Sept. 2012
Although the original thread is several years old…...people are still having adverse reactions to ChloraPrep. Of course you will only hear from the small percentage that have trouble with it because there’s no reason for anyone else to be investigating this product. I've stumbled upon this thread as a patient having had recent abdominal surgery. Surgically everything went great. By the 5th day post-op what I thought was a bit of prickly heat was a definitive allergic reaction. I treated with hydrocortisone and Benadryl. By day seven I needed steroid treatment; my entire abdomen was red/purple, inflamed, and itched like I had chicken pox. Unfortunately I do not do well on oral steroids so I was prescribed a steroid cream and antihistamine. The symptoms lasted five more days and then my arms and legs started to break out. Fortunately the whole thing resolved after 3 more days of constant antihistamine use.
I understand that very few people have an adverse reaction. The down side is that for those that do, it really adds insult to injury when trying to recover. I wish that I’d had a skin test of this product a couple days prior to surgery based on my general allergic profile (penicillin, sulfa, seasonal, and yes…pool chlorine).
Oct 8, '12 by polopatientSept. 2012
