Irritation with evorel patches

[DownByTheLakeWhereTheWatermelonsGrow]

I've been on evorel patches for about six months. Generally fine but have had increasing irritation everytime. I'll attach a photo of today, this was taken 12 hours after I'd removed the patch! It's so sore and itchy the day or two before changing.

Has anyone had experience of this and had more success with other methods of delivery?

They didn’t bother me too much when they were on but always left a mark so my skin looked like a patchwork quilt and I’d run out of fresh skin to put new ones on. I switched to gel and it’s been so much better for me.

I wanted to keep using patches for various reasons and like you developed terrible itching with them.

my GP gave me a steroid asthma inhaler to spray on the area before solving the patches and it made all the difference

I shared this tip on here previously hoping to help someone else and the outrage and vitriol was extraordinary

I was also fine to start with using evorel patches, but then they started causing irritation which got increasingly worse. I then switched to estradot patches instead which were fine. Could you ask your GP if you could try those instead, OP?

Yes, I ended up with rashes every time I used them. I’ve changed to coil and spray which is working well.
Someone one here gave a tip about the sticky residue that gets left on your skin… when you take the old patch off, use that to remove the sticky patches by rubbing it over them. That worked brilliantly- no more giraffe legs when I was still using the patches!

I had to switch to gel, I’m allergic to plasters so it wasn’t a surprise I became allergic to the patches eventually.

I used to have the estradot patches but found I couldn’t get them on prescription and was often given the everol patches.

They would cause irritation and often not stick well. I was changed over to the gel as not absorbing enough from the everol patches.
The trouble is the gel takes a few mins to dry each morning.

I get slight irritation from Evorel and would love to go back to Estradot, not just because they don't irritate but they are so much smaller, but I can't see them ever being available in the UK again as the Serious Shortage Protocol which started in 2024 has just been extended again to January 2027.😭

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/pharmacies-gp-practices-and-appliance-contractors/serious-shortage-protocols-ssps

That looks really sore. Before giving up on patches it's worth checking the application rules, because a few of them are easy to miss. The Evorel product information says to put each new patch on a different spot below the waist and leave at least a week before using the same area again. No cream, moisturiser or talc on that skin beforehand, and keep it away from the waistband or anywhere tight clothing rubs. The NHS patch guidance adds skin creases and skin that's been in direct sun. For the leftover glue, the Evorel information suggests baby oil rather than scrubbing.

If it still happens after all that, ask your GP or pharmacist about switching. Oestrogen also comes as a gel or spray, which have no adhesive at all, and other patch brands use different adhesives, which is probably why some posters here have done better on Estradot. A rash that spreads, blisters or doesn't settle once the patch is off is worth showing to the GP or pharmacist anyway.