Allergic?

I'm allergic to band aids.

Seriously.

I got a mole removed last week during my dermatology appointment. There was nothing wrong with it except location. It was an inch or so under my armpit and highly determined what type of bra I could wear. The side of the bra had to cover it or miss it, and most rubbed up against it. TMI, I know, for those 3 male readers I have, but this is an issue I've dealt with daily for most of my life! I was completely unaware that you could just have moles removed because they were annoying. Why I thought this, in this age of plastic surgery and all sorts of other procedures, is still a mystery to me. So, last Tuesday it was it was removed. The instructions were to put a little un-petroleum jelly on it (since I'm working hard to keep petroleum based products off my skin, too) and keep it covered.

That was a lot easier said than done.

Between my skin, the band aids, and my bra, it's all been a mess. The bra hurts, so I've switched to some "shelf camis", which are camisoles with built-in bras. Great for the faint of chest. Not so great for me. Then there's the band aids themselves. I've tried several different brands, found one that works, but have developed a huge rash. In some instances the band aid or tape has actually eaten into me. It looks like I have road rash, or some other kind of scrape. The former mole is healing just fine, but the skin around it is bright red. It's actually quite painful, and has affected my sleep, since I'm a side sleeper. If I don't wear a band aid for the day, it gets better.

I seem to be accident prone, and wear band aids quite frequently. However, after some thought, I came to the conclusion that I mostly cut my fingers, and band aids don't stay on fingers for more than half the day. So I switch often, and thus the band aid glue or plastic doesn't seem to affect me much. That's another thing - is it the glue or the plastic? I can't wear a plastic shower cap for more than a few minutes, and have a mild latex allergy. Who knows? All I know is that I'm red and itchy, but it gets better when the band aid comes off.

Weird.