posted
So, my arm was really itchy the past two weeks, starting after I saw a new nurse than the one I was seeing the previous two months. The new nurse told me "Just deal with it" and wouldn't give me a different adhesive to cover my PICC.
I fired that nurse because she also refused to use a statlock or to cover the site with a biopatch or gauze.
The first nurse came to change my dressing today, and my arm was bright red and really blistered underneath. It was weeping a yellow pus. She said it looks like a reaction to the different adhesive that was on my arm the past two weeks.
I am really scared about having to have the PICC line pulled. I'm just starting to see some improvement with the Rocephin.
How do I know if the line needs to be pulled? My LLMD's office just said to let them know if it gets worse or continues through the weekend.
I'm worried about going through the weekend if it's possibly infected! So how do you know how long you can keep the line if the skin is infected???
Posts: 236 | From Washington | Registered: Jul 2008
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sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
Can the nurse come back tomorrow to recheck your arm? That way she could compare today's assessment with tomorrows to make sure that the site is just irritated/inflamed but not showing any signs or symptoms of infection.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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sammy
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 13952
posted
If you think that the area might be showing signs of infection you should see a doctor ASAP. Have you developed a fever? Is the area looking worse instead of better? More pain at the site?
I honestly don't know how they would treat a skin infection with the line in place. You wouldn't want the infection to get in your blood or your heart. Hopefully others will chime in with their experience soon.
Please take care of yourself. I hope you feel better soon.
Posts: 5237 | From here | Registered: Nov 2007
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posted
"Just deal with it" Is insufficient. I'd never write that off, nor allow a nurse to do so. You do need to speak with your physician ASAP to find out the type and extent of the possible infection.
Try to keep the area clean, and allow it to breathe. Do not allow the actual entry of the line itself anywhere near the infected area. If it is just on the skin and doesn't get into the line, maybe it will not have to be pulled.
In the future, be sure to change adhesives at even the hint of any inflammation. When I had a PICC, regular tape and such would cause a slightly raised irritation. I had to use Tegaderms (These can be expensive I hear. I was lucky that I could just grab a few from a supply closet), and I hear that for many these are more comfortable.
Posts: 690 | From East coast, USA | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
The good thing is that I don't have a fever or anything else that makes me think there's a systemic infection. Doctor said I would have a fever, and he had the nurse draw labs to run stat so that we can see if there are signs of infection.
Since the dressing was changed, there's no more pus, my arm is less red and not itchy anymore.
My nurse can come back tomorrow or over the weekend to check on it and change the dressing again if it's not much better by morning.
I don't know what caused this. The only things that changed in the previous two weeks were using steristrips instead of statlock, they used betadine on my arm and a different type of Tegaderm.
Now I'm back to the original supplies and it seems to immediately cause less irritation.
If anyone has more info on how to deal with this, please let me know. This is scary stuff!
Posts: 236 | From Washington | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
My husband turned out to be allergic to Chlora-prep which is used as an alternative to betadine. It caused exactly the kind of reaction that you are describing.
The nurse was no help, but I managed to figure it out by chance - and once we insisted she switch to betadine we had no further problems.
Could this be the problem for you?
Posts: 39 | From wdc | Registered: Aug 2007
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