hi i had mastectomy on 6th with reconstruction. all fine better than expected. but have had reaction to dressings. no where near scare under the boob itself if can understand. a district nurse comes daily and redresses it. Fri saw consultant he said let air get to it now and again and just tape gauze over it didn’t want to give antibiotics. sat let air get to it pulled tape off holding gauze and skin came off as well had no idea how to hold it on .called on call nurse out she was gt said agreed let air get to it we somehow got a bra on with expander at back so held all in place without tape. said no smell so no infection. sun yet another nurse disagreed to letting air to it said germs in air now looks infected. i just want to clear it up then will feel better. if i had same nurse back she would see difference but on other hand nice to have another opinion. totally confused at whats best as nothing has been given time to work yet… back to hospital Fri. just seems to be ongoing no better. also now wearing bra fluid is being pushed to other parts no pain uncomfortable even harder to do exercises. just wondering anyone else had similar experience. thanks in advance and happy Xmas to all
Hello
I had a reaction to anything sticky on dressings. The plastic surgeon, when I saw her (I had problems healing anyway and had frequent visits to clinic for several months) said the dressings were tearing my skin. At first I just put wads of gauze inside my bra without tape (I wore a camisole with built in support when I went to bed) which was okayish although they slid around and I would often end up with staining on my bra. She then gave me silicone dressings which were great - they just cling to your skin comfortably without anything gluey, and they’re very absorbent. They are quite expensive, and afterwards I had had to get some on prescription. They came as squares of about 6" which I cut to size.
Hope you get some joy on Friday.
Best wishes and happy xmas.
I am allergic to some of the dressings as well but I have had so many breast ops, we know which ones I’m allergic to now and don’t use them! I also come out in an angry red rash that looks like an infection but isn’t. The hospital now uses clear dressings, which are sort of like big sheets of sticky silicone. I also seem to be ok with micropore tape and gauze but the sticky fabric tape is a big no-no, likewise anything that’s been brushed with silver nitrate solution. Have they swab tested the redness to verify there’s no infection? It’s definitely worth just double-checking that because antibiotic cream can be given if there’s any doubt.
The fluid you have will disperse eventually but if it’s very painful, you should mention it to the hospital as you can have a little drained off. I know they don’t like doing this too often because of the risk of infection but if it’s very painful they will. Keep up the exercises 