Try paper tape.

I have the same problem with bandage adhesive especially in more sensitive areas on my body. I don't know where you live, Share, but if you have CVS pharmacies near you they have a whole line of hypoallergenic bandages...one being a Non Stick and another referred to as having Foam Adhesive. I haven't tried either but from their description, they sound like they might do the trick.

I, also, second ritamay's suggestion for paper tape. I've used it with success but it doesn't adhere as well as we might like. I've also had success with a form of silk tape that most medical facilities use. When I find a "success" I stock up so I don't know if the silk tape is still available to the OTC public.

It sounds as though your surgery area is really too stressed right now to be trying any new products. If it's possible, try just tying a piece of gauze over a non stick gauze pad to keep the area covered. I've done that with success, too.

I empathize. It's a rotten allergy to have and for the future...when you don't have to be concerned about a wound...then try different types of bandages to see what works for you. I've had some luck with a Care One fabric bandage lately. I don't know what the adhesive is[I thinks it's a silicon product] but I've had little to no reaction to it when used on my hands/fingers. I don't know what it would do in a more delicate area.

Good luck.

Have you tried this?

Yes I do have CVS here (lots of them!). The store I was at today wasn't a drug store so their selection was probably lacking. I will stop at CVS on my way home!

I haven't seen paper tape - will check that out at CVS too.

Now that I know of this allergy - I will definitely stock up on what I find works. It's just so odd - I had a major leg scrape last spring on vacation and had to put massive bandages on my leg - and no reaction at all.

A week after my first dr appt I got a flu shot - they put a regular bandage on that and I had zero reaction. So odd.

I haven't tried that Nexcare tape but that's the brand of the waterproof bandages we had on hand. They didn't say anything about being hypoallergenic though so this is probably made differently.

Thanks for the HELPFUL info! I appreciate all of it!

I was once in the hospital and had a pressure bandage firmly attached with adhesive tape, which caused huge, oozing blisters. Now even some bandaids can cause irritation. I use silk tape, as someone else mentioned.

DH uses paper tape but his favorite is a self adhesive bandage - it sticks to itself. It's easy to use on fingers,arms or legs, and once he even wrapped it around his mid-section to cover a small incision.

It's available in different widths and on Amazon too.

https://www.cvs.com/shop/cvs-health-self-adherent-gentle-wrap-4-prodid-265994

Well this is on an area that couldn't be wrapped... not sure if I'll get edited so I'll say it's under my bra lol

Band-aid adhesive topical allergies are common. Another option is to use the self-adhesive bandage wraps. The tape that Winter mentioned is typically made of polyester.

It's a good idea to test out each product, typically the inner arm is used.

"I had 2 moles removed. One was biopsied, the other was not."

I'm not quite sure what you mean when you say one was biopsied but the other wasn't. From what I understand, any time something is removed from your body it must be sent to pathology. (Obviously, bullets don't go to pathology - they go to the local PD.)

At any rate, I, too, developed an allergy to bandage adhesive. I'm not really sure when the allergy developed, or why, but it manifested itself in a big way. I had to have a surgical biopsy of a lump in my left breast. Several years earlier I'd had a surgical biopsy of a lump in my right breast (it was benign), and the same surgeon was doing the biopsy of the lump in my left breast. The incision was closed with Steristrips. I'd had Steristrips previously on more than one occasion, always without issue. And, as before, I was told not to get them wet for 48 hours; and that they would fall off on their own in five to seven days. Two days after the surgery we flew to Hawaii (previously planned vacation). Five days later, I still had several Steristrips still in place. Hubs and I were just sitting and relaxing when I said, "My boob really hurts." Yes, the biopsied boob. Took a look at it and was shocked to see that the area around the incision that was still under the Steristrips was ulcerated. It had been fine earlier that day! But now it was a freaking painful mess. Went to the doctor there in Hawaii because we were still going to be there for several more days. And, of course, went to see the surgeon as soon as we got home. I ended up having to use some sort of ointment or cream (can't recall now exactly what it was) that ostomy patients use around their incisions. I also had to put directly on the wound several layers of gauze pads that had been soaked in hot, hot water, covered with several more layers of dry gauze pads. Had to do that routine several times a day. It took a couple of months for the area to completely heal. And, ever since then, I can't even tolerate a bandaid for more than one minute before my skin turns red.

So, ever since then whenever I need a bandage, I get sterile gauze pads held on with self-adhesive bandage. This is easiest if it's needed on a finger, toe, wrist, ankle, arm, or leg, but it can be done really anywhere - it just might take some creative wrapping! This stuff comes in a lot of different colors, and is stretchy.

"Well this is on an area that couldn't be wrapped... not sure if I'll get edited so I'll say it's under my bra lol"

Yeah, so was mine! And what I did to avoid the tape was to just wear a bra 24 hours a day to keep the gauze pads in place.

Adhesive is an evolving substance. I have always been sensitive but the newer adhesives are really a problem for me. Band-Aids on my hands aren't much of a problem but anyplace else and I am going to get a rash. That clear surgical bandaging is the worst-they employ two different adhesives and the stuff on the outer edges causes many people blistering. Nasty. I always tell doctors I am sensitive and they give me special bandages or they use the self adhesive if they can.

I'll have a rashy reaction to a bandaid too - I can just about get away with one on my finger or a toe for a few days but really, no where else on my body. I will usually use gauze or cut the cushioned part from a bandaid and apply with steri strips. I do not react to steri strips and always keep a supply here.. 3M Company

One time, I put a band-aid on some sort of a sore and the adhesive made two horrible sores. It ended up being much worse than the sore I had initially wanted to cover...HA! It really did make a terrible rash!

My original thought, before the reference to the bra area appeared was as follows. If on an arm or leg, gauze over the affected area and somewhat beyond, to cover the area where tape caused trouble earlier, then have heavy paper to cover the rest of the area around the limb, and paper or packaging or masking tape to hold the whole thing in place, hoping it won't slide too far out of its original location. A fairly large area of gauze should help with that.

Some long-term participants here will remember ole joyful's trouble with his ancient lower-level undies, the ones not held up by shoulders, whose elastics had become slack with age, causing them to slip downwards, to his discomfiture. And his having got some narrow elastic strip yardage at the fabric store which took care of his problem: maybe such might help with yours, though it might have difficulty related to hills and vallies being in inconvenient places. Recently he has found some where there are strips across the tape which strongly resist bowing, which helps.

Recently in dealing with temporary storage of the product that a catheter delivers, he's been attaching a bag to his leg for daily storage.

One system for holding that bag in place was an about 5/8" elastic band with narrow slots spaced all along the middle and a tie with flat pads top and bottom and a narrow waist which one could slip through a slot and then another anywhere along the band to hold the bag snugly anywhere along one's leg.

More recently, an elastic band about 5/8" wide with a hook pad about 3/4" long at one end, about 6" of elastic, then three pads of loops each a bit under 6" long with a short space of elastic band between them. One would need more than one end to end, to encircle one's body. (For "hook and loop" read branded name "Velcro").

Good wishes for getting yourself effectively and appropriately "stuck up", share oh ... or was that a saying when you were in High School?

ole joyful ... long years beyond High School

There's a popular brand of adhesive bandage here that comes in bandaid size pieces ready to use, and in a roll so you can cut off the size piece you want. It was often used in hospitals as the backing is fabric and sturdier than plastic BandAids. But DH and DD are both sensitive to the adhesive.

I had a physiotherapist bandage up my shoulder with special tape to get it to stay in the right position, but after two days the adhesive caused a reaction that made my skin get all red and rashy. A similar thing happened with my foot, though that got even worse and the rashy part became ulcerated. So I have to avoid that product now.

I too have that darn allergy. I have found that my body tolerates the Meijer brand. Got my second Shingrix shot today and took off the bandaid as soon as I left the pharmacy.

I also have a problem with the elastic in bras, so no to those, glad it doesn't seem to bother me with the underwear elastic!

I just had that same problem with bandages and tape on my lower neck/collar bone area. I was surprised by it as I didn’t think I had any allergies but it cleared up fairly quickly. I started cutting off most of the tape so it just barely stuck.

WHAT you told her you were allergic--she KNOWS this happens (my DH is too) and she still put adhesive bandage on you!?!?! I would make a call to the supervisor. That's not correct procedure!!! DHs is MINIMAL but when he had his surgery they were SUPER careful from the take that held the IV to the bandages after....you need to report this. Allergies have a way of increasing sensitivity over time..it could still be building you need to be careful.

Yes, I am allergic to tapes. Only one I can use it a paper type tape and still can not have it on very long or I flare up.

The nurse was right, at least in our case. Recently my DH was in the hospital and the adhesive in their bandages blistered his skin. At home he uses Band-Aid brand waterproof bandages and he’s never had any kind of a reaction. He has a medical patch and leaves it covered with the bandages all the time so his exposure to the adhesive is consistent.

I'm allergic to the adhesives, but not latex. I have to use paper tape, and even then I can't leave that on very long.

For band-aids, I use some from whole foods, as they are latex free and don't both me as some others do.

As I've aged, my skin has thinned to the point that I can no longer wear a bandaid with any kind of adhesive. I must use a non-stick gauze pad and attach it with a

self adherent cohesive wrap bandage". Otherwise, I'll pull the skin right off. It's a major pain!

That sounds horrible, Anglophilia! :(

I too have the allergies to all types of adhesives....

Like Anglophilia, my skin has thinned from taking Prednisone for an Immune System condition. Although it doesn't normally lift the skin off, it does create red welts (like a hickey) that takes weeks to go away. I get blood tests to monitor my condition each month and always remind the nurses to not use tape or bandages. Thank Goodness I do no have an allergy to any adhesives (knock on wood). Sucks!

By Fri evening I had about an inch long open wound under where the tape was! It was worse than the stitches!

I ended up using the Nexcare tape that mdln posted above. My dh went to the drug store (not CVS) and talked to the pharmacist. It's working great so far! I use the bare minimum and all weekend I went without anything while I was home.

Good to know I'm not alone in having an allergy that I've never had before.

As for the nurse - I have no idea why she put the regular bandaid on me after I told her that. When I get my stitches out if they try to put one on me then I will absolutely refuse it.

As mentioned above, the NexCare's line of sensitive skin bandages do the trick if you don’t need a gauze pad with their paper tape.

There is a product that is very useful to protect delicate or already irritated skin (from things like adhesives, incontinence, and so forth). It is called Cavilon No Sting barrier film (made by 3M) - a wipe on liquid that creates a layer of non-allergic (in my years of using it, never saw a reaction to it, but of course it is possible!) film that separates the skin from the irritant. I've seen it provide considerable relief from pain and protection from further irritation. It became my practice to never apply any adhesive without applying this first, because most of my patients had thin, delicate or already irritated skin. It also does not have to be removed. It does have to be reapplied with every new tape application.

I would guess that you would have to go to a pharmacy that is well stocked with home care supplies or that functions as a medical supply source to buy it locally. It can be ordered from Amazon also.

Similar product is Skin Prep, but that burns like the dickens on already irritated skin - avoid it!

3M also makes a very gentle silicon based tape called Kind, I think (it is blue in color). Don't know if it is available for home consumers, though.