Hi all - Will has developed a blister under the edge of the adhesive tape! He’s been using the Omnipod system for 1.8 years and we’ve never had this happen before. Granted, he’s a very active 3.5 year old so but I thought blisters are something you get on your feet, not on your arm! I’ve put in a call to his endo but thought I would probably get a quicker response from our group. Has this ever happened to anyone and if so, what did you do? Is having a blister dangerous for a diabetic? Should I pop the blister when I take the pod off? Geez, I have no idea what to do about this? Any ideas?
I would NOT pop a blister - as it increases the likelihood of infection, which is the only thing that would be dangerous to a diabetic as far as a blister is concerned. I would also avoid that arm for the next few pods, giving the area a chance to heal.
Next, determine what about this pod’s placement might have caused additional rubbing or irritation. A blister forms when constant irritation causes the body to pool liquid in that location to protect an area. Could his shirt or an overwrap or his sleeping position have caused more rubbing than normal?
Thanks for the speedy response. I have no idea what caused the blister - we normally put the pod on the back of the arm and have never had any problems. He says that area hurts. I will do my best not to break the blister. See, I told you guys that you would be faster than the doctors!! :+)
No, It’s not happened to me. Could it be from the last site? Do you think that an old insertion could have separated the tissue at that spot? I think I heard of insulin pooling in spots that are not right under the insertion site. So a search for “insulin pooling”.
Thanks Jancie for the quick response. I viewed the video - good thing - because my first thought was to pop it. Apparently, that’s wrong. I’ll keep you posted!!
The pod was formerly on the other arm. We switch arms and butt in a clockwork rotation. I like to give the old site days to recover before putting a new pod on the same arm. I don’t think it’s insulin pooling because the blister is on the top part of his arm, the opposite of the cannula. I’ll try searching for the insulin pooling and see what comes up! Thanks!
Just heard back from the dr. He said to take the pod off and to make sure not to break the blister. He said to leave it uncovered, if possible. I opted to cover it with a gauze because Will had already started picking at it, once he saw how big it was, etc. The dr. also said that if I had to lance it, to do it with a syringe so you can then suck up the gunk inside (gross…)
Thanks everyone for your quick responses. I can’t believe that this happened, we’ve never had a skin infection before - I am so diligent with making sure everything is absolutely clean…oh well…
Just another day in diabetes…
I hope Will feels ok. Hope he can resist the urge to scratch. I never could stop messing with things like that at his age.
Will is doing well. So far, no signs of infection. We lasted about 2 hours with not popping the blister. I took the CDE’s advice and used a syringe to pop and drain the blister. I then covered it loosely with gauze & antibiotic ointment for the rest of the day. At bedtime, we took the gauze off so it could get some air. So far, it looks good.
Thanks for everyone’s help and concern!! Great to be part of such a supportive group!