Has anyone used this product, Mastisol? Is it similar to Skin Tac? Can it be “painted” over adhesive and work like Skin Tac can?
I’m allergic to Skin Tac, more specifically the rosin ingredient in Skin Tac. Whenever I’ve tried to use it, sites become itchy immediately and my infusion set or sensor fails within the next 12-24 hours, and the itching and rash continue for a good week or sometimes more…
Incidentally, anyone allergic to Skin Tac may want to be careful of the paint-on fluoride stuff that dentists use. I discovered the hard way (by having an asthma attack within 15 minutes of its use) and after checking the ingredients that the brand my dentist uses also contains rosin.
Curious if anyone with allergic reaction issues with Skin Tac has successfully used Mastisol. It would be great if I could have something to paint over sets/sensors when the tape starts to come loose.
I’ve used it my very first Dexcom sensor… it’s not really like skin tac. It’s more like super glue for skin. It smells terrible and is very dirty and turns the fabric stiff as a board … I wouldn’t recommend it for general use for cgms and pumps but it might be good for emergency use
Is this not what Skin Tac also does? LOL. Whenever I’ve used Skin Tac I’ve been unable to remove the adhesive without using that adhesive remover stuff…
Unfortunately, I see that the Mastisol stuff is not available as wipes, which would be way more convenient for me.
When I’ve tried Skin Tac, sensors have never come off. The first few times I used it, I was able to put up with the itching and my Dexcom sensor didn’t die…sensor lasted 46 days, which is my current record.
Lately I’ve been putting Opsite Flexifix over sensors once the tape starts to become loose. That works well, but sensors still sometimes die soon afterwards, and I think it’s because the Dexcom adhesive under the transmitter becomes loose and that allows the sensor wire to move around a bit. It gets super itchy and then just will not show anything except ???, even after restarting a couple of times. This happened to my current sensor, which is only two weeks old. If I can get sensors to stay secure and not have any reaction, they can last up to a month for me.
I almost always use skin tac, and mine start peeling off at around 1 week. I can keep them running for varying length with opsite… even the opsite starts peeling off continuously so I have to keep applying fresh tape over the old
@Jen I tried Skin Tac and others, finally settling on Mastisol due to an allergic reaction to the adhesive (i assume as it’s the only common denominator in those products). I started using Mastisol and have since had no rashes, itching , redness or other reactions. I paint or spray it on like SkinTac and my sensors last an average of 30 days with an overpatch applied (with Mastisol) every 10 days or so. For me, the trick was waiting until the Mastisol had dried to a sticky consistency before applying a sensor or overpatch. If the adhesive was still wet then nothing worked well. I have used it with some success “painting over” areas that have loosened from my skin.
Thanks! This is very useful. It sounds similar to Skin Tac, except that I’m hopefully not allergic to it. I think I’ll buy a bottle and see how it works for me.
What do you use as your overtape? I’ve been using Opsite Flexifix with good success (and Hypafix over my pump sites, but that only needs to last two days and generally Hypafix does not stay sticky nearly as long as Flexifix).
@Jen Mastisol is gum mastic based, and not rosin based. I generally use Grif Grips fabric style over patches or something similar. They last with work (heavy exercise daily) showering, swimming, and daily life for 7-10 days without coming off when i use Mastisol as a skin adhesive.
