No more alcohol wipes with Freestyle Libre 1 and 2

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Robin

Robin

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Just a Libre related heads up. Had an email from Abbott this morning saying they will no longer be including alcohol wipes in the sensor package, and you should buy your own in future. (A load of waffle about CE marks and buying from external sources messing up their own CE mark if a manufacturer changes their product, but the cynic in me says, it will save them a few bob!)
 
For anyone that actually uses them you may want to start your searching for your own

As of this month Abbott will no longer be supplying them in the box
xx
 
Should have read new posts before I did one 😳
xx
 
For the time been I have enough wipes from previous packs I have not used but kept.
 
When I started on my current Medtronic sensors they advised that I did not need to use any alcohol wipes, and suggested using them would harden the skin (I remember using alcohol soak on my feet before walking weeks many years ago to harden them ) . They suggested just washing and drying.
 
You can buy boxes of 100 wipes from chemists or online for a couple of quid. You can also get them on prescription.
 
I know a fair few people who make up kits of things to sell and in the last few months things have gone crazy with the supply of just about everything, so they are rejigging and then trying again when the new sources fail - one poor soul has redone all her stock every month this year and is on the point of giving up as she just can't get what she needs, because her suppliers can't get what they need.
 
I've just had a message from Abbott saying they will no longer be providing the alcohol wipes with the sensors. Funny how they've been fine for the past 5 years or so, probably saves them a bit of money 🙄


Hi Alan,

Thank you for choosing the FreeStyle Libre family of products for your diabetes management. We would like to provide an update regarding the alcohol wipes in our sensor kits.

The alcohol wipes are purchased from another company off the shelf. This means compliance of the wipe is the responsibility of that company—because they manufacture and apply the CE Mark* to the alcohol wipe. Any change to the wipe or its labelling creates changes to our sensor kits.

Our top priority is to ensure that we supply you with the sensors you need. In order to ensure ongoing compliance with medical device regulations for CE Marked countries, and to reduce the potential impact to our supply due to changes in alcohol wipes or their labelling, we have unfortunately had to remove them from the sensor kits starting from March 2021. Alcohol wipes are readily available at minimal cost from pharmacies and other retailers.
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Guess its all about profit, so reducing costs here & there.

Wipes are cheap to buy on ebay amazon, usually pay around £3 for box of 100, that's with free p&p.
 
nonethewiser said:
Guess its all about profit, so reducing costs here & there.

Wipes are cheap to buy on ebay amazon, usually pay around £3 for box of 100, that's with free p&p.
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The email says they are having difficulty obtaining the wipes from there usual suppliers.
 
Northerner said:
I've just had a message from Abbott saying they will no longer be providing the alcohol wipes with the sensors. Funny how they've been fine for the past 5 years or so, probably saves them a bit of money 🙄
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Only a bronze medal for you, @Northerner !
forum.diabetes.org.uk

Buy your own wipes

Just a Libre related heads up. Had an email from Abbott this morning saying they will no longer be including alcohol wipes in the sensor package, and you should buy your own in future. (A load of waffle about CE marks and buying from external sources messing up their own CE mark if a...
forum.diabetes.org.uk forum.diabetes.org.uk
forum.diabetes.org.uk

Alcohol Swabs In Libre Sensor Kits

For anyone that actually uses them you may want to start your searching for your own As of this month Abbott will no longer be supplying them in the box xx
forum.diabetes.org.uk forum.diabetes.org.uk
 
grovesy said:
The email says they are having difficulty obtaining the wipes from there usual suppliers.
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nonethewiser said:
Any excuse, must be 100's of suppliers out there with CE mark willing to provide wipes for product.
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That’s not the exact excuse they’re using. It’s that if the supplier changes the wipes, or they source them from a different supplier, Abbott has to tweak its own CE mark.
 
Robin said:
That’s not the exact excuse they’re using. It’s that if the supplier changes the wipes, or they source them from a different supplier, Abbott has to tweak its own CE mark.
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All excuses Robin, not beyond realms of possibility to make tweaks so can supply wipes in near future, what's bet they don't looking at email urging customers to purchase own from pharmacies & retailers.
 
nonethewiser said:
All excuses Robin, not beyond realms of possibility to make tweaks so can supply wipes in near future, what's bet they don't looking at email urging customers to purchase own from pharmacies & retailers.
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Yes, and I expressed my cynicism on the thread I started (see link above)
 
I finally got the email this morning after doing the thread yesterday lol, I have to admit I rarely use them as I'm always fresh out the shower and find them a little useless with being so small and having little grip but the exact brand supplied in the kits was one of the first results in an eBay search and from that seller were £3.95 for a box of 100 xx
 
I never used them anyway. I’ve always used my own I sourced from online.
 
If i run out of alcohol wipes i use surgical spirit with woman's makeup cotton remover wipes .
 
Surely not providing the wipes would increase the possibility of sensor errors or unreliability. The wipes provided a level of good practice/procedure to the process of removing and re-applying a new sensor. Without this, there could be more scope for negative user experiences. It's almost (not quite though) the same as just supplying the sensor only without any adhesive, and asking users to purchase their own tape to secure it to the correct site. Asking users to choose from and use from a variety of options (some possibly unregulated or unsuitable) could cause interference issues.
 
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