Hello. I have an 11 year old T1D son. He was diagnosed in Feb this year (2015). We got the Dexcom CGM in May. We had no issues with the sensors until now. The last 2 I put in, he started bleeding as soon as it went in so we took them out. We tried one in stomach and one in arm. The 1 prior to that hurt after about 15 minutes so we took it out. That was in his arm. The 2 prior to that left a major rash/irritation on his skin. Those were on his stomach. At first, I thought it was the Skin Tac I used on the adhesive. But, I did it again without the Skin Tac and it still left the rash/irritation and it itched and hurt him after a few days. It didn’t appear to be infected - just irritated. Now, I’ve wasted 3 sensors in the last week trying to get a new one in. We used to just use his stomach and rotate them because that’s where he likes it best. But we started trying his arm too, to see if that would work. We have issues there too! I’ve read about using skin barriers under the adhesive and have the supplies to do that and tried that twice, but it fell off 1st try and then the sensor just started hurting the 2nd try. We see his doctor this week, so I will ask them, but I wanted to see if any of you had any of the same issues. My husband and I cannot sleep without the reassurance of the CGM and we are back to checking him all night long.
Join this group on Facebook Dexcom | Facebook - there are a TON of different options/solutions for the rash/skin irritation you are explaining. What works for some might not work for others.
My personal experience is as follows. We use a Johnson and Johnson Tough Pad (links to products below) and cut a pencil eraser sized hole into it for the sensor wire. Then we apply the sensor to the Tough Pad before we apply to the skin area so we can make sure the wire will make it’s way through the hole that we cut (Some people choose to punch right though the Tough Pad, I’ve tried that method as well, but in an effort to extend the sensor life I use the hole method with better success.) Once we have this rig assembled you simply take the backing off the Tough Pad and apply to the skin much in the same manor as the regular Dexcom sensor. ***We do use Skin-Tac prior to attaching the sensor to the skin, and also use it again around the outside of the Tough Pad once it’s attached - this ensures it stays for 2 plus weeks without issue.
This method assumes your son doesn’t have a reaction to either the Skin-Tac or the Tough Pad adhesive - my daughter has not had a reaction to either but she did react pretty severely to the Dexcom adhesive.
If he does have a reaction to either one - do a little more digging online, or on that facebook page above - there are a bunch of other products you can try - Duo-derm, Tegaderm, Flonase, just to name a few - I am confident that you will find a solution that works for your son as a good amount of people have had reactions to the Dex adhesive.
If you have any other questions about my method, let me know - I can send pics and better descriptions next time I change hers out if you need them.
As far as the bleeding - I know the instructional video and your Dex rep both say to pinch up on the skin before activating the plunger - I took one of the plungers apart and if you inspect it carefully you will see that the insertion tube that encases the sensor wire comes EXTREMELY close to the skin area when you are inserting the sensor wire (pushing the plunger down) so close in fact that I believe if you pinch up on the skin too much the insertion tube can make contact and penetrate the skin which I believe is what causes the bleeding (and pain) Next time you try it don’t pinch up on the skin at all and see if he still bleeds - my guess is he won’t. Let me know your findings on this as you are the second person I’ve told this too and I am curious to see what your results are.
All the best.
Thanks so much! I will join the FB group. Thanks for all the info and links, too. I will try to not pinch up the skin the next time. It’s just weird that we are doing everything we did before and now are having problems. I was also wondering if Dexcom changed the adhesive or if there was something wrong with this batch of sensors, but probably not. The first box was fine. This second and now 3rd box is when the issues started. I have read elsewhere that many people have reactions to the adhesive. Makes me wonder why they are not doing something about it then! Ugh! I’ll let you know how it works out. Thanks again!