It’s been a nice sunny weekend here in France and I started thinking about what I’ll do this summer at the beach - more specifically what I’ll do with my pump etc while I’m at the beach/lake as it’ll be my first full summer with a pump.
When I go to the swimming pool I just take the pump off and leave it in my bag while I’m in the water and I always put the little plastic cap on the canula. When I get out I take a shower and rinse off thouroughly before refitting the catheter. But, at the beach and at some of the lakes I go to there aren’t showers, and the water is much different than pool water and of course there’s salt/sand (mud!). I was thinking of rinsing the canula with clean bottled water before reconnecting maybe? what are the risks?
I’d be interested to know how do you people handle days at the beach/lake.
Depends on the infusion set. I use the Minimed 722 Quick set, which comes with a small round cap for when you shower. According to some individuals this cap is not necessary, since the site seals itself when you disconnect. I use it anyway. I guess you could call the mfg of your pump and discuss this. If it does self seal, I guess bottled water would we OK to flush sand or saltwater away from the reconnect. Don’t swim alone and watch out for thieves. They could steal your “IPod” while you are in the water! Let me how it goes.
Well I don’t intend to leave it unattended - I swim with my family and someone always stays with the bags.
I’m using use Quick Set infusion sets and A Cozmo 1700 pump which is supposed to be water tight so I suppose I could swim with it, although my supplier advised me against it. It’s also a question of where on earth to put a pump when you only have swimming trunks on ?
My pump isnt waterproof… What should I do then? I presume I’ll have to get some sort of bag for it for when I’m swimming. I know its not ideal to leave it on its own. I hadnt thought of that. When I go on holidays with my husband, we love to go swimming together. I guess one of us will have to stay with the towels and stuff now! Thats a bit annoying. Oh well!
My pump supposedly is waterproof, but after a couple of breakdowns after being in a pool, I keep it out of the water. I use the Minimed 522, with the silhoutte infusion sets. Mike has the perfect advice for what to do, with one other caveat to always watch at the beach – don’t leave the pump in the direct sun too long, particularly if it is a dark one. It can get pretty hot, and you don’t want to boil the insulin.
