Looking for some advice…again, my son has been the the omni pod since Jan. and the last few weeks he has started to have really bad itching when the pod is on. He can’t get to it but has ripped a few pods away from their backing trying to scratch. We have tried(and still trying) the shield skin prep wipes which have not helped at all, he’s taking an allergy pill daily but it has not helped either. He only has a couple of sites to use as it is being he’s so lean, everytime he uses a new site we get an occlusion. I’m becoming very frusterated, I can’t imagine how he feels! He say’s he won’t ever go back to shots(he’s 12), does anyone have any other ideas on what to do for the itching? Thanks to anyone with any advice!
After a couple ofmyears on the pod, my son developed a skin sensitivity also. We have been using Tegaderm patches on his skin and placing the pod on top of it. The only part on his skin directly is the end with the cannula - I find that if we insert through the patch, we have more occlusions so I hang the pod off the end. This has worked very well for us.
daneenm- that sounds like it could work, are the tegaderm patches expensive? I will do whatever it takes, it just seems like the expenses are never ending. Thanks so much for the idea, we’ll give it a shot for sure!
There are some listed on this download from omnipod. I received some samples from my rep. of hollister skin gel protective dressing wipe, cavilon no sting barrier film and stomahesive protective powder, along with some strips of the hypofix tape the omnipod attaches to so that I could try some of the barriers with the tape to see how/if they were tolerated. My instructions were to try the skin gel first as it is cheapest, let it dry completely before applying the tape. Same instructions for the cavilon, and then the stomahesive powder was to apply a very light dusting while the cavilon was moist, allow it to dry and then try the tape.
http://www.myomnipod.com/customer-care/guides-and-resources/
I have also heard some people use spray benadryl. I occasionally experience mild itching, (I one time had blisters, and I am not brave enough to even try any of the products, I just won’t use my stomach again!) only I think mine is a skin sensitivity issue - If my skin isn’t completely dry when I apply the pod, it might slightly itch, or sometimes if it is an area of skin that even though my sites are being rotated an inch from where the last site was, the same skin is exposed to the adhesive over and over.
The other thing I have noticed is when I use uni-solve remover, it makes the pod come off really easy, but the adhesive stays stuck to me. If I am not diligent with getting this off, this may be a sight of itchiness.
I hope you can find something that works for your son!
My son get irritation under his sometimes, especially where the adhesive attaches to the pod. We use Nexcare Foam tape to secure the pod, so I put a couple of strips under his pod to cushion that spot. That has helped us.
My son developed this too and now uses the Baird Barrier Wipe, leting it dry before applying the pod. It seems to help while the pod is on although he cannot wait to itch the spot once the pod is removed.
We also use Unisolve to remove the pod because we were afraid that he was getting skin stripping from just pulling it off which made that area more dry and irritated for next time. He has recently changed to taking it off at the end of his shower because he hates the Unisolve residue but his next meal numbers are not as good due to theincreased time delay. Our CDE recommends Baby Oil to remove the adhesve and moisturize the area at the same time. My son does not like the greasy feeling.
Since your son has to use the same sites often, it may be more important to protect the skin from rrtitation and moisturize the area when the pod is not on that spot. People swear by different products but my son does not like any of them either.
I saturate mine with baby oil before my shower, and then do the pod change after the shower, so there isn’t a time delay.
Our 10 year old has the same issue, digs at it until the cannula comes out. We’ve started using Shield Skin made by Coloplast with pretty good luck.
Thanks for that idea of using something under the spot that gets the worst irritation. The last pod was so loose with the adhesive remover that it fell right off. I thought that would be a sure thing not to leave a mark, but it left a huge one. It is actually a scab now, so the damage must be done before we remove the pod. I put a piece of Flexifix tape on the pod before attaching it, with sticky sides together so the pod adhesive at that point is not touching her skin at all. Keeping my fingers crossed because I don’t want her arms looking terrible all summer!
I was so happy to see how great her arm looked when I took off the pod today because I used your tip and covered the area on the pod with tape so that it couldn’t adhere so much. I can’t believe that I didn’t think of that myself after all of this time, but I really thought that the damage was being done only when removing the pod. It obviously wasn’t. Such a little thing can make a huge difference!
I have recently been dealing with red welts from the Omnipod adhesive. I am still trying new things but what has helped incredibly is the Eucerin lotion. I use it (the thick ooey one) right after a shower. My dermatologist told me to use a mild soap, cool water and to make my showers quick. I am now trying Tegaderm but haven’t figured out how to apply it so the cannula is not obstructed. Someone also told me to stop using the alcohol swabs before applying the pod. Anyone have anymore ideas?