Allergic Reaction

reyepsf

After my mastectiny, I had an allergic reaction to my drain tubes. Supposedly, they are silicone and inert, so almost impossible. I certainly hope a silicone allergy isn't a possibility since my implants will be silicone. Does anyone know what the shell is made if? Is it just silicone? Anyway, exactly where the drains touched my sides, I had the exact same outline in whelps. It was made having thecdrains a million times worse. The whelps itches like mad. I would scratch until they bled. I know I'm very allergic to nickel. I am wondering if the drain tubing is actually rubber and includes nickel? After my c-sections over 20 years ago, I had an allergic reaction to the elastic in the compression bandage they put me in. My belly underneath it was covered in hives. Does silicone also incorporate nickel? And I can't help but wonder if, after always answering no, I could actually be allergic to latex. I have never, to my knowledge, had a reaction to latex before. And I've slept on latex mattresses for over 40 years. I'm going in for allergy testing on Tuesday to test for allergic reactions to what I might come in contact with during surgery, including anesthesia and pain killers, but I'm most interested in contact dermatitis. I ended up with a nasty rash on my back in the hospital that took weeks to completely clear up, but I can't help but wonder if that was the plastic covered pillow I was given. Or a reaction to pain meds. I doubt the hospital would use laundry detergent with Febreeze (another thing that gives me hives). Has anyone else had an allergic reaction to the drain tubes? Does anyone know what they're made of? Trying to figure out what to ask them to test for. What allergic reactions are commonplac from hospital exposure and surgical procedures, including meds? Thanks!

I read an article in the Washington Post on Rubber contact dermatitis;

"Some properties of the very chemicals that help make rubber useful also cause unpleasant reactions in susceptible people. The metal nickel is a good example. Nickel compounds are used as antioxidants, to protect rubber from the deleterious effects of exposure to air; unfortunately, sensitivity to nickel is one of the most common types of allergy."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1987/03/10/allergic-to-rubber/68d5d371-b079-448d-a951-b68fc3ff648a/?utm_term=.a09a0683cc65

NotVeryBrave

I'm not sure about the drains, but implants (saline or silicone) have a silicone outer shell. It's weird about where the drains were touching your body. What about where they actually came out? Same?

As far as hospital laundry - very harsh. It is typically washed with all kinds of chemicals to kill anything Infectious. With that kind of reaction, I would recommend taking your own sheets to lay over the hospital ones in the future.

I hope the allergist can figure out the problem. There are so many variables in a hospital - environmental, topical, medicines, stress.