Band-aid rash won't heal.

Two weeks ago, DD2 was bitten by a mosquito on her face- three bites in a row, on the same cheek. She would not leave them alone and kept picking at her face, so I covered them with a band-aid (curad brand). A day later, I went to change it to find that it had left a huge rectangular rash. So I washed her face, discontinued the band-aids, and have been applying cortizone cream to her cheek.
It's not helping. The rash looks awful, inflammed, and bright red. Is there anything else I can be doing for her? How long do these things usually take to heal?

This has happened to dd. I'd stop the cortisone cream to see if it helps. I usually just apply a little aquaphor.

I have no medical background so you may want to take what I say with a grain of salt. :)

good luck
Kim
ds&dd 5/03

I get a rash when I use a band-aid that has latex in it. Now I only but Latex free.

HTH

Colleen

She could have had a reaction to the adhesive on the band-aid. My guess is that it is a chemical burn, though it could be an allergy also.

My DH reacted to the adhesive on a maintenance drug which came in patch form. It took several weeks for the rash to heal.

I'd make sure to mention this to your doc.

Don't mess around with this. The same thing happened to me and ended up being a latex rash. Mine turned into cellulitis. I would contact the ped and see what they say. In the meantime, for me, I discovered that not all bandaids are the same, even within brands. The stretchy fabric ones I cannot use, they caused my rash. But I can use other kinds of bandaids, like the band-aid clear. You may be able to switch the type of bandaid. But I'd call the doc.

My mom has this issue. She once had a mole removed, and it healed just fine. She had a terrible time getting the bandaid rash to clear up though! She ended up doing a course of prednisone I think.

I hope you can find something that works for your little one.

:hug:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brittone2

My mom has this issue. She once had a mole removed, and it healed just fine. She had a terrible time getting the bandaid rash to clear up though! She ended up doing a course of prednisone I think.

I hope you can find something that works for your little one.

:hug:

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omg, the exact same thing happened to me, horrible bandaid rash after having mole removed. once i discovered it was the bandaid causing rash i just let it air out and used no more bandaids...it took awhile, i think i just used neosporin once a day & aquaphor whenever it felt funny.

charlie was addicted to bandaids for a bit and it would happen to him, if he he HAS to wear bandaids i make sure to go bandaid-free at night so let the area get some rest.

hugs alicia, poor E.

if it's not healing, it does need to be looked at, mostly for the r/o cellulitis/dermatitis reasons already listed. that and they may be able to prescribe something to make her a little more comfortable sooner.

but she also should probably be flagged for a possible latex OR adhesive allergy for her records (make sure to mention it again if she ever needs a cast or tape on her skin for a procedure too). localized reactions like this can and do sometimes worsen and can even turn anaphalactic with time/repeated exposure.

for the future, you may need to switch to a bandage made from something like a semi-permeable film for boo-boo's (try something like this - you can get them at target or the grocery): http://www.drugstore.com/products/pr...BUY-PLST-0-CAT)
or this (also should be available at target or the grocery): http://www.drugstore.com/products/pr...52&catid=44601

they're generally much less likely to have latex in them and have less reactive adhesives since they were developed from wound care dressings. altho, some commercial bandages have latex in the packaging, even if it's not in the bandage itself, just something to be aware of if it does turn out to be a true latex allergy. if she's still having problems, you may need to go all the way to a specialized wound dressing like Tegaderm or Bioclusive and just make your own 'bandaid' by adding a little bit of cotton gauze in the middle underneath for absorption. other options (wouldn't have worked for her face, but would work for a finger or a shin in the future) is just to wrap some cotton guaze with a latex-free version of Coban wrap (make sure it's the latex-free version b/c regular Coban has latex). it's a sports/bandage wrap that's self-adhesive. you can get it in hot pink ;).

if they think it's the adhesive, you can get skin prep wipes that put down a waterproof/adhesive protectant coating on the skin before you apply the bandage so that the adhesive can't irritate the skin as easily (these you probably have to special order from a wound care or medical supply company). some people with really sensitive skin react just as strongly to these coatings as they do the adhesives tho, so try a small patch test first. some of the new liquid bandages also work well for people with adhesive allergies - both J&J - bandaid brand and 3M - liquid bandage are widely available and don't sting like NewSkin.

hope that helps!
lori

I had a similar issue, except I used Nascar bandaids that I didn't know were waterproof. I think I ripped some of DS's skin off with the bandaid, as he wanted it on there for several days (there was really no owie to speak of, but he wanted it). That was in July, and I can still see somewhat of a white scar. First it scabbed over thickly. Others suggested either an adhesive or latex allergy. Yours sounds more like an allergy b/c of the puffiness. I'm surprised cortisone isn't working? Don't you hate it when the bandaid leaves more of a mark than the thing you were trying to cover!