hibiclens/chlorhexadine caution

I had been instructed to cleanse the surgical area with Hibiclens the night before and the morning of my surgery. They also swabbed the area with chlorhexadine during surgery prep. Thinking it was a good idea (and since I had plenty of it left over), when I took my first shower when I got home, I used Hibiclens again. I developed a terrible, red, itchy, spotty rash covering my entire abdomen, sides and the tops of my thighs. It turned out that I was sensitive to chlorhexadine. If you are instructed to use Hibiclens, use as little as possible for your pre-op showers. Do not scrub with a wash cloth (allows chlorhexadine to penetrate deeper skin layers). Make sure any residual chlorhexadine from surgery gets washed off ASAP. Use a mild cleanser, such as Cetaphil afterwards. I took benedryl antihistamine and applied a clear calamine lotion to help clear up the rash. It took about 2 weeks to clear up.