HealingWell
Search Close Search
☰

What are the symptoms of an allergic reaction to the bag/wafer?

Support Forums
>
Ostomies
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply
❬ ❬ Previous Thread |Next Thread ❭ ❭
Posted 5/10/2013 9:51 PM (GMT 0)
For the last week or so, I've been suffering from prickly skin, itching, goosebumps/hives (not sure which), and chills. The prickliness and itching is all over my body, but worse on my upper body. Basically, it feels like my skin has become highly sensitised. Antihistamines haven't worked.

I would have thought an allergic reaction to the bag, seal or wafer would be localised, but I just want to make sure of that. Thanks.

Edit: The skin under the wafer doesn't really seem any worse than anywhere else, apart from soreness immediately around the stoma and a few red spots. Most of the spots are painless, but there is a small cluster of 2-3 painful red spots.

Post Edited (NiceCupOfTea) : 5/10/2013 3:54:18 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 5/10/2013 11:25 PM (GMT 0)
Are you on any meds or have you been on any new ones recently? Any aspirin derivatives or antibiotics? Could it be environmental (pollen/change of seasons?) I would think this was something other than a wafer allergy but unfortunately this type of thing is almost impossible to identify. When did this start and how long have you had it?
Posted 5/11/2013 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
I don't have an appliance allergy but I do have some contact allergies (which is the type of allergy that would occur with the appliance). They stay relatively localized to the irritant and are definitely stronger right where the "bad" thing is.

As kill said, that sounds more like another type of reaction. New drugs, new laundry detergent, new lotion? New fragrances? Reacting to a new food?

Have you tried a topical treatment (Calamine lotion, hydrocortizone lotion?) on the areas not under your ostomy? Just for symptom relief.

If it lasts any longer, I would go see a doctor.
Posted 5/11/2013 1:42 AM (GMT 0)
Check out the list of withdrawal symptoms:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opioid_dependence

You should be getting close to 30 days since your last pill...hang in there you are close!!
Posted 5/11/2013 10:47 AM (GMT 0)
No meds, no antibiotics, never had hayfever in my life, no new foods, etc. I absolutely wish/hope this is physical withdrawal symptoms, because everything else I've read on the internet is utterly discouraging. Lots of people report having prickly/itchy skin for months or even years at a time. The only thing that seems a bit unusual about my case is that I've been having some pretty severe chills - but it's not a fever.

Seeing the GP on Tuesday. Any symptomatic relief I gain from showers, creams (found some hydrocortisone cream in the bathroom cabinet), etc. is short-lived. Literally don't feel right in my own skin.

Thank you anyway, folks. Oh, I tried using a different bag, but it didn't make any difference - didn't really think it was the bag anyway.
Posted 5/11/2013 1:24 PM (GMT 0)
I had that a couple of months post op - every morning I would wake up covered in a rash that would subside a bit as the day went on. I figured out that I had developed a citrus alllergy, which made sense, because I hadn't had citrus in years before I had the surgery. Is it possible that you are now eating something that you were unable to eat when you were ill? I also had severe reactions to isopropyl alcohol under my wafer, but it was localized, as contact dermatitis often is. It was tough to get to the bottom of things because a couple of different reactions were going on for me. I really suffered for months with all of that. Under the wafer, the itching was so bad that I actually pulled the wafer off a couple of times in my sleep to get at the rash. Thankfully, sans some sensitivity and need for some cream before wafer application, I am not suffering from any of that anymore. It can really take time to sort through everything in the beginning.
Posted 5/11/2013 2:38 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks uc_free! Unfortunately my diet now is not very different to pre-surgery - still quite bland and boring most of the time. I did make an exception with a posh lunch a few days ago, but the itching had started before then.

It does often feel itchy underneath and around the wafer but no worse than anywhere else. Still annoying though...

Did you stop eating citrus or did the sensitivity go away? Oddly enough, just had a bottle of lemonade... <_<. (The pure stuff, with actual lemon juice and sugar in it, not citric acid and preservatives.)

I don't know if it's the operation itself, or the oxycodone, or a mixture of both, or something entirely unrelated, but something is playing havoc with my skin and its ability to regulate temperature - yesterday I couldn't stop shivering and the prickling was driving me insane. It's not as bad today, but then it wasn't as bad two days ago =/ I just have to hope... :-/
Posted 5/14/2013 12:58 AM (GMT 0)
I did stop eating most types of citrus.  Occasionally I will have some lemonade or something with a bit of citrus flavor, but I won't eat oranges or anything like that.  The rashes went away and I was glad to be rid of them.  I eventually went for skin patch testing through a dermatologist and was able to find my allergies out that way.  Is patch testing available where you live? 
Posted 5/14/2013 1:27 AM (GMT 0)
what is skin patch testing?
Posted 5/14/2013 2:02 AM (GMT 0)
During skin patch testing, they put a grid on your back (like normal allergy testing) and then put the potential allergic substances on your back. They are suspended in some sort of solution, but I'm not sure what it is. Then they cover your back in a bunch of bandages and let the chemicals sit on there for 48 hours (or maybe it was 72?). You aren't allowed to get it wet. You go back in to the allergist and get it checked and then wrapped after so much time (a day?). They wrap you back up and you go back and get it read again at the end of the testing.

They are looking for the standard skin allergic reaction (red areas, maybe some localized hives). This type of testing doesn't require them to stick the skin, since they are testing for contact allergies.

The type I had was called T.R.U.E. test - they have a website.
✚ New Topic ✚ Reply