Skin reaction after pod change

Hello OmniPod Users:

I am brand new to the OmniPod system. I just started using it on Friday. My first pod change was Sunday. I noticed when I removed the old pod, I had a slight irritation on my arm where the cannula was located and also another irritated spot where the needle cap was removed at the bottom of the pod. In the past 24 hours the rash has gotten worse and is starting to blister. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? I hope that there is something I can do to prevent this from happening in the future because my BG readings have been almost perfect since the moment I put this pod on. I would love to continue using it, but if I break out like this whenever I rotate, i don't think I'll be able to use it much longer. Please give me some advice. Thanks :)

-Velma

I get irritations from time to time with the pods, but nothing that severe. Definately talk to your doctor about it. Some folks I understand use "Tegaderm" patches under their pods to help with skin irritation, if it's the pads on the pods causing the problem. But, it sounds like it may have been just a simple infected insertion point. Just make sure your skin is as clean as possible before installing a pod. Though with some folks, the alcohol wipes themselves are the irritation. I use a wipe called "I.V. Prep" for my cleaning of the skin area for new pods. It seems to work well for me.

I generally don't like to reply to a topic with a link to my site but I normally do on this issue because it takes too long to explain. My daughter Arden had issues with rashing that we eliminated without any extra products by eliminating the alcohol cleanse step, we now only prep a site by cleaning it with warm water and or a light soap. All issues left and never returned. If you're interesting in reading more - http://www.ardensday.com/main/2011/11/28/omnipod-rash.html

Best,
Scott

Thanks for your replies and advice. I went to the doctor yesterday. I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I'm NOT allergic to the OmniPod or the adhesive (YAY!!!). The bad news is that I have shingles (Boo!!!). I have to admit, Shingles was about the last thing on the list of what I thought was wrong with me. For some reason, the outbreak just happened to appear while I was wearing my pod on my left arm. I've never had singles before, so the diagnosis was a complete shock. I have since changed pods again (from my right arm to my back) and although I had a slightly irritated spot on my right arm, it was NOTHING like what I experienced on my left arm. Hopefully the singles will go away soon (it really hurts) and I'll be able to rotate to my left arm again.