This is weird. I am allergic to the adhesives on bandaids, etc and always get a red rash where it sticks. I woke up this morning to find a perfectly square rash around each of my incisions, but I don't have a bandage there. They closed with durabond. Does anyone know if they put something on there to keep the instruments in place that would have adhesive in it?

I don't know the answer to your question about adhesive, but I do want to warn you that my son scratched a bump on his arm, and a week later he had a big square rash, and it was a staph infection. It has cleared up well with the prescription topical ointment his doctor gave him, but you may want to call your doctor just to be sure.

I had the same problem, only mine were like burns with blisters and everything. It was a lot of horrible itching. The only thing that worked was taking the bandages off and pulling up my shirt and letting air get to the rash/burns. For some people itch cream worked but for me liquid benadryl was the only thing that helped. Good luck!

It is possible that they used an adhesive for the instruments . . . or perhaps it is even the durabond itself is causing the issue. When it is a perfect square like that, it is usually allergy from whatever was touching it. It sounds more like an allergy than staph.

A call to the doctor is important and they might suggest a topical ointment. I would definitely suggest allowing it to get as much "air time" as possible. Once you are healed up a little better, perhaps a clean undershirt that you can throw out later if there is any staining might be good, especially at night.

I am also allergic to bandages. I tried regular at first, then non latex, then sensitive skin, then fabric bandages and every kind broke me out, although regular were the worst by far.

The only thing that worked for a bandage later was the type that have cloth in the middle and something that looks like an adhesive saran wrap. These are more pricey but you can find them at CVS and probably other drug stores. This worked best by far. I used these primarily on my port incision once I realized I couldn't cover it with anything else.

There is a product called new-skin that you paint on cuts like nail polish that doesn't break me out - but definitely do not use it unless you talk to your doctor first (and maybe you want to try it somewhere else first to see if you have an allergy). I used this on my smaller incisions and it worked beautifully with no irritation. I did not use it on the primary port incision. This product will sting a little when you use it the first time (kind of like peroxide on an open cut kind of sting).

The surgery nurse called me today to check on me and I asked her about the rash and she said that the instruments are free standing, so they don't need adhesive, but when prepping me, they put a drape over you and that tapes down to your skin and leaves a small opening for the incisions. She thinks this is what has caused it and recommended some Neosporin on the rash, but not the incisions themselves. They aren't really itching me right now or bothering me. I was just curious as to what caused it.

They didn't put steri strips on the incisions, did they? I had the same problem from the steri strips. I took them off and had rashes around every incision and they itched sooooooooo bad! I just used Benadryl cream and that helped a lot!

Nope. No dressing of any kind. Just durabond....

I was allergic to the steri strips benadryl gel helped it immediately....

I was banded on 12/11/08. A couple of weeks later I found that I was allergic to the durabond....but the redness didn't really show up until the durabond was peeling off. I tried a spray on benedryl but it did not help. Hydrocortisone cream finally did the trick for me. The incisions look really good now.

Mom is a nurse, who had the procedure done as well, and she said there is an adhesive used to get the instruments to stay in place.

Mom is a nurse, who had the procedure done as well, and she said there is an adhesive used to get the instruments to stay in place.

Thanks doodle! Fortunately, all the rashes have disappeared except for where the adhesive held the catheter in place for my On-Q pain buster ball. I'll have that rash for a while because it was on there for 2 whole days and I didn't get to take it off until Friday. Now, my incisions are itching like crazy, but that's a normal part of the healing process. I'm doing really good about not scratching. I will rub them a bit through my shirt at times though if it gets too bad.

They put the Heprin shots next to my incisions, which makes the area red, sometimes bruised looking, and itchy. Do not itch the shot injection areas. Heprin prevents blood clots and thins the blood.

Neosporin does work really well on the incisions 1 to 2 weeks post op! As for the concern of infection (I read in another reply). It is good to take your temperature a couple times a day (post op) and look for any type of oozing coming from the incisions. If you have a temp or oozing, then call the nurse at your Surgeon's office. Otherwise, redness, yellowish color, or bruising is normal. The yellow color is because of the glue used to close the incisions.

Luckily, the incisions are nice and dry, and the bruises are fading to yellow/green and the rashes are disappearing. I have to give myself lovenox shots every day for a week-10 days. I don't feel the needle, so that part is fine, but the meds sting a bit. I can see where I've given the shot though because there is a tiny little purple dot at each location. My tummy looks like a mess!! LOL

Connect the dots anyone?