dd has plaster allergy - even hypoallergenic ones - anything else we can use?

[basildonbond]

dd has got progressively more allergic to plasters and is now allergic to normal fabric ones, hypoallergenic ones and micropore tape. I thought she was ok with the gel-type plasters (hydrocolloidal) but she's now become allergic to those as well. She fell over in school the other day and has a large weeping graze on her arm but we can't put anything on it without her coming up in red weals which itch like crazy

Is there anything else we can use?

The only other thing she's allergic to is jellyfish - and she's very allergic to them (and of course is a jellyfish magnet ...)

Sorry - no help but watching with interest.

you used to be able to get spray on plasters, no idea what's in it, but might be worth asking at a pharmacy?

I'm allergic to plasters, If needed then I use a bandaged

Dd can't have plasters, we use salon dry antiseptic spray and leave open to the air.

Savlon not salon!

Yep - bandage or tubi grip thing over a dressing.

Ds is allergic to all sticky dressings and has to be bandaged if he has a wound which needs keeping clean. We havent found anything which doesn't bring him out in hives yet.

Could she tolerate one of those spray-on plaster products?

Have you tried one of those white square dressings - shiny on the inside so it won't stick held in place with tubi grip or a bandage?

DD and DH are allegic to fabric plasters but so far are ok with the other kinds.

DH once got a facial injury playing sport - he didn't know he was allergic to plasters then and the doctor put a big one on his face. The reaction to the plaster ended up being a lot worse than the injury it was used on.

Mepore is very good, but not cheap. Most pharmacies, especially independent ones will be able to order it or look online or Tesco pharmacy. Don't think that Boots stocks it. Quite expensive but my dc has severe plaster allergy and is okay with this.

Alternatively, piece of gauze with micropore tape (much cheaper, and easy to get hold off, but not sterile of course).

thanks for the suggestions

I'll look into mepore - micropore tape is no good - it gives her (and me) weeping blisters which are worse than the original injury!

Dd v reluctant to try spray plaster - she reckons it must be full of chemicals and suspects she might be even more allergic ...

she's gone to bed with a gauze pad and stretchy bandage to try to stop it getting knocked which is all my first aid cupboard could come up with

As they are quite expensive, I would buy one first and maybe check it on yourself. This is the information given by mepore:

Adhesive border with non-adherent pad for wounds

- Absorbent dressing for low to moderately exuding wounds
- Skin-friendly water-based, solvent free adhesive
- Provides a gentle but secure fixation
- Air permeable

Areas of use
Mepore® can be used in a wide variety of wounds which have low to moderate exudate levels. These include surgical wounds, cuts and grazes.
How Mepore works
The porous structure of the nonwoven fabric ensures air and water vapour permeability.
The fabric is stretchable, conforms well to body contours and allows body movements when in place.
The fabric is non-absorbent and provides a barrier for blood and fluid strike-through.
The polyacrylate adhesive has been designed to be gentle to the skin but at the same time provide secure fixation.
The wound pad can absorb moderate amounts of wound fluids and the low-adherent surface reduces the risk of adherence to the wound.
The easy-to-remove protection foil permits sterile application, as well as simplifying dressing application.

Design
Mepore is made of an elastic, non-absorbent nonwoven coated with a skin- friendly polyacrylate adhesive.
The absorbent wound pad has a low adherent polyolefin coating to prevent trauma during dressing changes.
The dressing area is protected with a release liner.

Alternatively you can look for Tegaderm (pretty sure that Boots sells it) but you may want them to demonstrate how to use it.

DS (2.5yo) is the same, unfortunately he has kidney problems and has had to have lots of operations, he is even allergic to the theatre drapes, I have to remind them to flip them over before they put them on him and he can only have his eyes taped closed with mepore, not the gel ones they usually use.

He is okish with mepore, C-view is also a good one, theres another one too but I cant remember the name of it sorry.

Info about tegaderm

Tbh I'll be careful with that, could be allergic to the adhesive

tegaderm! thats the one I was thinking of, I knew it had green on the packaging, C-view has purple.

latex ? any problems in that area?

Can I slightly hijack? My DS (2.3 years) refused to go to sleep last night because he wanted a plaster like his friend in nursery. So I put one on his belly.

This morning when I took it off where the sticky part was was very red. Not bumpy, no rash, just completely red, the middle part of the plaster left no redness at all.

Do you think he is allergic? What does it look like in your DC? (genuinely sorry to hijack) but you all are very experienced in plaster allergies).

DS used to be very allergic to plasters. A plaster on his finger would result in his arm swelling up and glowing red. Fortunately he has grown out of it now somehow. However, when he was 8 and his allergy was at its highest he had to have major brain surgery. The ward staff were great and used dressings that he wasn't allergic to. The anaesthetist visited us on the ward the night before his op and took notes from us about him, including his allergy.

Next morning I went down with him to theatre. I waited until he was put under - awful - and then I watched in horror as the nurses stuck plasters on him to keep various sensors and lord knows what attached to him. I said 'He's allergic to those, it's in his notes' and they looked at me as if I was speaking Klingon. They did remove them and used something else but there was a lot of tutting and sighing going on. I wondered what was the point of us telling the anaesthetist and then what would've happened if we hadn't been there. His notes were absolutely ignored. What if they had said he was a haemophiliac?

If your DD ever has to go into hospital and she's still allergic please go with her!!

With my dc, the area under the plaster gets red and very soggy and then becomes a big open wound (bigger than the plaster area). This even happened with the tiny plaster GPs put on after a vaccination, ended up with a wound of approx 1.5 inch by 1.5 inch which took a long time to heal.

I can tolerate tape/plasters for a short while and no elastoplast at all. Came up in a big blister/burn from a nicotine patch once, for me it's definitely the adhesive rather than the dressing part.

I would go for a dressing and a bandage if it really needs something. Something like NA Ultra (very non-sticky fine mesh, great stuff) with gauze on top for absorbency.

It was very red. A red rectangle with a small skin coloured rectangle in the middle where the fabric part of the plaster was.

Oh dear, it probably was an allergic reaction. Ive googled. Who'd have thought people could be allergic to plasters?

Does a graze need a plaster? I was told to leave my rather massive horrid graze open to the air.
Ds is just a bit sensitive not like you describe but I just use bandage cut to size and wrapped round eg finger, toe, foot and secured with tape over the outside so no skin contact
Or maybe look into wet wound healing with eg lanolin if not allergic to that

Dd1 will not use plasters at all, we actually haven't found it an issue. Usually the wound heals much quicker than dd2 who has plasters for every tiny scratch.