hypoallergenic kind.

[schwartz26 0]

I feel your pain! I broke out from the steri-strips they used during surgery...I have large open sores from the ends of all the strips...it was bad!

[onikenbai 33]

I have an extreme reaction to the adhesive on pretty much all products, as in I woke up from surgery screaming get it off me! My skin puffs up about a 1/4 inch and then comes off completely, leaving large wounds behind. It's itchy and painful for at least a month afterward. Despite telling the surgical team quite clearly that I was extremely allergic to the bandages, I woke up from one surgery with about 5ft2 of my skin covered in them. The nurses assumed I was exaggerating my allergy. Nope. I was lucky not to have suffered permanent scarring from that incident as I lost most of the skin on my torso. I've never since seen such horror as the faces of nursing staff when they saw my back...

It's not common to have such an extreme reaction, but it's not an uncommon allergy. You could be allergic to the latex, or it could be the actual adhesive. For me, it's not the latex. If you have to do medical stuff in the future, it would be best if you raided the pharmacy to figure out which of the products you can use and then take them with you to the hospital with you to be used.

You can find a useful product in most pharmacies that can be used instead of band-aids. It's a stretchy material that sticks to itself only, not to skin. It's good for finger cuts and small things, but since it has to go around something to come back and stick to itself, its utility is pretty much confined to fingers and toes. Better than nothing though.

[ardelia 41]

I would recommend NOT using peroxide on your wounds.

You can Google it and you'll find things like: it "has little ability to reduce bacteria in wounds and can actually inflame healthy skin cells that surround a cut or a scrape, increasing the amount of time wounds take to heal" and others.

TMYK and all that....

[pmcw 0]

I too have an allergy to some band-aides and medical tape, I don't know if it is the adhesive or what, because I know the cloth medical tape they usually use in hospitals take my skin off, but I can use the paper tape, so from that I would assume that it was the material, but I also have the same reaction to certain band=aides, especially the little clear spot ones, my skin comes right off. But that is beside the point since the band-aides are not on, what I am most concerned with is that you say it is worse after showering, it sounds to me like moisture may have gotten inside your incision and caused a yeast infection, and that can turn serious, you really need to talk to your Dr. and stress that you are worried and have him take another look, if he doesn't listen consult your GP, this is not a band issue, it is possibly an infected wound issue! I was banded on the same day you were, all my stitches were under the skin, I canot see them, and my doctor used a very thin stretchy clear material, I guess a type of band-aide, but nothing I have ever seen in a store, and he had me try one on my stomach for a few days prior to surgery to make sure I would not be allergic to it, since I told him I was allergic to some band-aides, but I was told not to get my incision wet for a week, I could shower, as long as Water didn't get under the band-aide stuff he had on them. If you have openings that water is getting into I would be very concerned!