I’m not allergic to many things. I have an anaphylactic reaction to Penicillin, and if I take morphine without a strong anti-nausea & anti-vomiting medication I will heave like there’s no tomorrow, but other than those two I mostly have it made in the shade. Note that I say mostly. Last year I discovered that I have an allergy to the surgical tape that was used after I had my gallbladder removed. Fortunately the reaction was mostly limited to around and in my belly button, though it took a couple of miserable weeks to get the mess cleared up.
Last Wednesday morning I had surgery, as I’m sure the majority of you know from my whining here and on Twitter. While I remembered to tell the surgical team about my allergy to Penicillin and my reaction to morphine1, I forgot all about the damn surgical tape. I didn’t remember until Friday morning, when it suddenly dawned on me that in addition to my incisions giving me plenty of pain signals, they were also giving me itchy and burny signals. Ruh-roh, Reorge!
Unfortunately taking the incision tape off that morning (all 84 strips on just four small incisions, grr; plus a surprise strip over my belly button wtf?!) and carefully washing and drying the incision areas wasn’t enough. Behold, my misery (my stomach is normally not that bulgy/swollen, FYI. That’s just horrible, somewhat unexpected post-op swelling!):
It itches and burns, but mostly MOTHERFUCKING ITCHES OH DEAR GOD, non-stop. I alternate between Calamine lotion and hydro-cortisone cream, which provide relief but not more than a moderate amount and not for more than a few short hours. If you have any itch relief suggestions, please for the love of all that’s holy, share them with me.
- big mistake on my part: morphine + anti-nausea = good. morphine “alternative” for patients who are sensitive to morphine = very, very bad. Trust me when I say this: you do not want to wake up from abdominal surgery with dry heaves ↩
Oh wow. Ouch. That looks painful. I really hope that the itchiness eases because OW and UGH.
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Oh goodness. That looks pretty painful. Sounds like it resembles a sunburn – unless I could be wrong? Maybe trying some aloe to help ease the pain? Hope it clears up soon. <3
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This is one of the many reasons I think hospitals should keep *on file* what allergies a patient has and refer to it before using things like tape. That looks a lot like how I react to tape (although if left, it will literally blister me), I usually use aloe on mine to stop the itching – if you didn’t have open wounds/incisions there I’d suggest vinegar but that would burn like all holy hell with the incisions.
Agreed. I’ve been to hospitals where they remember what meds you take, but they never remember the allergies. It seems like the allergies would be just as important, if not more so.
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Try an antihitimine like benadryl or claratin. those will help with the itching.
Wow. Your spots look like how arm did when I had my picc line in. I was allergic to the tape they used. Broke out in hives. It was so itchy. I feel your pain. Try not to touch it the best you can. They told me I could pat my fingers around the area as long as its not touching the wound area.
Jenn:
I feel soooooooo sorry for you. I know how miserable it can be post-surgery and adding that to it? Poor you. I know that I’ve been out of touch. You’re on my “to do” list;-) Please take care of yourself. Thinking of you …
DDD
Oh your poor belly!! That looks intense…and itching is the worst!
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Omg you poor girl! That looks really painful >.<
Have you tried a milk bath? I am allergic to suntan lotion at tanning salons. I learned the hard way and was itching from head to to. I broke all the blood vessels in my legs from scratching so hard but a milk bath really helped alleviate the itching and burning
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I have eczema that causes me to break out in intensely itchy, oozy rashes (attractive, I know), and anti-itch cream makes it itchier.
In order to ease the itching, I do a few things:
1) world’s hottest water. Yes, it sounds counterintuitive because hot water will dry out the skin but I don’t care. Get in the shower or put on a hot compress – hottest water that you can stand, and even a bit hotter. It numbs the area for at least a few hours if the water’s hot enough.
2) Ice pack. Same thing.
3) Vinegar. Stings like CRAZY, but that only lasts about a minute and after that? Blissful non-itch.
Oh my gosh, your poor skin! I have no itching remedies to share, but just wanted to offer sympathy. You poor lady! That’s awful.
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