One of the more common problems that people experience after having surgery is difficulty with getting the medical adhesives off. When this occurs, it could actually tear your skin, cause it to blister, and lead to other problems. This is officially referred to as a Medical Adhesive Related Skin Injury. This refers to any type of damage that occurs to your skin when the adhesive is removed. If not done properly, or if the adhesive is too strong, it can lead to substantial damage. There are many ways that you can keep your skin safe when you are using medical adhesives. Let’s take a look at a few of them.
Three Ways To Reduce MARSI Related Problems
MARSI problems are very common for people that have sensitive skin. This is simply an acronym for the official term of this condition. There are guidelines that you must follow when you are removing this adhesive on your own. These are the same guidelines that doctors and nurses will follow, especially when they are working with people that are known to be susceptible to these issues. The first thing they will do is assess the situation. You may have a substantial amount of adhesive tape keeping certain medical items in place. For example, you may have an IV going into your wrist. There is often medical adhesive tape placed over the IV so that the needle does not come out. Nurses will typically assess your skin on a regular basis. They will be looking for certain contextual factors. They will also consider any problems that you may have that is on your chart that refers to problems with your skin and medical adhesives. The other two things that they will consider is using proper adhesive, perhaps one that is not as powerful. Finally, they are going to remove the adhesives using certain procedures, or perhaps solutions that can make the adhesive less potent, thereby preventing any damage to your skin once it is removed.
How To Choose The Right Medical Adhesive Tape
If you are not in a hospital, and you are going to get medical adhesive tape for yourself, there are many considerations that you need to make. According to RD Medical Products, you need to consider the reviews that have been done about these different adhesive tapes that might be posted online. It is also recommended that you talk with your physician if you have had any of these problems in the past. They will likely have a couple different ones that they will recommend that you try. You should only use these in small areas at first to see if there is going to be a problem. Of course, different areas of your body might be more susceptible to adhesive tape. You may not know this until you have experienced it once or twice. That’s why you need to learn more about the different types of adhesive tape that are used, and you also need to know if you are a person that is more at risk.
How To Know If Your Skin Will Be Susceptible To These Problems
People that are more at risk of experiencing MARSI will include infants, older people, and people that are taking blood thinners. If you are taking any type of steroid therapy, or if you are going through chemotherapy, you could have a higher susceptibility to damage to your skin. You may simply have a history of having very sensitive skin, and if that is the case, even with Band-Aids, you need to use different types of medical adhesive tape. For example, instead of using nylon based adhesives, you can use those that are paper-based, and this can help you potentially avoid this issue.
What Type Of Problems Can You Experience?
Some of the problems that you may experience after taking the medical adhesive tape off will include a discoloration of your skin, the tearing of your skin, and also the appearance of blisters. There can also be environmental factors that can contribute to experiencing these issues. If you had any moisture on your skin prior to the application of the adhesive, or if there was any friction on top of the adhesive, this could cause it to become much more difficult to take off. Impaired blood flow may also be a problem, especially with capillaries that are close to the surface of the upper epidermal layer. These are all problems that can be avoided by not having the adhesive tape on for extended periods of time, or using adhesives that are not as strong as the others.
Alternatives To Using Standard Adhesives On Your Skin
One possibility is that you could use what are called hypoallergenic bandages. This is an option that many people resort to using if they have had problems before. They may have experienced dermatitis, sloughing, or blistering, all of which can be avoided by using these alternatives.
How To Know That You May Be Susceptible To MARSI
If you have skin that is very sensitive, such as it will burn very easily in the sun, you are likely going to experience these problems. Additionally, if you have severe reactions to things like poison ivy, it is likely your skin is overly sensitive, and will not do well with standard adhesives that are sold that stores or even used at hospitals. That’s why speaking with your physician might be the best choice before using any type of adhesive at all. They will likely have alternative adhesive tape, ones that they can direct you to, or they may even have samples on hand that they can try out with you to see if you have a bad reaction.
By making sure that you are using proper medical adhesive tape, you can avoid some of the problems related to these skin related issues. You can keep your skin safe by doing research, learning more about the sensitivity of your skin, and by speaking with a physician about this problem. If you do go to the hospital, prior to any type of surgery, they should be alerted to this problem that you have. It’s important to address this early, and by doing so, you can prevent your skin from becoming damaged or irritated using medical adhesives that are so commonly used today.
