I dunno if I'm allergic to steristrips or dermabond or what.... what at each of my incision sites, it's red, raised, and itchy to the point of driving me crazy.

My PCP looked at it and said it wasn't an infection (no fever, heat, etc...) but he's an idiot....

I'm a nurse, it doesn't look like infection to me, either.

I called the surgeons office and they said I could use topical benadryl or hydrocortizone cream on it. It provides temporary relief, but my clothes rub it off and then I'm in itchy agony again. Did anyone else experience this?

Sure am! I'm itching like crazy 7 days out. I equate it to itching=healing so I have just tried to wear very loose dresses that hang out from my stomach. I have the benadryl spray and it dries pretty quick.

is the diameter of your itchy areas really huge? it's red and elevated like a very giant bug bite around each site. Like a silver dollar around the smaller cuts and like the bottom of a bowl around my main incision where the port is

i was banded on the 13th of this month i have the same but you can tell mine has healed alot. i would think its just the healing. if it doesn't have pus around it.

The port incision is the worst one - it is raised and bumpy and red, very tender to touch but not hot. I've also got a light rash over my entire stomach but that may be from the film they cover you with. The only other one that hurts is the very top one because my bra rubs it all day. The other 3 are almost completely healed!

Yes, I have the same plus a blister where bandages were tighted.

Can you take oral benadryl? That might be more effective. You might need to push fluids even more but it would be worth it to get a few hours of relief... Good Luck.

thank GOD I'm not alone in this...I thought I was having an allergic reaction to my band or something haha

I had the same problem. I was allergic to the Dermabond. I peeled it all off. Washed the sites good and then doctored with them Benadryl cream and took Benadryl at bed time. They were better within 2 days. I was 5 days out when I removed the Dermabond and my surgeon said it was fine.

I'd go the oral Benadryl route--sounds like you and Dermabond don't get along.

My incisions were stapled, and dressed only for a day--and I still got irritation from the tape that was horrible. (I do have tape allergies...)

Oral Benadryl worked so much better than topical; the topical agents (even hydrocortisone) often have ingredients in addition to the drug that increase irritation when there is an allergic response.

I itched like hell for the first week, but everything eventually stopped itching and healed up nicely. Once you get all the inflammation under control Mederma works wonders with scars. I'm using it everyday and the redness around the incisions are almost gone. You can get it at any pharmacy, but you have to ask for it.

i thought i was the only one!

phew! good to know that itching just may be a good sign [that it's healing anyway] even though the itching itself can drive you up the wall :smile2:

I have the itchy rash around each incision too. I was pretty sure it was a reaction to something they used as I am allergic to may tapes and latex. It is driving me up the wall. I have used cortisone creme on it and it helps a bit. But after my shower today, I will hopefully have most of the stuff off and try the benadryl. The port site is the worst probalby because it is the largest, and I hate the location of it. I only sleep on my sides and the right side is very much ready to go back to taking turns with the left.

My incision sites themselves haven't been too bad, but I did need to put a band-aid on one of them and I had a really odd reaction to the band-aid, that I have never had. I had a sore in the outline of the band-aid and have a scar from it now (hopefully it will go away). I tried a small one band-aid on one of the smallest incisions the other day and sort of had the same issue, only it wasn't as bad. I want to put a band-aid on my arm now, just to see if I have the same problem on another place on my body.

Had the same reaction myself- showed it to the surgeon and the allergist I work for-both agreed it was a reaction. I took oral antihistamines (not Benadryl because it makes me too sedated) and also put hydrocortisone on them....