I think I may have poison ivy at all of my incision sites...or maybe not. It sure feels like it, and looks like it. Based on web research it seems I may be having an allergic reaction to the steri -strips. As of today, I am 5 days post-op. I feel pretty good except for this excruciating itching. Grrrrrr! The hive-like welts and blisters are only around the incision tapes so I assume its an allergy to the adhesive. From my experience with poison ivy (think of an 9th grade girl who looked like the Man Without A Face - very traumatic), it certainly is acting the same as the dirty leaves, but is only in the areas of the tape.
Any help you veteran bandsters can offer? I have had several surgeries before and never this reaction. I know I need to wait for the tapes to come off on their own, and I have used hydrocortisone cream and medicated powder to alleviate the insatiable need to scratch. The powder works better in my opinion, but not enough. Sadly, the itch areas look worse than the incisions themselves on the two spots where the tapes have finally come off (belly button and at the base of my sternum). Will there be scars from the rash?
Yours truly,
Itchy and Scratchy
Good luck, I remember how much I itched as well. When I went in for my check up (one week post op?) my surgeon asked if I was ready for him to pull the steristrips. I was way too much of a baby to say yes, so I waited a bit and let them fall off. But he was ok with them coming off sooner so who knows??
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Yes ma'am!! Took those strips off as soon as I got the green light, but I was surprised to see how large some of my incisions really were under there!
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