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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Red Rash On Inner Lower Leg Post Knee Arthroscopy?

Yes, thanks. I had a right knee arthroscopy on Wednesday afternoon, and all appeared to go very well. I had a large bandage around my knee, which I wore until Friday afternoon, when my surgeon told me that I could remove the bandage, take a shower, and then put bandaids over the three small incision sites. I did that, and afterwards dried off and gently patted my right leg dry. At that time, I noticed that I had a very red rash on the back of my right lower leg, which I had either not noticed prior to the shower, or which had developed as a result of the shower. In taking the shower, I only used the same bar of soap I had been using for weeks, so I don't think it was about the soap. I didn't take a very long or hot shower, but I did make an effort to wash off the residue of surgical prep solution (kind of orange) that was on my right leg. I had asked them what they use to prep the skin of the leg prior to surgery, and I believe they said "Chlorhexadene" (not sure about the spelling"). The raised red spots on the back of my leg were a bit itchy, so I made sure not to start scratching them. I put some ointment on the red spots that is a Chinese medicine salve I have used before to heal irritated skin, and it seemed to help bring down the redness. I didn't worry too much until the next day when I took a shower, and afterwards, the spots became very red again and began to spread a bit out to the sides and slightly upward to just above the knee. This time, I tried using a homeopathic ointment called "Calendula Ointment" that I have used before successfully for soothing chapped skin. It is petroleum-based. I didn't see any improvement from that throughout the day, so I just left it alone. It hasn't been horribly itchy or uncomfortable, but it certainly looks bad, with about 15 little raised bright-red spots per square inch, still mostly on the back of my right leg. By last night, I was starting to be concerned, so I asked my neighbor, a former nurse, to take a look. She said it certainly wasn't MRSA or anything that looked dangerous, so I have just tried to wait it out. I used more of the Chinese salve today, and it doesn't seem to be decreasing the redness. Someone suggested it might be heat rash, so I looked at photos of that, and it does look very similar. I have read a number of accounts online just now about other people who have had similar rashes following surgery, but no one has given a reason for why it happened, what helped to treat it, and how long it lasted. Can you help me…??
Thu, 5 Mar 2015
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What Causes Red Rash On Inner Lower Leg Post Knee Arthroscopy?