December 2015 Moms

Reaction to epidural adhesive

Anyone else have a reaction to the adhesive they use with an epidural? The epidural itself worked great - took away the pain and left enough sensation to move my legs a bit and I could feel when to push. 3 days later I feel pretty good but I broke out in a rash on my back where they had used adhesive. Kind of itchy so trying itch creams. They said i could take benedryl but worried about that affecting my milk supply. Anyone have a similar issue?

Re: Reaction to epidural adhesive

  • I have an adhesive allergy and knew I'd have issues. The best I could suggest is have someone help make sure you get it completely off your skin so there's nothing there to react to and let it heal.
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  • Try some basic cortisone cream, if you're not already. I've always been told to pat dry rashes when you get out of the shower and not rub them dry like we may normally. Time will heal a rash though.
  • I had a massive allergic reaction to the adhesive they used on my steri strips for my c section. They prescribed benadryl and Sarna cream, which is just a little stronger than hydrocortizone. The benadryl hasn't affected my milk supply.
  • You can get benadryl spray to apply to the skin if you don't want to take it orally. You could also ask if another antihistamine like claritin would work. I think claritin takes a week to build to Max effectiveness though. I get "benadryl hangovers" so I typically try to avoid it but it is probably the fastest for a rash.
  • I broke out in a rash from my steristrips (c section.) Took them off two days ago and rash still there. Doctor said to use calamine lotion. I have no helpful info, just saying I feel your pain!!!
  • Reactine or I think it's Zyrtec in the US (cetirizine) is better for skin itch than Claritin when it comes to 24-hr non drowsy antihistamines and is safe for short term use during breastfeeding!
    Cortisone cream is a much more effective topical choice than topical Benadryl...topical Benadryl really doesn't work very well at all
  • Thanks for the ideas! Never even occurred to me to worry about it. Now I'm curious as to what exactly the adhesive was so I can add it to my allergy list. My only known allergy is sulfa meds.
  • I just wanted to add that while safe during bf Claritin and zyrtec still have a chance of deminishing supply. I take both and have been warn about this by my doctors.

    You may be able to call the hospital and find out from them what was most likely used but in my experience there are many types of medical tapes and bandages and each has slightly varied formulations for their adhessive. Some may cause a reaction and others won't. I don't know that it'd add it to your list of allergies just yet but definitely be aware of it.
  • I'm allergic to adhesives normally so this is pretty much my life if I keep a band-aid on for longer than a day. I try to give the rash air to breathe and hydrocortisone cream is my best friend
  • @mizuiro007 I was really concerned about antihistamines and BF, since I have such bad allergies. Anyway, antihistamines and BF was literally my first question to my OB 1st trimester. My OB said in his opinion some breastfeeding groups fear monger and that it was unlikely to be that significant of an issue but that if I did have supply issues we could work out a taper down to build supply and taper back up to therapeutic before spring allergy season got going. 

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