Best way to remove the sticky residue from dressings after surgery

Hi Lovemygarden welcome to the forum and glad that at least the surgery is past for you. The dressing residue will come off eventually in the shower now that you have the dressings off but dont be tempted to rub it as that will cause more trauma under the area than anything else so gently pat the area dry and see what you can get off. It may take some time though and several soakings in the shower for this  to come off so be prepared for that. 

If tta itch and redness doesnt settle down in the next couple of days dont leave that as this could be  the start of an infection but hopefully not. If this is a reaction to that type of dressing that needs noted by the Practice Nurse at your GP surgery and entered  in your notes and shared with the hospital.  

Someone told me that a little baby oil on some cotton wool helped her. I also suffered with this post surgery but it was too painful to rub so had to put up with it. I had one dressing stuck in my armpit. NHS stick is not nice. Perhaps a little e45 on itch but as long as it not near wound. Perhaps as Granny59 says if the itch and redness doesn't go after a few days, ring breast nurse or gp for advise. 

Thank you all for your advice.   I did manage to get some off in the shower this morning and the redness and itchiness is much better, so I think it was probably just needing some air after being covered up for 3 weeks.  Surgeon recommended alcohol wipes, like the ones you would use prior to an injection or those that come with waxing strips.   I asked for these at my local pharmacy and when I explained what it was for she recommended Zoff adhesive remover.    This is apparently for removing dressings.  I tried using that carefully on the sticky patches and avoiding the wound  completely (the sticky bits are just round the edge of where the dressings were) and it seems to have removed most of the rest.    So feeling much better now..    I would only use this though if you have had the dressings removed, and the wound is healed, since it says on the instructions that it will help remove them as well.    Breast care nurse also said to use Aveeno moisturiser on the red/itchy bits but I haven't tried that yet as it seems to be clearing up now. 

Hi Lovemygardeni had problems with the residue. It stuck my arm to my side and that caused redness because the skin was constantly being pulled when I moved. My BCN had a specialist remover for it!  It didn’t work for me. I washed it away in the shower having put up with it while I couldn’t get it wet. Suggest you talk to your BCN about it. They told me the residue loved my skin. Maybe you are the same. The remover might work for you xx