My 4 year old had just started with the Omnipod system this week. The first site she chose, for the initial pump training with our diabetic team was on the upper front part of her right leg. A day and a half after wearing it, I noticed through the viewing window that there was a good pool of blood forming around the site (I had been checking the pod and the insertion site continually since the time she started to wear it and nothing was there till a day and a half later). Therefore I changed the pod and moved the site to her tush (a rep from Omnipod told me that they thought the upper front part of her leg was an "awful" place to put it and that she was not surprised that my daughter had an issue. She said the tush was a much better location. Now we are almost at the three day point and up until this morning her site was clear, but now I notice that there is a slight bit of blood around the site where the canua is again? Is this normal? Also, are there any other recommendations about where I can place the pod besides her tush (Dr says her arms are too small and if the legs are also out, I am concerned that the tush will get too much use).
http://www.bd.com/us/diabetes/page.aspx?cat=7001&id=7261 The site map is identical for paediatrics. The cannula points skyward or towards the floor on limb sites & around the body (clockwise or anticlockwise on the torso) the outer thighs are better than the front or back. If bashing the pod causes problems, put a Mefilm / tegaderm patch over the top to hold it in place.
I wish you both every success with the pod.
We’ve had the same issue a few times. We haven’t found that it hurts or affects insulin delivery, but I keep an eye on it.
Our most reliable sites are the inner arms (which omnipod does not recommend) and our worst are the tummy (which they do). My 10 yo I’m sure has more fat on her arms than your little one, but the point is that sites seem to be individual.
We use arms almost exclusively and were told that as long as the cannula site is moved 2 inches from the previous site, we’re ok. We’ve done that successfully so far - but have only been podding since August.
Occasionally I have bleeding near the canula. If it's not hurting or preventing high BG's I wouldn't worry. I remember when I was doing MDIs and occasionally would have a "bleeder" sight, just like it would occasionally be a painful injection. I figure the same to happen with the needle insertion on the pods. Good luck with everything! I use my legs all the time and love that placement.
I have blood pool around my cannula often. I would reiterate that this does not concern me unless my blood glucose is elevated or it is causing me pain.
These are the sites recommended by Insulet: http://www.myomnipod.com/pdf/pod_Placement_Sheet.pdf. So I am surprised the rep said the leg was an awful place to put it. I would recommend trying various sites multiple times to figure out what works best for your daughter.
Best of luck to you and your little one!
Thanks to everyone for their feedback. It helps to put my mind at rest knowing that others have had various but somewhat similar experiences at times with their pods. If I would have gotten some of these type of responses from either Omnipod or my diabetes team, I would have not felt like my daughter was some sort of anomaly or that perhaps my daughter and the product were somehow not meshing.
Thanks again!
Hi, my daughter just turned 5 and uses the pod exclusively on the back of her arms and outside of her thighs. She's been podding for 14 months and her arms were not too small even for the bigger pods (and she's very thin). I use skin tac and Mastisol to prep the skin then use a 2x4 heavy duty waterproof CVS-brand bandage over the top of the pod to keep it secure for the 3 days. We also turn the pod/cannula up and down to get more sites. We've never had any bleeding issues - maybe because I use the bandage over the top to secure it? Or maybe she's just been lucky so far. Just keep experimenting and I'm sure you'll soon figure out what works best for your daughter!
I wear mine on my upper top part of my leg not on the outside, and I have had no trouble, and I get good absorbsion. I do use Skin Tac.It adds a little more stick. I also use two pieces of tape one on the top, and on the bottom. The blood is being cause by the pod moving around to much. I use to get that till I stabilized the pod more. I hate wearing it on my arm....kept getting knocked off, and on my tush I kept sitting on it against the chair.I also wear it on my tummy away from my pants top.