My son uses Insets and when I take them out, he itches where the patch was. Because of his scratching the area, he gets an angry red-looking area. It has never become infected, but I’m scared it might if he keeps scratching at it. I’ve tried putting Tegaderm on first, but then he gets an even larger rectangle rash.
Does anyone know a wipe or something I can use to help cut down on this reaction? (I wipe the area with IV Prep now prior in inserting his set)
Penny - Have you tried putting a little Cortizone-10 or something similar on after the site is out? That might help. Nicole
Hey Nicole,
Yes, I’ve tried that at the endo’s suggestion. It doesn’t seem to help.
Hmmm… I have horribly sensitive skin - so I use Cortizone sometimes after I pull a site. I don’t have other suggestions; as this has worked for me. Hopefully someone else here will!
I use the IV Prep and then when it dries and becomes tacky I use IV3000 and then the quickset. The set stays in better and perhaps that thin layer of the IV 3000 will help his skin from the adhesive reaction he is having with the quicksets.
I am not on a pump, but I frequently have issues with adhesive reactions too. Some adhesives use petrochemicals (plastics and rubbers) and it can cause a reaction. Unfortunatly other than avoiding the irritant (not really possible here) all you can really do is treat the irritation after the fact. A cold compress usually helps the itching for me, although it is only effective when it is on the skin. Have you tried aloe vera? It comes in a gel form and is easy to apply. when I have a reaction I find that applying the desired cream (in my case aloe) and covering the area with a large bandage (one that does not cause irritation) and leaving it covered overnight helps. Usually when I wake up the area has improved, but not completely, I then wash the area with cold water put more aloe on and reapply a fresh bandage. By the third day the area is still slightly red, but no longer inflamed or itchy. Soon after that it goes away entirely. Hope this helps.
P.S- Covering the area is the most important part, it gives the irritated area a chance to heal and helps to better absorb aloe vera. As soon as the area is covered it usually stops itching, or is at least at a bearable level. Polysporin is also good for this aswell. Icing the area first helps, and also you can store the aloe in the fridge, this not only keeps it fresh, but feels good when it goes onto an irritated area cold. Good Luck!!
I use Tegaderm applied to the skin before I insert the set through the Tegaderm. Works well for me. Not cheap, but worth the expense. Makes it easy to tale set off as well. I but the bigger size (4 inches by 2.5 or 3 inches) and cut in half. If I was careful I could get three sets per Tegaderm patch by cutting in thirds.
I was also trained to put neosporin plus ointment on the injection site after removal. The goal being trying to avoid infection. This product includes a toipical anesthetic that reduces pain and itching. It is available generically. You might give that a try,
I would try using an IV3000 before putting them in.
Me too! I clean it with alcohol after I remove the site (or Dexcom sensor), put on a little neosporin, and a big "knee sized" band aide overnight. Works for me!
It also helps my skin recover from the adhesive in the winter months. The dry skin was driving me nuts.
I have a friend that gets the Benadryl spray and uses that on her daughter before putting sites on.
Penny I use a product called Cavilon. It is a sting barrier. I wipe with alcohol first let it dry then wipe the area with the Cavilon let it dry then put on my pod. I also have a reaction to the advesive but this seems to work for me. Cavilon is a 3M product and comes in a single application like an alcohol wipe. The other suggestions for healing sound great. Good luck Michael
My son has really sensitive skin, too. For him, one key is to clean the area for the site with an alcohol swab & be sure it is completely dry before moving to the next step. The only time he has had significant irritation is when we didn’t allow the alcohol to dry before moving on.
We also use SkinTac - it helps with adhesion, but I suspect it also forms a bit of a barrier between his skin and the adhesive on the infusion set. When we do a site change, we have to use a Unisolve or TacAway wipe to get the film off his skin, so clearly there’s some kind of layer left behind.
Hope you can find something that helps!
This might seem counter-intuitive, but try NOT using IV Prep or alcohol swabs or anything like that to clean the site before inserting his set. This same thing happened to me, and I discovered through much trial and error that inserting the inset with out alcohol resulted in a lot less rashes and itching. I don't get any infection from not using alcohol before hand, either. It's worth a shot, if nothing else works. If your worried about germs, insert a new set right after he gets out of the shower or something.
I have had success with Diprolene which is a steroind ointment. There are 2 kinds, and like the one that feels similar to an neosporin or vaseiline