Tape

Argh!!!!

I have never felt anything so goose-bump, teeth-gnashing awful as having the tape pulled off the incisions on my chest and the cuts under my right arm protecting the lymph node incision.

I swear it's barbaric.

My chest was covered in gauze pads surrounded by this fancy surgical packing tape. This stuff went from the top of my chest near my collarbone to my ribs. I thought the only thing I had to worry about with my recent doctor visit was how it would hurt when the drainage tubes came out. Not so. The tape removal hurt worse!!

I think it's called breathable surgical tape but for all I care, it's damn packing tape to me. I'm now minus every single solitary tiny little hair I had on my chest. It hurt like the dickens!

Tape is my nemesis.

The tape in the picture caused me no end of problems. See, I've discovered I'm allergic to it. This, of course, was after I had this stuck to my arm for 4 different IVs over the course of 4 days. I have marks and tape residue on my left arm. What I didn't know until I got home was that an allergic reaction to this involves itching until the itch forms blisters. Then the blisters pop and scab. Some of these spots continue itching until the scab comes off, then finally heal. I''m down to 5 spots still healing. Stupid tape.

By the way, a good way to get rid of tape goo is to coat the area in Neosporin. This loosens the tape residue.

I asked the plastic surgeon if he could use paper tape when he covered the drain holes with gauze. Of course, he didn't have any. So I was itching something fierce by the time I got home. This time, it was on both sides at once, which presented quite a problem. I'm limited in my arm movements so itching was most difficult. We replaced the plastic tape with paper tape quickly and thankfully, it's not blistering this time. Little victories!!

I'm taking my own roll of paper tape with me in my purse whenever I have doctor visits from now on. On top of how miserable I'm feeling, the last thing I need is itching from stupid tape.

Stupid tape.