Allergic After Surgery????

[mcondjel 0]

I am having MAJOR problems. My incisions sites are having an allergic reaction to something. I was banded on 9/24/07 and they put steri strips on me. I was fine after the surgery. Then 2 weeks after, I had huge red circles around my incisions. The steri strips had been off for a week by then. Now, almost a week after that the itching is insane and I am about to rip my head off. Has anyone else had this problem?

I have used creams and sprays, and the only thing that works is atarax which was prescribed by my doctor, only problem is that it makes me go night night and causes severe dry mouth, which is never fun.

WHAT CAN I DO????

I will have to go to my doc again soon, but at this point, I dont think the steri strips are causing this reaction.

HELP!:help:

[enterprise01 0]

Have you tried a prescription steroidal cream that does NOT contain antibiotics? You may even need an oral corticose steroid, like prednisone, for a week or two. It's not uncommon for the body to release histamines in response to a wound, at least for those of us with chronic allergies.

[mitcha 0]

I had the exact same thing happen to me. I developed an allergy to the steristrips after my surgery and now am allergic to band aids. I know this is not a latex allergy. It would be interesting to know how common this is.

Hope you are doing well.

[beau 0]

I too am having a reaction to the steri-strips. I have developed three blisters where the strips once had been. They are itcy and are now beginning to scab over, very nice since I was so pleased at how my incisions were healing. They actually look worse than the incisions themselves. I've had several replies that this is common

[Telecia 1]

possibly and allergy to the adhesive on the steri strips/tape. I know after I became diabetic Soon after I started having very sensitive skin and now just about any adhesive breaks my skin out. I usally get all the adhesive off with alcohol then put cortisone cream on it.

[Jachut 487]

I'm allergic to that clear dressing they put over the steri strips - like the big sheet of clingwrap on your tummy. Within about 4 days I was itching and I put up with it for a few days before ripping it off (I was afraid of ripping open the incision as it was adhered down all over).

I was really red and rashy underneath it and the rash lasted for weeks, it drove me mad, it was so itchy.

I'm slightly allergic to bandaids too - anything adhesive. But the steri strips were too small to cause me much grief.

[angeleyes32 0]

I thought I was the only one! I have a latex allergy and used non latex steri strips and band aids and still developed a bad reaction to them. The steri strips actually gave me second degree burns on my stomach and I now have scars from them I am trying to fade out. I wonder why this is? Before surgery, I had no problems with steri strips or band aids!

Angela:)

[mcondjel 0]

Well, I have had surgery before, and never had these problems. I did not have a reaction while the steri strips were on, but about a week after they were off, I had an allergic reaction. I do not have blisters where anything was, I have huge round, red and very itchy, circles around my actual incisions. They say it is not an infection. It has now been two weeks since the steri strips came off, and I am going MAD! Plus, where I had an allergic reaction to a bandaid, there is only a reaction where the band aid was. I am just very annoyed. I need HELP!

[Telecia 1]

if your really desperate to stop the itching. There is something you can do but it wont last for long is oragel the area. Sometimes my toes itch (Diabetic neurapthy SP?) and I use oragel to numb them.

It doesnt last long and wont work on anything below the skin surface. but for me it lets get to sleep.

Last time i got stress hives the doc gave me a perscription (oral) to make them go away but they still itched like mad so I used oragel on them.

[Lap-bandit 0]

I am having MAJOR problems. My incisions sites are having an allergic reaction to something. I was banded on 9/24/07 and they put steri strips on me. I was fine after the surgery. Then 2 weeks after, I had huge red circles around my incisions. The steri strips had been off for a week by then. Now, almost a week after that the itching is insane and I am about to rip my head off. Has anyone else had this problem?

I have used creams and sprays, and the only thing that works is atarax which was prescribed by my doctor, only problem is that it makes me go night night and causes severe dry mouth, which is never fun.

WHAT CAN I DO????

I will have to go to my doc again soon, but at this point, I dont think the steri strips are causing this reaction.

HELP!:help:

I had the same thing happen with the steri-strips, but it didn't happen until a week out and I had to take them off because I was itching so bad and you could see where all the steri-strips had been. So, I put on 1% hydrocortisone....which, seemed to be making it worse instead of better. I finally went to the ER because the itching was just driving me insane and I did not want to rip open my incisions. They gave me a five day dose of prednisone, which helped initially, but after I stopped, I developed a rash under my breast, all over my belly and it got worse when I put that hydrocortisone cream on. So, I went to my family doctor and she was afraid I was either allergic to prenisone or I was having a worse reaction because I wasn't on the prednisone long enough. At any rate, I was prescribed allegra and I started taking it only to have my rash spread the next day to my lower body. It was the weekend and I decided if it did not start to get better and it spread any further that I would be going back to the ER. Luckily, the allegra started to kick in after the second day. That has really been the only bad thing that has happened since my banding on 9/14.....but it was not pleasant that is for sure! I have never had a problem with Steri-strips before, so it was a shock when it happened.

[short1 2]

Three days after surgery I got hives real bad. I thought I would scratch my skin off. I am now allergic to band-aids and tape. I had to get a shot of predisone and used some sort of cream. I hope you feel better.

JP

[cQQlgirl 0]

I have developed a rash that is not so much related to the wounds but all around my abdomen: front and to the sides, almost to the back but not quite. I'm wondering if it's a reaction to the betadine scrub they put on us. It took a while to scrub that stuff off. Sort of came off like glue, in strips and was really stuck on. I'm itching but not too bad right now. I noticed the rash 2 days ago (3 days post-op). It seems like its very common! How weird.....

[Newblew 0]

I'm resurrecting this older thread to see how long it took for the allergic reaction to go away for any of the previous responders. It continues to amaze me that no matter what "weird" thing I have going on, all I have to do is put it in the search engine to find many others withthe same experience. This site is such a blessing!

My rash also started about 9 days after surgery. One incision site looks really red, but the rest of them are starting to look a better. Did it take three weeks to clear up? A month? Heaven forbid...two months?

The itchiness is the worst, but hydrocortizone cream seems to help me for a little while anyway.

Thanks for listening!

Newblew