Thin skin

[Denbo51]

Hi can anyone suggest a bandade to put on ripped skin without making it worse.

[piglette]

I never use bandades as they just tear the skin even more. I just leave them. If they are bad the nurse comes in and wraps bandages round my legs.

[123-go]

That looks sore, Denbo. You must be careful to avoid it becoming infected. Can you get to a pharmacist to have it looked at? He/she may be able to suggest something.

[Denbo51 in reply to 123-go]

Will do thanks worst tear iv had just normally bruse.there as to be another drug for pmrthat doesn't thin the skin.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Denbo51]

No there isn't I'm afraid - but consistent moisturising and avoiding using soap products (things that produce foam) so the natural ois in skin are not stripped out really does help. The Double base or Diprobase emollient products are very helpful.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Mepilex is a silicon-based product that you can cut to size and doesn't stick and you can hold it in place with Self-fix bandages which only sticks to itself and not to your skin.

[AussieKid]

Oh Denbo51, it looks so sore and I think I know how you feel🥴I have had a number of these on both arms and lower legs.

With extra clean hands I firstly try to draw the broken skin back across the raw area and match up as closely as possible to the torn edge and dab with betadine. I then apply one of the silicone dressing squares and leave on for up to 7 days (as monitored by GP practice nurse) or replace as needed. The ones I have been using are - ‘Allevyn Gentle Border’ 7.5 cm x 7.5cm by Smith & Nephew, can be cut to shape and are showerproof. There is a larger size. They are around $AU1.50 and I can by them singularly or by the pack (with chemist discount😊)

I hope this is helpful, if only Pred did not do this to our skin our life would be that little bit easier. I must say having these dressings available has reduced my anxiety about bumping into door handles, furniture and being in the garden. Good luck 🍀

[Denbo51 in reply to AussieKid]

Thank-you so much for information. The plaster took skin so no flap. So sore

[AussieKid in reply to Denbo51]

I have put the dressing on the bare/exposed raw area and it has been ok. The dressing has a melonin square in the middle which stops it sticking to the raw area and it healed perfectly ok in 21 days with just one dressing change when some oozing started to show. Speak to your GP clinic nurse, truly, they are so used to this sort of thing. 🌾

[grandma-44 in reply to AussieKid]

Cleaning the area with sterile water and replacing the skin as accurately as you can and cover with a sterile non stick dressing. I then seek medical help at my local surgery where they take over. I am left with some scars where I could not quite cover the area with the skin flap. Sorry ' this is a side effect from taking steroids. When others will get a scrape' we lose a flipping piece of skin. Not to mention the red bruises when we knock ourselves. Occupational hazard I'm 😨afraid.

[Hidden]

Hello, I too keep ripping the skin off my arms from just the gentlest of knocks. Did it again on the door handle yesterday. I held a tissues over it and made sure the skin that was ripped covered back over the wound, then put on two waterproof plasters.One of the nuisances of being on Pred. Plus my throat and voice feel and sound weird.

[dolphin39]

I use silicone elastoplast plasters

[Dambusters]

When I had a bad scrape, I used Melolin patch on the sore with lint round the rest taped on with medical tape. I am allergic to Band-Aids.

[petros31]

the very best solution is to use Tegaderm+pad. Easy to apply, can stay in place for days if the wound is clean, waterproof in the shower. I have used them for several years. Many chemists sell them locally. I get mine from Amazon, now on my fourth box of 50. After 10 years of pred. doen't take much of a knock to damage my skin, so never leave home without one. The version of +pad allows you to use healing creams.

[Denbo51 in reply to petros31]

Thank you sounds good advise

[mgrogers99 in reply to petros31]

That is the best treatment I think! The transparent dressing can stay in place for 7 days which is great.

[Roltuba]

What has worked well for me for several years is to cover the wound with Sudocrem (it’s usually used for nappy rash so sticky and waterproof) then stick a piece of plain dry lint over it with Micropore tape round the edges - only the 3M brand works well. If you get it wet the tape comes off quite easily to change it, but skin still has cream on so nothing stuck to the wound. It usually heals very well.

[S4ndy]

Duoderm thin hydrocolloid dressing would be my choice for this wound. It's air permeable, keeps the wound in optimum condition for healing and comes off easily once the wound has healed. Don't pull them off though, wait until it starts to lift itself after about 10 days. You can shower or bathe with these on too. Other hydrocolloid dressings are available. Boots do some and Amazon sells them too.

[Highlandtiger in reply to S4ndy]

Another vote for duoderm from me...

[Roy46]

I had a bad tear (blood soaked arm of shirt). A few trial and failure from nurses (ouch!) then was introduced to and applied Allevyn Gentler Border. Perfect. I’m in the UK and got some boxes on the NHS for free (I’m old enough) which I keep just in case.

[Hidden]

Do you have any Sutures or (I think they are called) Butterfly bandages? Go to your local Pharmacy and buy them! They close the wound. Also, when removing bandages to prevent more tears a little Vaseline or (yeah it can burn so be careful) Hydrogen Peroxide poured carefully will stop stickiness (not sure where you are getting your bandages but geez, mine come off before I even get the chance to TRY and remove them. Best of luck!! PS..get some Polysporin or something with infection reducing because us RA's / immunees are prone to infections~

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

Sutures are stitches - not that suitable.

[Hidden in reply to PMRpro]

I couldn't think of the word...actually they are called Steri Strips NOT Sutures (my bad) but I use them and they work great, and do NOT tear the skin when I remove them. Again, ask your Pharmacist I'm sure they are more qualified to help then I am.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Hidden]

That's good - I have seen them pull at skin if they get bled into. They are useful though

[cranberryt]

When my child had a staph and strep wound, we were told to use an antibiotic cream. Covered that with a coated/treated non-stick gauze pad. Then several gauze pads. Then wrapped the entire thing with that self sticking ace bandage stuff. Let me see if I can find the name of those treated gauze pads.

[cranberryt in reply to cranberryt]

petroleum gauze dressing

[AmberAliona]

Hi there, I have the same problem. I keep a store of dressings which are easy to peel off without removing the skin. Micropore tape is excellent to keep dressings in place, easy to remove, and as suggested steri strips work well. Good luck. X

[NanJean]

Combine steroids, older age, venous stasis on my legs, sun damage on my arms, has led to very fragile skin that tears easily. The only thing I found helpful was hydrocolloid dressings. They stay on for at least 3 days. Here in the US I used different shapes of Band-Aid brand as I could buy in most chain drug stores. I did try a store brand and it didn't stay on as long.

Recently, I used a regular cloth bandage on a cat scratch (from my cat jumping off my chest) on one breast. I was on antibiotics and used prescription antibiotic ointment as well. My skin to my breast tore when I took the bandage off. Then I used gauze and paper tape. When that got changed where the paper tape was took off that skin. The skin on my breast was so painful. I really wasn't infected. I found the problem had an acronym MARSI which stands for Medical adhesive-related skin injuries. And I finally found a picture online of someone who had the same skin injuries to her breast from some stick on bra.

I tried going bra-less and wear baggy t-shirts, but the wound picked up lint from the t-shirt and wasn't healing. I tried putting a non-adherent gauze with the antibiotic ointment on the wounds which were beyond the initial scratch from the tape, wrapping roll gauze around my chest and over my shoulder to keep it in place. In the middle of the night I had to remove it all for all the itching the roll gauze was causing.

So, I thought I'd go back to the hydrocolloid that had worked so well on my arms and legs in the past. I replaced it every 3 days and it finally closed up. The opening left red marks on my breast that are still lightening.

I never thought I'd have a sensitivity to regular bandages nor paper tape (used in the hospital). I'm grateful the hydrocolloid worked.

[Alchemy8]

I've been using the gauze manuka honey dressings they give you in the nurses' station (UK). They generously give me bandages of different sizes, the gauze and sleeves to take away which is a bit cheaper than the hydrocolloid dressings which seem pretty expensive even on Amazon (a quid each!). I am a fan at the moment of Apicare Manuka Honey cream which I put on top of the gauze when it dries out and is very healing.