Hi all! I am a parent of a newly-diagnosed (January '08) 10-year old boy who just got the pump two weeks ago. Unfortunately, he seems to have developed an allergy to the adhesive for the site (as if we need anything else to worry about!) His skin is red and bumpy when we remove the site, and it itches. Has anyone heard of this? Any suggestions?
His doctor says it's rare, but not unheard of. We just received a bunch of samples of other adhesives from Medtronic and are starting to try them tonight.
I use a pump, and I've never had problems with the site adhesive, but I have had issues with my blood sugar sensor. That adhesive didn't stick very well for me; the main thing that made a difference for me was (I clean my skin with an alcohol swab before I put my sensor/pump on - not sure if this is the same for everyone) waiting for the alcohol swab to dry completely before putting my pump/sensor on. The adhesive always lasts much longer for me when I do so.
Or, try the not-so-fancy Band-Aid technique. I've had troubles before where they will pull out because they don't stick long enough, and usually I just put a Band-Aid over the top of it. This usually helps keep it on for a few days, and it's a different adhesive than the sites so it might be easier on your son's skin.
The other adhesives from Medtronic should work. I tried some from my pump company once when I continued to have problems getting my sensor to stay on, which worked out fairly well.
I don't know if this was what you were looking for, or if it helped, but good luck!
His doctor says it's rare, but not unheard of. We just received a bunch of samples of other adhesives from Medtronic and are starting to try them tonight.
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I don't think it's as rare as he suggests. Please try the sample adhesives. I am sorry I do not have more direct info but you can sign up and ask my friends at
On another group I participate in, I have seen a few people post about products they use with the CGM. The one I remember is bard adhesive and barrier film remover. I would check with the doc to see if it is safe to do your insertion through it, otherwise, you'll want to use it around the insertion area to protect against the adhesive.
Keep us posted on what you find and when I have a minute I will try to follow-up and find some of the other products I've seen people talk about...
I also had issues with the adhesives for my Medtronic pump. A couple of things I tried:
*Change sites more frequently - it seemed to work for me, although it is a bit more work. It seemed the longer I had the canula in a site, the more issues I had
*Try alcohol swabbing down the area first.. it dried my skin out and made the 'stick' less itchy
*DEFINITELY sample different kinds of adhesives .. medtronic sent me a few too and I ended up using two different kinds in a criss-cross sort of manner
Don't give up.. it was certainly frustrating for me, but you guys will find a solution! Good luck!
Hi. I just wanted to let you know that a few years back I had had the same problem. When I would take off the adhesive I would itch like crazy to the point where I made my skin bleed. It was swollen and red and I had a lot of pus around the area. I told my doctor and he told me to try some other adhesives. I did try other ones and they didn't have the same effect but I didn't like them. Happily whatever went on with the adhesive seemed to clear up because that was about 3 years ago and it lasted for about 4 -5 months and went away and I'm still using the same adhesive. Try changing the site more often and cleaning it well. Put some neosporin on the site as soon as you take the adhesive off as well to try and prevent the itchy feeling.
When I first went on the pump i ahd the same reaction to the adhesives. I used OTC adhesive but they didnt work as well. Fortunately it only lasted a couple months and I didnt have a problem after that.
My son is on the MM pump as well. I would rule out the PREP before assuming it is simply the adhesive. Of course, that is IF you are using the prep swab first.
After the usual 3 days my son's site is red. If we make an oops and go one day too long, it's REALLY BAD.
My son is on the MM pump as well. I would rule out the PREP before assuming it is simply the adhesive. Of course, that is IF you are using the prep swab first.
After the usual 3 days my son's site is red. If we make an oops and go one day too long, it's REALLY BAD.
adhesive allergies are very common, not just with insertion products for pumps but also be careful with abndaids & medical tape. Paper tape is usually the least allergic. However, it is not as sticky. You can also try an Opsite. This is primarily used in hospitals ton protect IV sites. If the insertion device itself is Teflon & not metal, this can also be causing a sensitivity. I had to switch to a metal needle due to similar issues. There are several companies out there that make insertion devices that are compatible with all the pumps. Perhaps give some of them a try.
i have this same problem! Its horrible! From itching the sites after taking off the tape I have circles almost like faint scars of where my site once was...My dr gave me a perscription for an anti itch cream. As soon as i take off the adheasive I remove the left over residue with alcohol and then immediately apply the cream...has worked great! But if i dont put it on right away its horrible! I feel ya there!
I don't know if you are still having the adhesive problem but here is what we do. My son (6 years old) has very sensitive skin (inherited from me, mom) . When we first started pumping , almost 2 years ago we used the Skin Prep. We would clean the skin withalcohol, let dry completely, apply Skin Prep, let dry completely ( it will dry tacky to the touch) then insert the site. This worked for a while, then we noticed that 1- to get the site off you had to use Skin Prep remover, 2- the prep stopped helping the site stick better and then we went to just using alcohol. When you remove the old site, try using alcohol pads to gently dissolve the site adhesive and residue as you gently pull the site tape off. I have worn my son's dite for 3 days to see how the insertion felt and how the site feels to live with it for 3 days, now I have very sensitive skin and found that the site adhesive made me itch after the 1st day. When I removed the site, I did not use the alcohol method to remove it, I just pulled it off and ended up with a really raw area where the adhesive was and it took a week or so to return to normal looking skin. We live in AZ where the weather is dry and hot, in the summer we have to change the sites every 2 days and in the winter every 3 days, due to perspiration. Hope this helps.
The problem continues, but it seems to vary in intensity -- sometimes Max barely has a rash and other times it spreads to twice the size of the site! We've been using an anti-itch cream with limited success and we do avoid the areas that are inflamed when we attach a new site.
We tried a few of the new adhesives and seemed to do well with the Bard adhesive until Max's friend's backpack hit his site and ripped it right out of his body! Now, Max refuses to use anything other that the regular site adhesive because he's afraid it won't stay on!