allergic to band-aids?

[cryforme1v]

I am really allergic to adhesive from band-aids and bandages n such - normal tape doesnt seem to bother me because its not on my skin for an extended period of time. But the reaction i have to band-aids/bandages is it blisters where the adhesive is and as soon as the band-aid/bandage is taken off, the skin goes with it. I dont get hives just really big blisters.
My son scraped up his knee pretty good tonight, chasing the dogs outside, he slipped n fell and he's got a good sized scrape on his knee.
I cleaned it up the best i could with him yelling at me not to touch it. I put neosporin on it but i'm kind of apprehensive about putting a band-aid on it - what if he has an allergic reaction similar or even worse than what i have?
My mom keeps telling me it'll be ok, just keep an eye on it and if it even starts to turn red around the tape, to take it off.
I'm just worried that if he does have a reaction,he's so small-he's only 5, that his reaction could potentially be worse than mine.

 

[Christopher2012]

Wrap gauze around the leg and then tape the gauze together tight. No adhesive will even need to touch the skin.

 

[SweetErika]

Your kid has never worn a bandaid or tape before this? What have they used when he's gotten shots and such?

There are lots of things you can do without adhesives (you could also make use of an ace bandage or vet wrap; if you don't have these things, you might want to add them to your first aid kit), but if you're concerned about allergies, you should definitely do a couple of things:
1) Make sure you always have children's benadryl and an oral syringe on hand. It could save your son's life if he does react to something. Liquid benadryl for you probably isn't a bad idea, either.

2) Talk to your son's doctor about allergy testing and getting an EpiPen prescribed. Again, you may want to also do this for yourself if you could have potentially fatal allergies.

 

[sunandshadow]

It's relatively easy to test for an allergy - you could cut a little oiece off of a bandaid and put it on an uninjured area of skin. But, personally I never thought bandaids were that great of an idea, they restrict bloodflow and oxygen and you can re-injure an area just with the force needed to pull the bandaid off.

 

[MsGoodBody]

.....

 

[cryforme1v]

Your kid has never worn a bandaid or tape before this? What have they used when he's gotten shots and such?

There are lots of things you can do without adhesives (you could also make use of an ace bandage or vet wrap; if you don't have these things, you might want to add them to your first aid kit), but if you're concerned about allergies, you should definitely do a couple of things:
1) Make sure you always have children's benadryl and an oral syringe on hand. It could save your son's life if he does react to something. Liquid benadryl for you probably isn't a bad idea, either.

2) Talk to your son's doctor about allergy testing and getting an EpiPen prescribed. Again, you may want to also do this for yourself if you could have potentially fatal allergies.

i've never heard of an EpiPen, i'll be asking the doc about it in on monday, when he has his yearly physical. I'll also ask about the allergy testing.
When he gets shots, i warned them about my allergy to adhesives so they generally just put the gauze on it and had him or myself hold it for about 10 minutes per. I also never took him to the actual dr for his shots, i generally take him to WICC or the court house for his immunizations. Theres only been 1 time he had to have blood drawn at the hospital, and even then they didnt put a band-aid over it, just had me hold the gauze on.
I guess i should have asked then but at the time i was more worried about him being sick than about the shot.

 

[cryforme1v]

2) EpiPen prescribed. Again, you may want to also do this for yourself if you could have potentially fatal allergies.

The only thing that i'm allergic to, that i am aware of, is tape. I've never had any food allergies or anything. Surprizingly i dont even have allergies to plants / animals or pollen. No offense to anyone with allergies but its kind of ironic that people with normal nostrils / sinus ducts have allergies and i dont.

 

[Gangrif]

My wife has this same allergy, though, i think slightly less severe that yours.


Have you tried plastic band-aids vs. cloth band-aids? With my wife, its only the adhesive used in cloth band-aids that cause her any problems. The plastic band-aids must use a different adhesive.


As for your kid's possible issue. It is definitely possible that he's inherited your least favourite qualities, like the band-aid allergy, but it's also likely that it wont be an instant issue. Personally, I'd give it a shot, and keep a very close eye on it.

 

[NomadLady]

I am really allergic to adhesive from band-aids and bandages n such - normal tape doesnt seem to bother me because its not on my skin for an extended period of time. But the reaction i have to band-aids/bandages is it blisters where the adhesive is and as soon as the band-aid/bandage is taken off, the skin goes with it. I dont get hives just really big blisters.
My son scraped up his knee pretty good tonight, chasing the dogs outside, he slipped n fell and he's got a good sized scrape on his knee.
I cleaned it up the best i could with him yelling at me not to touch it. I put neosporin on it but i'm kind of apprehensive about putting a band-aid on it - what if he has an allergic reaction similar or even worse than what i have?
My mom keeps telling me it'll be ok, just keep an eye on it and if it even starts to turn red around the tape, to take it off.
I'm just worried that if he does have a reaction,he's so small-he's only 5, that his reaction could potentially be worse than mine.

I'm the only one in my family that has sensitive skin to adhesive bandages and tape. I've had water blisters from bandages just like you described.

 

[hammer79]

Most band-aids have latex in them. Maybe try latex free band-aids

 

[NippleMuncher]

I tend to have more problem with the plastic bandages than the elastic/cloth ones.

You might try getting some of that Ace Bandage stuff that sticks to itself. You can put gauze over the injury and wrap it with the Ace stuff. It's kind of expensive, but you can cut it, unlike the elastic type, and it's equally reusable.

 

[favoritesgoddess]

My husband is too. He had gall bladder surgery and the scars from the operation are far less noticeable than the ones from the tape they used.

They do make non-allergenic tape, though.

 

[fuckmeat]

Like others have said, get something hypoallergenic and then patch test a small amount on a healthy area of skin. If nothing comes up in 24hrs, he should be fine. If you ask your pharmacist about hospital grade dressings, rather than branded band-aids and similar products, they should be able to supply you with something latex free and far less likely to irritate your son's skin.

Using gauze bandage and tape avoids sticking anything to the skin but most 5yr olds will wriggle out of a bandage in no time flat.

Having said all that, it would be a shame to go to all this trouble if your son actually has no sensitivity to band-aids. You should talk to your doctor about a safe way of assessing whether he's allergic.

 

[NomadLady]

I tend to have more problem with the plastic bandages than the elastic/cloth ones.

You might try getting some of that Ace Bandage stuff that sticks to itself. You can put gauze over the injury and wrap it with the Ace stuff. It's kind of expensive, but you can cut it, unlike the elastic type, and it's equally reusable.

this stuff is called Coban...works great for people sensitive skin!!!

 

[Aurantica]

There are some band-aids that are latex free too, which is probably what youre reacting to . If all else fails, theres this papery tape stuff made for cuts that I find to be even more comfortable than a band aid. You can get it in drugstores.