I HAD A BREAKDOWN EARLIER AND I USED SOME RANDOM TAPE I FOUND IN A FIRST AID KIT TO BIND AND IT WONT COME OFF??? HELP????/
Lee says:
Depending on what you have available at your home, you might want to try using baby oil or rubbing alcohol to help make it easier to remove the tape.
Medical tape adhesive remover does exist, but you likely don’t have that at home and would need to check online to see if any pharmacies are open near you, then walk/ride your bicycle/get a ride from a friend/Uber/take a bus/etc to get there.
If you don’t have any baby oil or rubbing alcohol either, you could try taking a warm (but not hot! you don’t wanna pass out in there!) bath to let the adhesive get soggy and then try pulling the tape off in the bath with soap to help.
Do be careful— if you just rip the tape off, you can damage your skin by ripping off the top layer of skin too, which can be quite painful and lead to infections.
People who bind with Trans Tape have reported similar experiences, so you might want to look on YouTube to see how they managed to remove the tape! (There’s a chance that the random tape you found and used has a similar type of adhesive— you can also Google how to remove that specific type of tape if you still have the core at the center of the roll.)
If you didn’t cover your nipples with anything and taped directly over them, you may even want to consider removing the tape on either side of your chest so it’s only taping over your nipples and then cutting the tape around them, so the tape stays on them.
For that sensitive area, it might be best to give it a few days to see if it’ll simply fall off on its own, or if the adhesive will be easier to remove— but you probably don’t want to leave the tape on your entire chest for multiple days because there’s a good chance that you were unsafely binding with it and it’s too tight to allow you to breathe properly and you don’t want to risk damaging your ribs
When you have managed to remove the tape (which you will be able to do eventually— I promise this tape isn’t a life-long addition to your body! Don’t panic!) then you might want to read the post on checking for rib injuries.
If you have any areas where the skin became irritated but unbroken, use an unscented moisturizer if possible like Aquaphor or Vaseline (they may also be useful in trying to help get the tape off), or aloe vera, coconut oil, etc. Just something that doesn’t have too many additives and fragrances and won’t irritate the skin more than it is
If there are any open wounds, wash them in water (perhaps in the shower) and then put an antibiotic ointment on them, like Neosporin.
You’ll want to keep the area clean and prevent any oozing, so you may want to put some dry gauze over it if the area is too big for a bandaid. I would suggest getting a silicone tape of some sort to help secure the gauze because it’s easier on the skin than more paper tape because it doesn’t use adhesive, then wearing a tank top/undershirt/camisole to keep it all in place— don’t use an ace bandage!!
If none of the above works, you can always go to an urgent care clinic and have them help you get it off, but be aware that it will cost you $$.
You may want to consider contacting your primary care provider/gender practitioner/pediatrician first because they’re more likely to be in-network with your insurance and charge you less, but they may not be able to see you outside of standard office hours.
For the future, our binding page has info on options for safer binding without a binder, and advice on getting a binder for people without parental support. You may also want to check out the mental health page for resources on coping with distress without using self-destructive coping mechanisms, and our dysphoria page for tips on managing dysphoria. I think it goes without saying to state that you shouldn’t do the same thing again in the future!
Disclaimer: I am not a doctor and can’t provide medical recommendations, so I would recommend reaching out to a doctor if you have any questions about how to remove the tape and/or how to treat any subsequent wounds. It might be embarrassing and scary to do, but your health should always come first!
