Hi...I'm new on this site and excited about finding answers to all the little frusterating unknowns in our first year of diabetes. Camille is 4 and got an omnipod pump on 2 months ago. She is very lean and the only place we have found to work very well is her upper/inner thigh. Quite often when we take off a pod there is a red-pimple-like spot where the canula has been and if I squeeze it a little clear liquid comes out, also she has little brown spots where every infusion site has been for the last two months. Her skin easily bruises and scars anyway so maybe it's just her type of skin. But it's appalling to see so many spots on her tiny legs and tummy! Does anyone know what I can do to prevent this?
Our daughter is (almost) 3 and we've been putting the pod on back of her arm. We were having similar issues with infections when we were putting the pod on her lower back. We occasionally have an issue with infections on the upper arm, but it's usually when we don't remove the pod right after we've disabled it. We are also pretty quick with an alcohol wipe after the canula exits the skin.
I have scars on my stomach from my pods and upper leg from my dexcom. I have been using scar cream and it looks a little lighter.
Ah…that could be it…we have been in no hurry to take it off!! Pod changes are still a little traumatic…she has had more than her share of bad pods/absorption sites/or bumped pods it seems…is this normal with small children? How do you put it on a tiny arm? We have not tried that yet!!
We have also had a number of bad pods. That annoying beep! Keep a hammer handy! :)
The arm seems to work best for her since she can see it and understands what it does, etc. It also seems to be less painful. We make sure to keep her pre-occupied with something (TV, Movie) so she's not totally focused on what we're doing. As soon as the canula goes in, we distract her with "what's happening" on the Movie. We've gotten pretty good at making her forget about it.
It just takes time for both of you to get used to pod changes.
Hi Beth,
My daughter is 4 and started on the pod last September (dx 2/13/12). We primarily put the pods on the back of her arms and upper, outer thighs. We tried it on her tummy a few times, but she got an infection once and we haven't put it there since. Other than that infection, I've never been concerned about the insertion site, but the trouble we are having is the pod becoming very itchy by day 2. She apparently has very sensitive skin and every time we take take a pod off, her skin has little red bumps in the entire area.
I'm not sure whether the problem is the pod adhesive itself or the Skin Tac wipes or Mastisol spray that I use to "glue" the darn thing to her (without these solutions we don't have much luck with the pod staying on for 3 days when it gets wet from the shower or pool). I never use alcohol to wipe down the area prior to insertion (which is drying and irritating), but both adhesives have it as an ingredient.
I have tried a number of post-pod potions on her red bumps, but I haven't concluded that one is better than another: Aquaphor ointment, Eucerin cream, Monkey Balm, and hydrocortisone cream. Not sure what's effective for bruising though.
Have you tried EMLA cream? It's a prescription numbing cream that you rub in an hour before pod change. We used it for a couple of months, but now the insertion (without the cream) doesn't phase my daughter anymore.
hi Aimee! Sorry to hear about the rash...we do not use any of the above mentioned things to keep Camille's pods on. We have had more trouble with the pods staying connected to the adhesive! (I read somewhere about glueing the pod to the adhesive-we might try that) If you're like us we have learned to like the pump so much and hope to figure out a way to keep the pods working for her! Although we HAVE questioned at times if this is the right pump for an active child!! she seemed to 'bump' them alot and it's no fun putting your child thru all the 'expierments' of where is best to wear it and how to keep it on when her blood sugar was shooting up over HIGH on the meter. As far as pod changes-I really think it's some drauma she has got worked up in her head because when I ask if it hurts she says no! But still...I've never had it done to me so how can I say it's no big deal?!! It's very exciting to meet someone who has been going thru the same adjustments as we have all last year! Camille's dx 2/29/12 and pump start 11/14/12. Thanks for the suggestions on the cream! Beth