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View Full Version : The evils of bacitracin!



rosarugosa
3-3-21, 10:06am
I recently had a small mole removed because it was a minor annoyance, occasionally catching on my clothes. It definitely was not a big deal, but I finally decided I would be better off without it, so my primary referred me to a well regarded plastic surgeon. The procedure took about 10 minutes, involved 3 sutures, and he told me to apply bacitracin when I changed the bandage. At the time I had no known allergies, but I have since learned the hard way that I am quite allergic to bacitracin! In reading up on it, I learned that a lot of people are, and the American Contact Dermatitis Association named it "Allergen of the Year" in 2003. They don't recommend it because it isn't really necessary and so many people react to it. It is frequently recommended for use post-tattoo and piercing, and that reminded me that when I got a tattoo many years ago, the worst part was the insane itching afterwards, which in hindsight was probably a reaction to bacitracin.
This has turned into a rather unpleasant ordeal and I've certainly been wishing that I had left well enough alone concerning my relatively inoffensive little mole! Since it's too late for that, I figured the next best thing would be to alert others and possibly help them to avoid a similar experience.
PS: Cortisone cream has helped somewhat, and this morning DH suggested trying Claritin which has worked wonders.

Yppej
3-3-21, 10:17am
Sorry you had this reaction. I have used it without incident, but an over the counter product. Was yours prescription and possibly stronger?

rosarugosa
3-3-21, 10:39am
Sorry you had this reaction. I have used it without incident, but an over the counter product. Was yours prescription and possibly stronger?

No, it was something I picked up at CVS, so I would just assume you are not allergic.

Tradd
3-3-21, 11:00am
Ugh. Itching that drives you insane is the worst.

happystuff
3-3-21, 11:12am
rosarugosa, so sorry you are going through this. I also just had a mole removed - no sutures. My doctor had me simply put vaseline and a bandaid on it for two weeks. Did fine with the vaseline, but I apparently have "adhesive sensitivity"... reaction to the adhesive on the bandaids. The reaction was worse than the mole removal!!

Anyway, I sympathize and hope you heal quickly.

jp1
3-3-21, 11:57am
I had a mole removed a couple of weeks ago that was big enough to require two stitches. The doc just recommended vaseline and bandaids. Apparently there must be something in bandaids that I'm allergic to because I stopped using them a week ago and it's still quite apparent that I had been wearing bandaids. Thankfully the itching was/is minor.

Simplemind
3-3-21, 12:55pm
My Derm always hands out petroleum jelly and gives a stern warning to use that and only that. She won't even trust me that I already have some at home.