I'm just wondering if any of you have any secrets to minimizing redness at pod/sensor site? My 3 year old tries to pretty much rip off his skin as soon as it comes off. I put on topical steroids as soon as I can.
We stopped using adhesive remover (Unisolve) and this really helped my son. Now it is red and itchy when we first remove it, but he doesn't have the scabby areas he used to. I put Gold Bond Ultra on the site after removal and it seems to help.
Another trick people use is to put a layer of Tegaderm down then the pod on top of it. Some people find the Tegaderm not quite as reactive.
do you use a skin prep which provides a barrier we use SKIN_PREP from smith@nephew, some people say skipping the alcohol wipe really helps with the skin problems, we always have used it, if i skipped it i would just wash the area first. another idea would be to give him a little bolus before the change and get him right into the tub for a soak and then put the new pod on, pod free for 20 minutes or so may make him feel good! best wishes, amy
Is the redness just irritation, or do you think it's getting infected? If it's irritation, try a cold compress on it before adding steroids. If it's infection, well, I don't use pods but I've had a lot of problems with CGM sensor sites getting infected, and part of the solution we found was to clean the insertion site with betadine surgical scrub prior to wiping with alcohol. I do not have similar troubles with the infusion site but if I did, that would be the most likely solution. If you think the issue is a mild inflammation due to skin bacteria getting in, then the betadine followed by alcohol wipes is the way to go. Your doc can either get it for you by prescription, or (this is my trick) places that cater to people with farm animals sell great, big bottles of it relatively inexpensively. If you're in a rural area, try an Agway or a local farm supply store that sells animal feed — chances are good they'll have it. KV Veterinary (www.kvsupply.com) or Valley Vet (www.valleyvet.com), two online stores that sell mostly to farmers, should have it too.
Believe it or not, I am a veterinarian (small animal, though) so I could access it. If you are ever in a pinch and need to get something else to scrub with, they sell chlorhexiderm scrub OTC at most pharmacies (hibiclens).
Our DD uses Animas and Minimed pumps and does have a reaction, but since the area covered, only a small dot or red spot upon removal. But the IV Prep suggestion gave me an idea. Don't know if it will work but worth a try. Wipe with Smith and Nephew IV Prep. Then be sure to put the IV 3000 dressing on top of it, leaving a small hole for the needle of the Pod. The dressing will cover his skin with a saran like transparent dressing. And I belieive that will protect his skin from the adhesives on the pod. If your child is also not having a reaction to the IV Prep.... which a lot of people use without incident. It is the transparent IV 3000 dressing that will lay over a large patch of his skin protecting it. It's worth a try. If Pod does not adhere correctly through this dressing, but since it is a very thin saran like covering, it should, I might tape over the Pod to hold it. If child is allergic to the Pod adhesive and you can't fix the situation, you would have to try another pump. So I hope something works so child can have the pump of choice. The Minimed and Animas pumps do have tubing, which has not really presented a problem for us. They both have very small footprints on the body, which I see as a plus.
After we deactivate the pod, I soak the adhesive with baby oil. After about 10 mins the pod pretty much falls off. That has helped with the irriation from the adhesive
Ha! wasted advice then. But got some in return so that's OK. I have farm animals, if you haven't already guessed, so betadine is absolutely vital to us. The horses and the dogs are always getting scrapes, bites, cuts... we'd be lost without it.