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Skin irritation

L

Lizzy1

New Member
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
Hi
Trying to use the Guardian Four sensor.
Skin is like sandpaper major reaction to the tape
Anyone else had this and does anyone know of any alternatives to the tape that somes with the sensors?
Thanks
 
I never got on with the Guardian or Enlite overtapes. They seemed to use a very different adhesive to the sensors themselves, and my skin was really not happy with them. :(

I used either clear Opsite Flexifix, or fabric-feeling Hypafix instead (which you can buy online). Others seem to opt for Tegaderm.

Hope you find a dressing that suits your skin.
 
My daughter is having awful problems with skin reactions again at the moment, hardly anything works! You could try Cavilon barrier cream/spray, the cream lasts longer but my daughter seems to have developed an allergy to that at the moment and wants to try the spray again as that worked well for a while. Tegaderm, overpatches from the pump/sensor supplier, there are also some dedicated sites online which sell pretty overpatches for all available pump cannulas and sensors, perhaps you could try some of those as they may use different glue. The ones she has at the moment leave a very unsightly red mark when she removes them but don’t actually itch much, which is the most important thing. I’ll ask her for the name of the website she got them from.
 
My skin is currently reacting to the glue on my pump.
I think I am extra sensitive due to raised histamine.
Although I don't get the usual runny nose and eyes symptoms to hay fever, I think it still affects me. A hay fever tablet a day until the pollen calms down seems to help with the itchy skin.
 
I have nearly always had a bad skin reaction with G3 and G4 sensors. For me, the oval tapes are fine, it is just the adhesive flap that goes underneath the transmitter. Initially, Medtronic gave me a large box of IV3000 and told me to insert the sensor through them. Quite apart from the fact that the IV3000 instructions warn you against attaching other adhesives, this tended to lead to sensor failure. Some years ago, I came to the conclusion that the value of the sensors outweighed the irritation, occasional bleeding, and time taken for the skin to recover. I look forward to the long-promised Simplera Sync sensors. At least they are smaller. Medtronic and the hospital pump clinic have no idea when they will arrive. Hoping it is within my lifetime!
 
JohnWhi said:
I have nearly always had a bad skin reaction with G3 and G4 sensors. For me, the oval tapes are fine, it is just the adhesive flap that goes underneath the transmitter. Initially, Medtronic gave me a large box of IV3000 and told me to insert the sensor through them. Quite apart from the fact that the IV3000 instructions warn you against attaching other adhesives, this tended to lead to sensor failure. Some years ago, I came to the conclusion that the value of the sensors outweighed the irritation, occasional bleeding, and time taken for the skin to recover. I look forward to the long-promised Simplera Sync sensors. At least they are smaller. Medtronic and the hospital pump clinic have no idea when they will arrive. Hoping it is within my lifetime!
Click to expand...
We were all switched to the Simplera sensors at pump swap time. I was pleased that mine was soon after they became available. So much easier to apply - More like a Libre and no fiddling with those oval tapes. Just fire it in, smooth round. Job done.
Is there a reason they won’t swap you over @JohnWhi
 
The reason, SB2015, is that Medtronic say they are unable to produce enough of them to make the swap, and roll-out has therefore ceased. They sent an e-mail to this effect to 780G Guardian 4 users a few weeks ago, saying the promised software update to make pumps compatible would not now be offered. Now that I have the software update with the new pump, I recited the problem to the Medtronic representative and pump clinic nurses last week, showing a picture of the typical skin damage. I was told that there was a reasonable chance of having Simplera sensors at some point during the four-year life of the pump.
 
Lizzy1 said:
Hi
Trying to use the Guardian Four sensor.
Skin is like sandpaper major reaction to the tape
Anyone else had this and does anyone know of any alternatives to the tape that somes with the sensors?
Thanks
Click to expand...
I couldn't keep the Guardian 4s on because of bad reaction. Problem solved by using Mepitel one underneath (cutting hole for sensor) and .Mepitel film on top to secure. No more irriation
 
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