Question:
I hear steri-strips are used frequently and i'm sure other tapes- I am allergic!

I have had surgeries before and have explicitly told the docs that I blister and itch as soon as tape touches my skin (and for several weeks afterwards). I know they put it on my eyes to keep them shut and around my mouth to keep the oxygen mask on, I also have had them put steri-strips on the wound and also had a nasty reaction. Does anyone else have this? Are there any suggestions on what would work in its place? I just don't want to deal with that along with the surgery! :)    — arebella (posted on June 26, 2001)

June 26, 2001
you need to make sure they note it on your chart and prepare for it. They make hypoallergenic tapes and they will have to use that. i don't however know if they make them in a steri strip, in which case the dr would have to use staples.
   — paula B.

June 26, 2001
I agree before you get to the hospital and as they are wheeling you into surgery keep telling them you are allergic. In fact when you fill out you paperwork at the hospital put it down as an alergy they will put a special braclet on you.
   — Tracy K.

June 26, 2001
im so glad this question came up. i am so allergic to adhesives that i have problems with a bandaid! tapes r worse. when tape is pulled off my skin the skin actually peels off with it as the adhesive has broken down the skin to that point. then i am left with a red & raw wound the size & shape of the tape. just today i had some cardiac tests that required an iv. the nurse in the office told me to get cortisone cream to put on my skin where the tape was. i am definitely going to try this. maybe it will work for u too.
   — sheryl titone

June 26, 2001
I too am terribly allergic to adhesive, especially the benzoin that is used to attach steri-strips. I have asked my surgeon to close with absorbable sutures (I scar terribly with staples or simple interrupted sutures) and he will cover the incisions with gauze and a very narrow margin of paper tape. Even the paper tape give me blisters but with only a narrow margin, I will be OK and it usually will not be necessary to use it more than a couple of days.
   — Anndrea H.

June 22, 2003
I have an allergy to adhesive and told the pre-op people as well as the nurses as I was being wheeled in to surgery. The pre-op people had already notified the surgical staff and they made the surgical accomodations. They stitched me up and then used liquid bandaids. It was so much nicer!!
   — Jane H.

June 22, 2003
I have an allergy to adhesive and told the pre-op people as well as the nurses as I was being wheeled in to surgery. The pre-op people had already notified the surgical staff and they made the surgical accomodations. They stitched me up and then used liquid bandaids. It was so much nicer!!
   — Jane H.