Hi Ma.... Finally someone who suffers same problems as me.......I'm allergic to all tapes and Micropore every time I have a EEG...I tell them dont use that sticky stuff...they the Hospital staff say they can use what they want and more so in an emergency....and every time I come home covered in blisters and hicky marks from the tape....next monday I'm going to hospital for a total allergy test...I'm classed as chemical intollerent.......and cant use soaps ..shampoos or cloths washing detergents long.....they work ok for few months then bang....I spend weeks itching scratching.....drives me nuts and everyone who watches me .... I also have food allergies...and am allergic to most meds...including Anti-biotics..I wear a Medic-Alert bracelet....which they promply cover up..for surgery.I just tell them ....I make them fully responcible for my health and any side effects that may happen.......I dont seem to keep Doctors for long.. stay well Dave

good to hear you are out and doing very well Ma, i missed you, I am getting alergic to work I think, I am spending more time either posting in here or gazing out the window talking to my little R.J. not getting a great deal of work done

Smokeydk wrote:

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Hi Ma....
Finally someone who suffers same problems as me.......I'm allergic to all tapes and Micropore
every time I have a EEG...I tell them dont use that sticky stuff...they the Hospital staff say they can use what they want and more so in an emergency....and every time I come home covered in blisters and hicky marks from the tape....stay well

Dave

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Glad to know I'm not the only one Dave, consequently didn't get very much sleep last night as I scratched my self raw.  Guru went to the chemist this morning and got me some antihistamines (thankfully I am not as allergice as you) and they are starting to have a little bit of an effect.

I think I am justified in writing a letter of complaint to the hospital, what do you think?

Ma

 

I would seek legal advice Ma, it doesn't take long and is all dealt with by insurance anyway, it may just make them consider what is the best interest of the patient instead of the hospital next time in this day and age of mass production and peak proficiency we, the people, tend to be left out of the equation just a little and the powers that be need a little reminder from time to time especially in our medical system and besides you could do with a couple of grand extra (as could we all), make sure you get photos of the affected parts before you apply any cream or ointments

Hi Ma,
Good to hear that you are home and through your surgery, but sorry to hear about your allergic reactions.
From years of experience in the hospital system, WRITE a letter of complaint to either/or both the CEO/Hospital Manager and the Director of Nursing Services at the hospital that you were in.
Contact the medical records department manager and ask for a FOI copy of your latest admission (This SHOULD have highlighted on just about every page that you are allergic to x, y, z..........)  If not - Why not?????  Check the doctors and nurses admission notes to make sure they HAVE recorded your allergies.
Take photos - lots of photos of the reactions that you sustained.  Make note of how long it is taking for them to respond to treatment.
Talk to Legal Aid and see what they recommend.

More often then not there will be a FULL investigation into the care that you received and WHY they paid NO attention to your disclosed allergic reactions.
Barb


-- Edited by BarbandDaz on Friday 21st of August 2009 03:28:57 PM

Thanks Barb.  Rest assured I will do exactly as you suggest.  Didn't think about getting the records though. Thanks


I filled out about 7 pages of pre admission forms and certainly did list on there about my allergies.

The ward duty sister said she rang an Immunoloy Specialist and he said that people DON'T  have a reaction to topical iodine ie: betadine only to IV Iodine in the contrast for xrays.   I have news for him!!

Thanks again Barb

Ma

hi Ma don't mean any offense when i say this, although my weird sense of humour was running overtime. i use Betadine surgical scrub on one of my daughters horses that has mange. The bottle clearly states "PRECAUTIONS" DO NOT USE IF HYPERSENSITIVE TO IODINE" hope this helps your case. Johnw

Thanks John,

I will actually go out and buy a bottle of Betadine, soak off the label, photocopy it a few times and attach it to ALL the letters I end up sending off.

Ma

Hi again Ma. This time blisters, sores and pain. Next time, who knows?These bloody hospital staff just don't get it. I'd take it as far as you can. If they can't get it on your word at the time, they may learn when the lawyers get their side of the story and their negligence or apathy costs the health system.I have to keep potassium within reach all the time. So when I go to hospital they lock MY medication in a draw next to my bed. When I need to take more potassium I have to beg for it. Some of the symptoms are anxiety, tensing muscles and cramps, headache, irritability, shakes - you get the picture.  Then I have to beg for my medication.I also have to take a slow release blood pressure medication, but I only take half a tablet twice a day, which means I have to cut the slow release coated tablet in half.  That really tricked the nursing staff. Don't take the crap. Stick it up 'em. The health system as it is right now needs a major shake up and someone has to be accountable. Good luck with that.  Cheers Chris

Hi Ma, glad you are home. Sorry to hear of the ordeal you went through. Reading the other responses, I completely agree with them all, However I would get legal advise before I wrote to them, {hospital.} Photocopy EVERYTHING. I believe too many get away with this sort of unprofessional care because of the hoops "they" will throw at you. Just keep jumping through each hoop. What have you to lose except time!! My sister went through hell after lung surgery {cancer.} The care she received was so negligent it would make you cry, so bad in fact she now has spots on her other lung and will do nothing about it. She "won't go thru that again." Negligent treatment doesn't happen often, but, IT DOES HAPPEN, and I think the are solicitors out there who would be more than willing to go to bat for you. Chin up. Cheers Dellie

Glad you are on the mend Ma and also sorry for your treatment.

Our hospital system has gone to the dogs mate and its a sad and sorry situation indeed. Who knows where it will end.

Remember the old saying mate, the squeakiest door gets the most oil.

Don't feel like you are whinging or any such thing, its over now for sure but you may have to go in again and objecting to sub standard treatment may just help you next time, or someone else coming through the system.

Good luck with it all mate and keep us posted Ok.

Ma, get to a doctor for an examination and report super-pronto.

Take photos of the injuries and get the Dr. to verify their authenticity.

Contact a local solicitor for advice on how best to proceed.

Cut your fingernails short and wear thick cotton gloves to bed at night.
(Sorry. Silly sense of humour )

You have my sympathies. I too have a raft of 'chemical intolerances'.

Iodine, Surgical adhesive, latex and nickel intolerances are quite common.

It sounds that you got someone with the "my mind's made up - don't confuse me with facts " attitude.

Sic 'em, baby. Sic 'em!

Not good enough.

Possibly even dangerous.

I hope you get better soon.

Thanks everyone for your good wishes and advice.

I will be taking it further and have had Guru take some piccys.

Things are settling down today - thank goodness and I almost feel human again.

Thanks again guys, your wishes and support mean a lot.

Ma

lean on Guru when you have to Ma..... He'll be right there for you

Hi Ma What an ordeal you have gone through. Havent had great internet connection lately so havent been on internet so glad you are on the mend. Take care Chris and Robbie

While I try never to wallow in my health issues, I do feel like a crippled old lady sometimes. Then I hear or read about the health issues of others, and I feel very grateful I can put both feet on the floor in the morning, take the first deep breath of the day, and can sit and watch and hear the birds in the trees around me. Then I don't feel so old or crippled, despite back problems, arthritis and other crap which insists on ailing me. It only hurts a little bit. Cheers Chris

if ever you folks feel that the world is pressing down on you and you think your health issues are overwhelming, you come on down and see ole unca Dave I will take you to see some of my very special boys and girls who's everyday existence is a struggle, a lot cant walk, a lot cant talk, most cant feed themselves and are being looked after by elderly parents or carers young "Adam" for instance is a perfect example, father ran over him with a tractor when he was 12, left him as a quadriplegic and brain damaged, wheelchair bound of course, perfect example of why you should not let your kids ride on the mudguard of your tractor I help with his pressure bandages every morning, just lifting him in and out of his chair is an enormous chore (he weighs 90 kilo), he had to have a couple of days off last week, he has sores on his back and his backside that you could stick your fist into, pressure sores from sitting too long (bed sores basically), nothing can be done about them and he must be hospitalized every now and then to get them seen too, he also has a colostomy bag which must be changed a couple of times a day but often breaks or comes undone before that, his parents wake up to a soiled bed most mornings he still greets me and everybody else with a grin the size of the northern territory and never complains, I have known him before the accident and after we have roughly thirty kiddies in our centre (self funded and self run, very little government subsidy) all have a tale to tell, all with elderly frail parents, dont know what will happen to the kiddies when we go, the youngest of our special kids is about 28 I am amongst the youngest parent carers at 52, our oldest is 85, she is crippled with arthritis and crook as a dog but must continue caring for her daughter simply because there is no alternative, everyday is a struggle for her as well, we all help where and when we can do what I do, consider everyday with a modicum of reasonable health as a gift from god, as long as you can still stand then you are streets in front, a lot cant when I feel a bit crook I go and see my kids and think how bloody lucky am I, it always leaves me humbled and feeling guilty, and I don't feel anywhere near so bad my kids always lifts my day!! not having a shot at anyone merely saying praise be to god we have reasonable health and have the ability of speech and mobility to complain about it, in my world a lot cant glad to hear you are well on the mend Ma!! keep it up

I know you weren't having a shot at me Dave and I certainly didn't take it as such.

I do know first hand about our "special kids".  I have a niece born with her brain on the outside of her skull.   She wasn't supposed to even see the first week of her life out and here she is 24 years old.

I cared for her in my home for quite some time, along with my own kids, when her mother rejected her and thankfully she was only an infant at the time as I honestly don't think I could have "done the right thing" by her in her teen and later years.

I have the utmost respect for "carers" and although I can't say I know what they are going through because I don't, I commend them from the bottom of my heart.

We all tend to have a "wallow" from time to time, and I guess that's human nature but I thank god every single day of my life for my health, my family and my wonderful husband.

Keep up the good work ol' mate, but then like you said you don't have a choice and even if you did you wouldn't have it any other way.   All Power To You Dave.

Ma

we are all allowed to have a wallow from time to time, I enjoy a good wallow I use these people as inspiration for myself to thank my lucky stars and get off my freckle and try to do just that little bit more, i have it easy compared to these buggers, I dont know how the parents of these kiddies find the strength to get up each day, somedays I cant find a valid reason to, but these kids and their carers push me I tried (not too succesfully) to pass that inspiration on, not to demean you or anyone else, I guess one must see these folk first hand to be inspired by their daily struggle for life I can uderstand the mother rejecting the child, far be it for me to judge, but as is so often the case it is up to the elderly to take up the reigns, sometimes I think the aboriginals had the right idea, feed them to the crocs when born, may be the kindest thing of all but of course "in the civilised world" we dont allow it

Ma, good to see you will still be around to make scones and carrot cake but for what it's worth my advice would be to go for the jugular of the hospital concerned and do not forget to CC current afair and all the sensationalist news programs, even if you don't send the letter but let the idiots think you have sent one works wonders....

I have a younger sister who has been institutionalised since 1955 because she required professional intensive care and supervision. Our mother died in 1955. Her life is there in the group home. I used to feel helpless and useless but she doesn't recognise me and there's never been anything I could do for her. My grandma used to take me to visit her every few weeks, but the helpless feeling persisted. Grandma died in 1964. Just another glitch in the plan.

so easy to get tangled up in our own little world and forget that a lot of others have problems as well, never mind we can only do our best and hope our maker deems it good enough helps to talk about it with others though