Is It Normal to Get an Itchy Rash After Surgery?

Key takeaways:

• Rashes after surgery are common and can have many causes.
• It is important to let your surgeon know if you have questions or concerns.
• Please seek medical attention if you have a fever or fluid draining from your wound.

Recovering from surgery is a difficult and often painful process. Rashes following surgery are common but can cause anxiety during an already stressful time.

While a post-surgery rash is usually not cause for concern, there are times when you should seek further medical attention to ensure nothing more serious is happening.

Common causes of post-surgical rashes

Here we discuss some of the most common causes of post-surgery rash.

Contact dermatitis

Contact dermatitis is a skin response to chemical or physical substances. It is frequently itchy and the skin can be anywhere from a little dry to red and covered in blisters.

Following surgery, contact dermatitis is often in response to chemicals in your surgical bandages. This condition usually resolves when exposure to the responsible chemical stops (when the bandage is removed).

Drug reaction

As many as 7% of patients experience some form of reaction to a drug, with the skin being the most commonly involved organ.

While any drug can cause this kind of reaction, certain kinds of drugs are more likely to do so. After surgery, your doctor may prescribe pain medication or a stool softener. These can lead to a drug reaction that causes a rash. Such rashes can appear immediately or after days to weeks of medication exposure.

The symptoms and appearance of these rashes can differ greatly, so if you have started a medication and are experiencing a new rash, please call your surgeon. Your medication may need to be changed or stopped.

Wound infection

Wound infection after surgery affects 2-4% of all patients undergoing an operation. If you have increasing pain or swelling around your incision, or if the skin looks red or is warm to the touch, these may be early signs of a wound infection.

Further, if the wound begins to open and drain fluid, or if you feel chills or are running a fever, please seek medical attention immediately. A doctor needs to see the wound and may prescribe medication or remove the stitches/staples that are keeping your skin closed.

Common symptoms associated with post-surgical rashes

Itching

Itching often accompanies post-surgical rashes and can even indicate the normal healing process is occuring. Please avoid scratching the itchy skin, as it usually worsens the itching.

Pain

Pain associated with your rash may either be due to the surgery itself and the normal healing process or could indicate an infection. It is important to speak with your doctor if you have new or worsening pain while you’re recovering from surgery.

Types of post-surgical rashes and their locations

The location of your rash can be a helpful clue as to its cause.

Contact dermatitis

As discussed above, contact dermatitis is skin irritation due to a chemical or physical substance.

After surgery, this is commonly caused by chemicals in your bandages (dressings). If you have red skin with a burning or stinging sensation around your wound, you may be experiencing this reaction.

Drug reaction

Drug reactions often cause skin-related symptoms and the exact kind and location of the rash can vary greatly among patients.

If you notice a new rash after starting a medication prescribed to you after surgery, you may be experiencing a drug reaction.

Wound infection

A rash due to wound infection usually looks reddened and warm. There may be pain and fluid drainage associated with it.

Read our full guides on rash symptoms and types of rashes for more.

Typical duration of a post-surgery rash

The duration of a rash depends on its cause. Rashes due to contact dermatitis or a drug reaction usually resolve within a day or two of the offending substance being removed or stopped. Rash due to wound infection will not resolve without treatment.

Diagnosis of a rash after surgery

Most rashes are diagnosed after being examined by your surgeon. They may want to refer you to a dermatologist (a skin doctor) for further testing if one of the above causes is not suspected.

Treatment options for a post-surgery rash

Treatment for post-surgery rash is usually simple but needs to be guided by your surgeon.

At-home remedies

If you are experiencing itching after surgery, this can be normal. A cool compress with a moist washcloth can help, but please speak to your surgeon before removing your bandage or getting your wound wet. Do not apply creams or lotions around your wound before talking to your surgeon.

Bandage removal

It may be that your surgeon wants you to remove your bandage (dressing) following surgery. This should only be done at their request and not without careful follow-up.

Antibiotics

Antibiotics for a rash after surgery are only needed when an infection is suspected. Your surgeon may also want to remove your stitches or staples or even open the wound.

When to see a doctor for a post-surgical rash

Post-surgical rash is commonly managed with at-home remedies and careful follow-up. However, sometimes more complex treatment is needed.

You should see a doctor if:

• You have a rash of any kind after surgery. Please call your surgeon to inform them of this and any other symptoms you are noticing.
• You develop a rash after taking medication prescribed by your surgeon.

You should go to the emergency room if:

• You have a fever (temperature above 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit).
• There is increasing redness or pain around your incision.
• Your incision is opening or draining fluid.

Questions to ask your doctor about a post-surgical rash

• What is the cause of this rash?
• How long do you expect it to last?
• What other symptoms should I look out for?
• When should I see you again if this doesn’t improve?

Frequently asked questions about post-surgical rashes

It is normal for patients to have questions while recovering from surgery. This is especially true if a rash develops.

What if you have a post-surgical rash that’s not near the incision site?

This may be due to a medication prescribed to you during surgery. It is important to speak with your surgeon about this.

What if the rash appears weeks or a month after surgery?

This may or may not be related to your surgery. It would be unusual for one of the rashes discussed above to come on this late after surgery. So it is important to discuss this first with your surgeon.

Read our full guide on when to worry about a rash for more.

What types of surgeries are typically accompanied by a rash?

The surgery itself is not what typically leads to a rash. However, if some material (for example, hernia mesh or a joint replacement) was implanted during your surgery it is possible to develop a rash afterward.

Managing a rash after surgery

Rash after surgery, while usually not cause for alarm, should be discussed with your surgeon. The treatment is often simple, though in rare cases needs more urgent care.

General Medicine follows a strict editorial process, including using real experts to write our articles, vetted primary sources, fact-checking, a secondary medical review, and updates as necessary. This article was medically reviewed and fact checked by Dr. Jennifer Nadel, MD.

Sources

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‌Berríos-Torres, Sandra I., et al. "Centers for disease control and prevention guideline for the prevention of surgical site infection, 2017." JAMA surgery 152.8 (2017): 784-791.

“Home Remedies: What Can Relieve Itchy Eczema?” Www.aad.org,www.aad.org/public/diseases/eczema/childhood/itch-relief/home-remedies.

Fadaee, Negin, et al. “Patients with Systemic Reaction to Their Hernia Mesh: An Introduction to Mesh Implant Illness.” Journal of Abdominal Wall Surgery, vol. 2, 30 Jan. 2023, p. 10983, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10831643/, https://doi.org/10.3389/jaws.2023.10983.

van der Merwe, Johannes Michiel. “Metal Hypersensitivity in Joint Arthroplasty.” JAAOS: Global Research and Reviews, vol. 5, no. 3, Mar. 2021, https://doi.org/10.5435/jaaosglobal-d-20-00200.