Well, it's possible that she's allergic to nickel and silver, but from my research it appears that most silver contains some nickel. It's hard to say, but we tried everything under the adhesive with no positive results. Also, metal allergies are progressive, so each reaction gets worse - and this was "worse". And oddly, when she got her ears pierced, her worst areas of rash (besides her poor ears) were at her former Dexcom sites. She had a clear rash on her stomach, back and upper arms, right around where the Dexcom site had been months earlier. The only conclusion I could come to was that the sensor was causing her allergy because she doesn't have an allergy to adhesives that we've ever seen (her pump isn't a problem), and when she first started using the Dexcom she didn't get an allergic reaction at all. It started out very slowly, and progressed.
I'm just throwing it out there in case anyone else has a Dexcom rash that doesn't seem to be adhesive related. Sarah can't be the only one.
Check this out. I tried what this mom did and it didn't help. I also found it very difficult to accomplish at all. After 3 days the rash was back. One of the comments suggested Silesse. I ordered that and had success.
Stainless steel has nickel in it but pure silver has no nickel. Nickel is what prevents rust in stainless steel.
I think the Dexcom rash is very common. Dexcom can't help or make suggestions for legal reasons. The device hasn't been tested with any of these solutions so they can't suggest them.
In our case it's the metal, it's possible that she's allergic to mutliple metals, but even Dexcom couldn't guarantee me that there's no nickel in their silver. We tried everything, and it wasn't a rash under the adhesive, though that area was red all around. She also got a rash on her arms, legs, stomach, back, and between her fingers. I'm pretty sure we tried about everything. Some people are just very sensitive to metals, even high quality metals. I was just throwing this possibility out there in case others have the same reaction as my daughter.