I have been on antibiotic for an accidental cat scratch puncture wound(bathed my kitty and forgot the clip her claws) and was using band aid sport band etc. I was itching at the site of the wounds and thought it was due to the healing. But yesterday am, I started to realize it was more than this and noticed a rash and some systemic symptoms, itching, tingling, mild throat swelling/numbness- I often get these from low bg too so it's confusing.
I have a mild latex allergy but I've never had any problem with bandaids before now. I ended up taking a benedryl and fell asleep, took off the bandaids and it seems to be recovering. I read the info and it says the "packaging" has latex in it- I'm not sure what they mean by this? Do the band aids have latex? Is it a new adhesive? I had that problem with the cgm adhesive also but it wasn't as bad as this reaction.
Are there any totally latex free band aids? For now I'm using no bandages and just antibiotic ointment.
Has anyone had this happen to them and what did you do?
I have problems with adhesives including band aids, and may have a latex allergy (I’m allergic to bananas, and my lips have gotten itchy blowing up balloons, I plan on asking my allergist about it when I see him next month), but I’ve never had anything beyond local itching and swelling. If I had a confirmed latex allergy, I would definitely avoid band aids with latex, because an allergy can become more severe the more you are exposed. I’d also consider getting an epi pen if you are having throat swelling from a minute exposure, and also adding latex allergy to your medic alert (or getting one if you don’t already wear one for diabetes).
I get a rash from latex and from Band Aids. I use Rite Aid brand bandages, which are latex-free. I hate rashes--now with poison ivy season here, I don't dare rub my eyes!
Band-Aids have latex, but many other brands don't. Nexcare and my generic supermarket brand are fine. It's a matter of finding a box that says latex-free.
Curad has latex free sensitive skin bandages. I use the store brand bandages, latex free and way less expensive. Get well soon I hope you recover from both of these situations.
I appreciate it very much. I will look for the latex free bandages, I have used band aids and not had any reaction before but I buy them at costco so maybe those ones were different than the current ones. Once again I'm amazed that latex is still being used in bandages etc. I don't have a confirmed latex allergy- I had swelling in my face and throat after using latex gloves for cleaning so I basically assume I am allergic. I was wondering about an epi pen just in case. I will ask my gp or endo about that. I would be worried to inject an epi pen due to having lots of palpitations though. Fortunately I have only had one severe allergic reaction, a lot of swelling in my eyeball after something, a plant or something, got into it, but that was not life threatening in any way, but still scary.
As for bartonella, I have had my cats tested for that and it was negative so I don't think it is that, plus I have no fever etc. But cats all carry pasteurella in their mouths and claws which can cause a nasty infection. When I went to my gp they were going to give me a tetanus booster only, but it had pertussis as well as tetanus and diphtheria so I went elsewhere and that doctor, at a clinic, did a more thorough exam and said that one wound was already infected and put me on oral amoxicillin. Since both were puncture wounds I think that was best.
I found that the amoxi was also giving me symptoms so I stopped that. I always react to any minor cat scratch with a lot of swelling and itching unless I put bactine on it right away- that seems to kill off the pasteurella, so it is probably a combo of that, the latex in the band aids and or the glue and the amoxi.
I think I will be fine in a few days prolly-the rash comes back, gets worse at night so I'm using benedryl gel at night now and nothing else.
I have trouble with adhesives in general, even latex free ones, so I THINK that it is just a sensitivity to having something stuck on my skin. Like I had horrible rashes from pump sites when I used the pump, I get a rash from any bandaid I use, I get a rash from the tape they use to keep gauze on my skin after a blood draw, etc. I really don't know what to tell you other than I just wear them the least amount of time I can. This would be really hard on like a cgm or pump though but anything else wear them for the least amount of time you can.
I would be worried to inject an epi pen due to having lots of palpitations though.
I have a history of SVT which is where my heart rate sometimes goes super fast and (in the past) I have spent hours in emergency getting medications to break the rhythm. I had a severe allergic reaction to food last year where my whole body was itchy, whole torso and head were covered in hives, I was wheezing, my throat was itching, I felt sick to my stomach, and my heart was racing uncontrollably. I hesitated to use my epi-pen for a variety of reasons (thinking I was overreacting, not wanting to go to the hospital or call 911) but one of those reasons was a fear that it would trigger my heart rate, which was already racing, to go even faster. I ended up just using my inhaler and taking two Benadryl and sitting near the phone in case I felt like things were getting worse. The reaction had developed over a period of about 20 minutes but even with two Benadryl took more than two hours to finally go away. I was really lucky it didn't progress and definitely should have used my epi-pen and called 911.
I asked my cardiologist about it shortly after, and he basically said in no uncertain terms that if I ever feel like a reaction could become life-threatening (and I definitely felt that way about the one I had) I should use my epi-pen and not worry about SVT. He said if it did trigger SVT I would be in the hospital, anyway, and they would just call him. He also pointed out that SVT won't kill me but untreated anaphylaxis can.
I’ve had allergy shots recommended by my GP and two allergists, and am looking into it. Due to the risk of anaphylaxis, it can only be done for allergies to things like pollen, dust mites, and animal dander, and in some cases allergies to insect venom. So it can’t be used yet for things like latex and food allergies, as the risk of triggering a life-threatening reaction is much higher.
Omg, sounds horrible. I'm glad that he told you to use the epi pen in the future. I know someone who also has severe food allergies and he carried epi pens too. I don't know if anything is wrong with my heart a apart from the occasional irregular beat, a murmur maybe and some blood flowing back somewhere which they weren't worried about. It feels like it though, but maybe it is the insulin bringing on the palpitations with bg fluctuations. I'm going to ask about an epi pen though because whatever it is I'm allergic to seems worse since I was wearing gloves last night to do upholstery and started to feel itchy.
I was thinking to use my inhaler too on a few occasions. I think sometimes I feel it is anxiety making it worse, I start to get worried that maybe this is a severe reaction etc. or will be and I get very anxious. It is so hard to tell what is going on with allergic reactions.
My scratches are almost gone and so is the itching, I think stopping the amoxicillin helped maybe but starting it also helped to heal faster.
Dave, I have never had immunotherapy but I did have "allergy" shots of my own bacteria when I was a child to stop chronic bronchitis, and it worked for the most part.
