To go to A&E?

[Chocolattay]

I’ve never had any kind of reaction to anything before.

Went for lunch at a cafe with my friend and our babies. Used the hand sanitizer (alcohol based) in the toilet and instant agony, hand swelling up. I was in there 5 minutes biting my lip in pain and soaking my hand under cold water. My friend ended up in coming in and checking on me as she’d started to wonder why I had been so long.

Had to ring DH to be picked up as pushing the pram was agony.

Been home an hour now and am still in so much pain. My hands are swollen and red and bleeding in places. When I say it’s agony I mean it. Having read up online, alcoholic hand sanitisers don’t usually cause allergic reactions and it’s more likely to be a chemical burn.

WIBU to go to minor injuries? I’m in that much pain I can’t tend to my baby.

My rule is if I consider going I need to go. Otc antihistamines are so weak compared to what you can get prescription.

Could be allergic reaction, could be chemical burn. I’d keep irrigating it with cool water. Don’t put anything on it. A&E for assessment.
Don’t touch your face, or your baby. Can you get someone to look after baby? And be careful going to the loo that your hands don’t touch or transfer via loo paper!

DD had a burn like this from some baby wipes at nursery and I had to take her to A&E - she needed steroid cream, antibiotics and it dressed properly. So definitely go.

DS2 had that kind of reaction to anything with a certain preservative in it - I remember putting him in the bath once, with a blob of bubble bath, not realising it had the preservative in, and he screamed - I picked him up, and his entire lower body was red!

If we used the wrong wipes, his bum would go immediately red and cracked and bleeding - it was frightening!

That definitely needs medical attention.
I'd go to minor injury walk in centre first over A&E though.

You need to go to the hospital and the cafe needs to remove the sanitiser and do whatever reporting they need to do to work out what was in it, and to make sure it never happens again to someone else.

Jeez go to A&E. that looks painful

@MotherOfCrocodiles

Go to a and E but also tell the cafe! What if someone accidentally put bleach in there? They need warning

Exactly my thoughts. This may not have been hand sanitizer.

The cafe needs to be informed too, I wonder how many this has happened to?

I would phone the cafe and ask them to take a photo of the ingredients and send it to you, before going to A&E.

Good grief, yes I'd be in my way to minor injuries.

Get him home and get yourself there!!!

A normal system where if you need to see a doctor, you can without speaking to a call centre operative, nurse or pharmacist or being guilt trippedon the internet.

Also if anything dodgy, hospital will notify HSE who are actually funded and efficient

I'd ditto, getting a list of the ingredients before you go to hospital so they can cross reference them.

Sorry if someone's asked, did you get a chance to take a picture of the bottle of the sanitiser, so you could show to medics.

Very much cross posted there!

Minor injuries is generally staffed by nurses. They would not have the knowledge, competence or qualifications to do anything but refer to ED, an incompetent nurse would dress and discharge.

Looks really painful OP. I hope you are getting seen now.

Looks like a chemical burn rather than an allergy.

Are you prone to allergic reactions?
Either through contact, inhalation or ingestion?
Was the soap heavily perfumed?

If you do not usually react to stuff &/or do not have antihistamines to hand, I agree with pps to go to the local minor injuries unit/A&E for a diagnosis & treatment plan.

I would go to minor injuries not A&E. You won't get any different treatment at minor injuries than A&E and you will likely have a shorter wait.

I hope OP is being seen ,looks so painful .

@PollyPage

Minor injuries is generally staffed by nurses. They would not have the knowledge, competence or qualifications to do anything but refer to ED, an incompetent nurse would dress and discharge.

This is just not true. The nurses are trained in minor injuries (which this is) most likely you'd be triaged at A&E and dealt with by a nurse

If the cafe just refill bottles (a lot of places do this) then someone may have put the wrong thing in the bottle so you should definitely get it checked out.

Have you gone to A&E op?

You don't actually know what was in the container you used. It could have been swapped with anything. COVID has brought out proper headcases.