I slap a piece of Tegaderm on top of the whole package. I don't cut a hole. It works great. Tegaderm is super stretchy. I've never had any problems
What size is the Tegaderm you slap on?
Hi John, I'm not Zardoz, but when I did cover the "whole package" with Tegaderm I used a 4" x 4 3/4" piece and it worked very well. I have found however, that putting the same size piece under the whole package to be a much better option, as that placement provides for no skin breakdown under the sensor casing. My current sensor has been on for 22 days and it is still doing great. But, as we all know, it can go from great to not-so-great in a heartbeat.
I use Skin Tac Wipe adhesive barrier wipes on the skin.
I find the conflicting (to me) advice from the two main companies who market a CGM rather confusing. I am very familiar with Medtronic's party line on this topic. However, I hadn't previously tried to find out what Dexcom advises.
All I did was a bit of Googling and some quick glances at the Dexcom web site. So if my summary below is wrong, please correct it.
Dexcom seems to say both "yes" & "no" to Skin Tac & Mastisol under their G4 glucose sensor.
On the one hand, there is this adult FAQ, "How to I keep my sensor from falling off?" which says, in part, "Do not tape under the sensor pod or leave any substance on the skin where you insert the sensor."
But on the other hand, there is this advice for the pediatric sensor, "How can my child keep their sensor from falling off?" This FAQ seems to advise the opposite. "The Dexcom G4 PLATINUM (Pediatric) is approved for use with two kinds of adhesives – Skin Tac™ and Mastisol®. These adhesive products can be purchases separately and placed on the skin before inserting the sensor to provide additional adhesion to the skin."
So, have the intertwining conditions and caveats simply gotten so convoluted that not even the companies know what advice they are giving any longer? Or is it simply that the pediatric Dexcom sensor is so completely different from the adult sensor that it can survive the adverse conditioins created by Skin Tac while the apparently more fragile adult sensor can not?
Or the reason for apparently contradictory advice a result of some other consideration which I'm not seeing?
-iJohn